Review: Georgetown Academy - Book 1 by Alyssa Embree Schwartz and Jessica Koosed Etting

 

 Source: Received a review copy from the publisher for an honest review.

Publisher: Coliloquy, LLC

Release Date: Already Released.
For more information visit: Coliloquy - Georgetown Academy.
Purchase Links: Amazon | Nook | Google Play Store

(Goodreads Link.)

Blurb from Goodreads:

It’s the beginning of a new political administration. That might not mean much at most high schools, but at Georgetown Academy, Washington D.C.’s most elite prep school, January 20th means new alliances, new flings, and new places to party.

While freshmen—nicknamed “interns” for their willingness to jump into bed with anyone higher on the D.C. totem pole—navigate the not-so-friendly halls of GA searching for Algebra and Bio classes, the school’s lifers have other things on their minds.

For self-proclaimed D.C. royalty Brinley Madison (of those Madisons), the first day of school is all about establishing the social hierarchy and playing the part of perfect political wife to her boyfriend, the outgoing Vice President’s son. Too bad he has a wandering eye that puts Bill Clinton’s to shame. Can she keep him, and her own secret vice, in check?

Ellie Walker, Brinley’s best friend, floats through the halls on the arm of golden boy Hunter McKnight (the JFK of GA). But when her ex-boyfriend, Gabe, returns to town and her Senator mother’s political nemesis is reelected, Ellie’s life starts to snowball out of control.

Shy, quiet Evan Hartnett is more into books than beer, and her closet is full of t-shirts and jeans instead of Jason Wu and Jimmy Choo. No one’s ever really noticed her—but she’s been noticing them. When her star rises as an intern at D.C.’s most-watched political news show, she soon finds the two worlds colliding in ways that make her question what’s secret and what’s fair game.

New girl Taryn Reyes is all laid-back, California cool; with a father who’s in line to be the first Hispanic president, she’s ready to dive into the D.C. scene with an open mind. But when her fellow students turn out to be more interested in spreading rumors than making friends, she realizes that forging a drama-free path might be a lot harder than she thinks.

With so many new friends and former flames in the mix, things are bound to get a little heated. And while diplomatic immunity might keep the cops away, there’s not much it can do about the press.
In a town where one teenage misstep can turn into a national scandal, the students at Georgetown Academy will have to be on their best behavior—or, at least, they’ll have to make the world believe that they are.

Because there’s only one rule: whatever you do, don’t get caught.

What’s Cool from Coliloquy:
As the party scene at Georgetown Academy gets under way, authors Alyssa and Jessica let readers decide which of the main girls to follow. You’ll see scandalous behavior, unexpected liaisons, and secret betrayals…all giving you a different perspective as events unfold.

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This is the second series that I have started reading from Coliloquy and I really enjoyed it! :D I loved that you get to choose which character you follow, too....especially since in the case of the four main characters there were a few I really didn't want to follow as much. :P

I loved that each main character has their own introduction of sorts, and then the story broke off into a narrative where you could choose who you wanted to follow. Personally, I preferred Ellie and Taryn's parts. I just liked the characters more. I wasn't a huge fan of Evan or Brinley...but I did read them all, and I will admit that I liked that I got to see all of their sides to the story. It made it really interesting when you compared all of their versions and could see how everything fit together! :D

Along with the characters, I enjoyed the story itself. Since the US just had their election, I thought that it was a nice fit for the time, and it made me more interested in following politics. Although for me, I'd be focusing more on Canadian politics. ;)

One of the biggest things I enjoyed in Georgetown Academy was the parallel between High School and the political world in this book. You see how scandals get blown out of proportion just like gossip in High School, and how the politicians and their scandals gets talked about in the media, just like it would be talked about by students in school. It's contrasted even more when you think about the fact that the students at Georgetown Academy happen to be the children of politicians (for the most part anyway) themselves, so it's like they have this kind of media and peer pressure coming at them from all sides. It put things in a really interesting perspective for me and I really enjoyed that. :)

I had a blast reading this book, and I'd recommend Georgetown Academy to fans of contemporary YA who are looking for something a little different. Not only is the interactive aspect of the story interesting, but so is the subject matter. I don't know about you all, but this was the first book that I've read where it combined High School drama with actual politics, and I thought that was pretty neat. :D

Stay tuned for an awesome promo post for Georgetown Academy where you get to know a few of the characters better, that I have coming up soon! :D

Twitter: Coliloquy

What do you think of Coliloquy's interactive stories?
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What do you think about Georgetown Academy? Does it sound like a series you'd like to try?
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