I'm usually very lenient when it comes to reviewing books, but this one really did nothing for me. I'd been excited about it too; the plot seemed intriguing. And it possibly might have been so if the book had centered around Nikki. She's the only character who seemed real to me. Laine was annoying and snotty, and her friends were caricatures. I didn't care for the style of writing either, but that's a personal preference, and hey, these folks are published and I'm not, so maybe they know something I don't.

Just not my cup of tea, though. :( ( )

I love boarding school titles, but this one was sort of a bust. The plot lines are predictable, and you can see most changes coming a mile ahead. There is the Connecticut beauty athlete and her Long Island roommate (if this hadn’t been written before, I would have suspected that it was based on Jersey Shore) who are total mismatches, and of course have forged a sort of alliance by the end of the book. There is a lot of drug abuse and drinking throughout the book, especiall y because most of these kids are rich and have access to alcohol and drugs pretty much incessantly. There isn’t a super strong plot, but there are things about one of the characters that I would like to find out more about, so I will read the next one in the series, even though it is pretty trashy. Interestingly, for a book written by three people, there is no noticeable changes in voice, so I’d be interested to hear how they collaborated. ( )

Reviewed by Jennifer Rummel for TeensReadToo.com

Two girls who are polar opposites become roommates at boarding school.

Laine, a field hockey jock, a perfect match for the school, looks down upon her new roommate for a number of reasons, including her look-at-me attitude. Nikki's loud, loves the attention of the spotlight, and doesn't understand the rules and society of old money -- and thus the school.

How can they survive a year together, especially when the older girls are rooting for one of them to fail miserably and make it their goal to see her withdraw from campus?

THE UPPER CLASS takes two social worlds, blends them together, and shakes things up a bit. The authors make you feel the torment of both characters and you'll want to see how the year will end.

You might pick this book up if you like the PRIVATE series by Kate Brian. ( )

I’m not usually the type of person that likes reading about drama and catty people. Which is probably why I’ve never picked up a book of Gossip Girl or an It Girl Novel, but I always like to expand my reading horizon, so when Caroline asked if I would like to read her series, I quickly accepted. Now that I’m finished with the book, I have to say I’m truly impressed. Not only with the collaboration by three authors, Hobson Brown, Taylor Materne, and of course Caroline Says, but also the intense tale of two completely different girls thrown into the same world. Wellington isn’t a watered down version of a private school, it is real and raw, with drugs, sexual suggestions, alcohol, and of course drama. So, if you find that kind of thing offense, I wouldn’t suggest picking up this book. But if you are one of those people that find those elements can make a story that much more real, than this is your kind of novel. I enjoyed the insight from two different perspectives of these very different, yet original characters. I had a hard time putting this book down! I can’t wait to read the rest of the series! You can count on my reviews for Miss Educated and Off Campus soon!! ( )

So. It took three people to write this novel?!?!

And even more astonishing - these people actually went to and graduated from a prep school?!?

I picked this book up because I had read that it was written by three Hotchkiss grads - and I thought it would be fun to read. What amazed me the most was that it seemed to be written by someone who had never ever set foot on a prep school campus and instead was much more like a crazy fantasy of someone who could only imagine what such an experience would be like.

Everything was so ridiculously exaggerated - from the character of Nikki - who honestly - was so over the top it was absurd even trying to believe that she might exist - to her counterpart Laine - who again was such a caricature it really would have been funny if she wasn't so incredibly unbelievable.

Having attended a school like the one that is fabricated in the story - I can say that the warning at the back of the book that "any similarity or likeness to Hotchkiss (or any other real school for that matter) is purely coincidental" - is more true than you could ever imagine.

If you want a real look at prep school life - read Prep by Curtis Sittenfield - or if you want a breezy, fun engaging read about rich kids - read the Gossip Girls series. This book is none of these things and instead is only interesting because I find it incredible that someone (or THREE) people could write a book that is so lacking in realism when they all went through the experience not that long ago.

Don't waste your money or your time. ( )