A nice quirky blend of horror, historical and mystery. While Miranda feels like she's the aggrieved party in her family, it's her wrecking her dad's car and maxing out his credit card that everyone focuses on. Those actions land her at Bard Academy, a creepy private school on an island off the Maine coast. She tries escaping to no avail, but after making friends with two other students and getting embroiled in a ghostly mystery, she's determined to figure out what's going on. Following that tale is a fun experience. ( )

I didn't know what to expect when I started to read this book. I didn't really like it all that much at the start. It kind of bored me, but then stuff started to happen and I read it in less that a day. It was good and enjoyable. Not my favourite book, but a good time passer.

Reviewed by Jocelyn Pearce for TeensReadToo.com

WUTHERING HIGH is a novel by Cara Lockwood published by MTV Books, and I must say, the MTV Books are certainly much better than readers might expect from a name known mostly for reality television. In fact, these books are fabulous, no matter what you're expecting, and Cara Lockwood's story is no exception. In WUTHERING HIGH, Miranda Tate is a spoiled but still likeable character who, after a few mistakes involving her Dad's car and stepmother's credit card, is sent off to Bard Academy, a boarding school for misbehaving teenagers.

At Bard Academy, a few things happen that Miranda didn't exactly expect from what she thinks she knows about reform schools. She's having terrifying nightmares involving Kate Shaw, a girl who went missing from the school fifteen years earlier. When she tries to escape through the woods, she finds herself going in circles. One of her teachers, Ms. W., always leaves wet footprints. As if those little oddities aren't odd enough, there are some eerie coincidences concerning classics such as DRACULA, JANE EYRE, and WUTHERING HEIGHTS. For instance, there's Heathcliff, remarkably similar to the character in WUTHERING HEIGHTS, who seems to think that Miranda is really Cathy, another character from the novel. Something weird is most certainly going on, and Miranda and her new friends Hana, Samir, and Blade have to find out what it is--fast.

This is a book that is definitely worth reading! Ms. Lockwood's characters are interesting, well done, and realistic, and readers will be able to relate to Miranda's situations with her parents and friends (although perhaps not teachers). The character of Miranda also shows realistic character development instead of being the same slightly bratty fifteen-year-old throughout the book. Aside from her great characters, the story in WUTHERING HIGH is entertaining and original. It's better than just another overused idea with a few differences in details and characters. This novel is one that will keep readers hooked from the very first page to the end, and eagerly awaiting the next novel from Cara Lockwood about Bard Academy. ( )

When good girl Miranda decides to take a walk on the wild side by maxing out her step-mother's credit card and crashing her father's BMW, the results were more than she bargained for. A one way ticket to a reclusive boarding school for delinquents on an island off the coast of Maine.

What Miranda finds once she arrives at the eccentric academy is more than just strict rules and stricter teachers. She finds a micro-cosmos of weirdness with woods that lead you in circles and maybe even the ghost of a student who went missing living in her dorm room.

When I first started reading this book I wasn't quite sure how much I'd enjoy it. Our main protagonist seemed quite spoiled and whiney. However, in short order I began to sympathize with Miranda and I liked the way she adapted to the oddness of the school. It turned out she really wasn't all that prissy at all. Certainly this had a lot of good points along with a few not so good points. While the product placement and brand name drops seemed a little heavy handed, I think that this would be a good story to spark interest in classic literature (as it is a key point of the book). There was an underlying theme of the core values they like to preach in school although it is rather unusual in today's young adult writings. There were some parts where the first person POV seemed very awkward, especially in the first person present tense. I think that it could have used a little more work to smooth it out.

I wasn't sure how exactly to feel about the revelations closer to the end of the book as I'm always squeamish when they use real people in fictional settings. In the end I decided it was an interesting bent. Also, I certainly did enjoy Heathcliff as a character in this book.

Overall I found this to be a very enjoyable and quick read which I'd highly recommend to tweens and up. ( )

http://hollybooknotes.blogspot.com/2009/05/ya-weekend_16.html ( )