The School for Dangerous Girls

by Eliot Schrefer

Book Overview

Girl, Interrupted . . . as written by V. C. Andrews. Angela's parents think she's on the road to ruin because she's dating a "bad boy." After her behavior gets too much for them, they ship her off to... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0545035287
• ISBN13: 9780545035286
• Release Date: January 2009
• Publisher: Scholastic Press
• Length: 341 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 5.8" x 8.3"
• Age Range: 14 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 9 and higher

Customer Reviews

Wonderful book; fast read and intriguing from the start

What happens when you're a girl who is so bad that your parents decide that the last resort is to send you to a school designed for dangerous girls? This is exactly what this book entails. Right from the beginning, the author captures you and lures you into this world that is captivating. I started to read the book without seeing who the author was and was certain that it was a woman who wrote the book. Imagine to my surprise when I see in the back cover that it's a man who wrote this. What Schrefer is able to capture is the voice of a girl who is often misunderstood and rebellious only because to her, it's the only way. Angela's psychological torture and development as a character drives the story more than anything else. The adventures are fun, yes, but the psychology concepts that were thrown in the book was very intriguing to me. Sure, this is a teen book. However, there's also something deeper to it. There is a sense of maturity to the topics at hand. All in all, I couldn't help but read as fast as I can because I want to know what happens to the girls and if the school would ever turn Angela submissive.

One of the best new works of fiction I've read lately

Angela Cardenas knows she's probably not the best or most well-behaved daughter out there. But then again, she's 15, her grandfather just died, and her parents are being completely mean and forcing her never to see her boyfriend, Trevor, again. It's tough being a girl. Still, Angela's parents decide she has had enough chances, and they forcibly enroll her at Hidden Oak, a school for dangerous girls. When Angela arrives, she and the other new girls listen to one of the school's teachers explain the rules and mission statement behind Hidden Oak. The particularly haunting motto is, "You are your own worst enemy. And together we will defeat that enemy." While the treatment of the girls during their "orientation" is horrible, Angela has little trouble finding her niche with a few girls: her roommate, Carmen, who is timid and shy; Riley, who seems to hate Angela but puts up with her anyway; and Juin, their half-French ringleader. Together, they form a "coven" and try to determine what is going on at Hidden Oak. But just as they're starting to figure some things out, girls from their orientation group start to disappear, and it isn't until Angela herself disappears that she realizes what's happening: the teachers are dividing them into dangerous girls who can be corrected and dangerous girls who cannot. Of course, Angela must do a little detective work. Desperate to learn the history of the school and find out the fate of her cousin, Pilar, who has also attended, she just can't help getting on the bad side of some of the teachers, especially Mrs. Vienna, who seems to have a special vendetta reserved for Angela. THE SCHOOL FOR DANGEROUS GIRLS is excellently crafted. One part HOLES, one part PREP and one part THE SHINING (the school is even situated in Colorado and becomes nearly invisible and non-existent during the heavy winter snows), its beginning is strong, with plenty of suspense, mean characters, and even subtle commentary on what defines promiscuity and how girls should use their sexuality. As the book draws to a close, however, it loses its uniqueness and tries too quickly to tie up loose ends. It is there that I fell a bit out of love with the novel, as its extremely clever premise ended predictably. Despite this shortcoming, though, THE SCHOOL FOR DANGEROUS GIRLS is one of the best new works of fiction I've read lately. Its snappiness and meanness will appeal to fans of Gossip Girl and the like, and its clever premise and plot will appeal to fans of mystery and suspense. Best of all, Eliot Schrefer does not shy away from realism, which is both refreshing and jarring. It made me respect him all the more, but it made the book that much creepier because it seemed like Hidden Oak could actually exist. --- Reviewed by Sarah Hannah Gómez

Five stars from a teenage reader

The School for Dangerous Girls by Eliot Schrefer had me hooked almost immediately. It begins by describing the difficult circumstance into which Angela--the main character--has gotten without explaining how or why she is in such a position. Aside from a few vague references to recent experiences and some excellent use of flashback, the reader basically knows that Angela has done--or everyone thinks she has done--something extremely bad, in every sense of the word. This has resulted in her parents' decision to send her to Hidden Oak, a school which claims to reform dangerous girls such as Angela. Of course, it becomes immediately apparent that all at Hidden Oak is not as it seems. The characters were extremely realistic. I myself am a teenage girl, and the ways in which the female characters react to the tricky situations in this book seem reasonable. The rest of the characters in the book also seemed natural--as if this were based on a true story instead of complete fiction. The people in the book seemed real enough, if a little misguided sometimes. The plot seemed slightly far-fetched at times, but it was so fascinating that it hardly seems worth worrying about such minor details. Schrefer did such an excellent job keeping interest levels high that the plot issues that might otherwise have been points of contention were unremarkable. The pacing is good and the plot twists were exceptional. The setting itself presents an interesting plot twist. The history of Hidden Oak is so interesting that it alone could have provided enough material for the entire story. Add to this the very practical parts of a very old school--a noisy old heating system, crumbling old buildings, and the like--and the place seems very realistic. The writing style was also of a high quality. The first-person point of view puts readers right into the innermost thoughts of the main character and makes the action personal. The descriptions were subtle enough that it didn't seem to waste space and time, but gave a good idea of the general setting. Overall, this book is great and I highly recommend that, if you like books that accurately portray the emotional turmoil of troubled teens, this book is definitely worth your time. I can't wait until its full release (in January 2009) so that I can make sure all my friends get copies. (Review from the "daughter" half of our mother-daughter book review team)