Olivia Winters is a member of the Ivies. At Claflin Academy, they are the smartest, the leaders, the tops in everything, and that makes them most likely to get into the Ivy League schools that they have their hearts set on. The leader of the Ivies is Avery Montfort, who is a triple legacy to get into Harvard. Sierra is aiming for Yale, Margot for Princeton, and Emma for Brown. Olivia, a scholarship student at Claflin, is looking at U.Penn’s journalism program.

At least, that’s what she tells the Ivies.

They have all been working for years on their high school resumes. And when someone was standing in their way, well, they may have nudged the odds in their favor. Pointing out that someone missed a curfew a few times until they get in real trouble with the administration. Hacking the school computer to get into the best classes. Pulling the fire alarm in the middle of the night before the day of a big test. It may not be very nice, what they did, but they never apologized for being so focused. Getting into the top colleges is competitive, and they just played the game better than everyone else.

At least, that’s how Olivia justified her part in the Ivies. She has always wanted to be a part of that world, and while she’s always aware at Claflin of how little she has in comparison to her friends, she is working as hard as everyone else to make her way to the top. And that’s why, instead of applying early decision to U.Penn, she went for the school she really wanted: Harvard. And that’s why she got accepted.

And Avery didn’t.

There are only so many spots at Harvard for students at a school. Claflin has 2 students per year who get accepted to Harvard, maybe 3. So when Olivia is accepted and Avery isn’t, she keeps it to herself. And then Emma comes out with her news—she got accepted to Harvard. Where Olivia is worried about telling anyone, Emma is proud and tells Avery that she got in at the all-school party celebrating (and commiserating) all the early decisions. Emma thought Avery would be happy for her. Instead, Avery attacked her, accusing her of stealing her spot.

And the next morning, Emma was found dead.

Would Avery really have gone so far as to kill someone to get a chance at Harvard? Olivia is determined to find out. But as she digs into what all the Ivies did to try to secure their futures, what will she find? Did Emma really get killed over a college decision, or did she have other secrets that Olivia didn’t know about?

The Ivies is a look at how competitive top tier college admissions has gotten. Written by private college admissions essay consultant and novelist Alexa Donne, this story illustrates how far some people are willing to go to get into the right college, and how that kind of competition can leave someone’s humanity behind.

To me, The Ivies was Mean Girls try to get into college, and I loved it. Seeing the story through Olivia’s eyes, an outsider and insider at the same time, brings a depth of emotion as well as some distance that adds extra layers to the storytelling. The mystery of who killed Emma kept me guessing until the end, and I was genuinely surprised when the killer’s motive was revealed. The Ivies is lots of fun, and it would be great summer reading for anyone already accepted by their first choice schools (don’t want to give anyone any ideas, if they’re still working on their resumes and applications!).

Egalleys were provided by Random House Children’s Books through NetGalley, with many thanks.