Mary McCoy

Imperial Day Academy has a student Senate, but the school is really ruled by the Honor Council, a group of students charged with seeing that their peers uphold the school's Honor Code. Claudia never expects to be involved in either group, though her older sister Maisie is poised to be Honor Council president someday. Born prematurely, Claudia has a limp, a stutter, asthma, and various other physical differences that have positioned her as more of an observer than a leader -- but all that show more will change as she gets caught up in the politics and backstabbing that happen during her time at Imperial Day.

This modern-day retelling of I, Claudius by Robert Graves really hits the mark in so many ways. (Amusingly, Graves is the surname of the principal of Imperial Day.) Readers unfamiliar with the source material will find that this book stands well on its own as a tale of school government machinations, but those who have read I, Claudius will find lots of clever corollaries between the two books. (It does make me wonder who this book is really for, though, as it's the rare teen who is a fan of Graves' work.) There's strength in the writing, plot, and characters -- scheming Livia was particularly well drawn, and Cal was appropriately terrifying. I'd recommend this to readers who enjoy YA stories set in private schools, particularly if they are also fans of Roman history (or, specifically, I, Claudius). show less

This is a weird and wonderful book.

It ostentatiously tells the story of a group of girls who are mailed invitations to attend a summer camp, and who accept these invitations, ready to head off to what they assume will be a week full of smores, songs and sleeping under the stars.

But this story goes places they, and you,will never see coming.

The mysterious narrator had me guessing from the start, as did the unique structure of the book, set up as if it was being run as a play (though the show more chapters are in prose, not script). There's the group facing off against their rich archenemy camp across the lake, the group running from a murderously mad former camper, the group on a heroic quest, the group who seem to have found their soulmates, and the group just trying to survive as their cabin turns against them.

McCoy plays with popular narrative tropes from both movies and books, and gives readers a fabulous Cabin in the Woods-esque feel, where we know from the start that our expectations and understandings of human nature are being toyed with by a talented writer who has so much more going on than meets the eye. show less

Many thanks to Netgalley, Lerner Publishing Group and Mary McCoy for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are 100% my own and independent of receiving and advanced copy.

Political intrigue. Think House of Cards for high schoolers, except teenagers are so much more ruthless than adults. A modern retelling of “I, Claudius” where ancient Rome is replaced by a Los Angeles private high school. Is this where we will find tomorrows leaders? Let’s hope not, but after reading show more this, probably, given what we have seen from the political arena. Has nothing changed? Not really. Is power the seductive - certainly. Does it corrupt - absolutely. A living entity and watching what it does to those students it comes into contact with - fascinating. From the outside, where it won’t affect you in any way. Does it turn good into evil and evil into…psychopaths? No one comes out unscathed, that’s for sure. We aren’t all good and all bad, but it does warp each person in a different way. Can you avoid it? Well, history has lots to teach us, but we don’t seem to learn from it. Many of these questions and more are raised in this fantastic, outstanding and thoroughly enjoyable read about the Imperial Day Academy.

Claudia McCarthy has a stutter and a noticeable limp as a result of one leg being noticeably shorter than the other. School has not been the kindest, most sympathetic place, with children often being cruel in their taunts. She quickly realizes that high school will not be any different. Her only friend is her sister, Maise, who sits on Imperial’s High Council. The school has two organizing bodies, the Senate and the High Council. The Senate doesn’t have any real power, with it’s main function organizing school dances and such. The High Council has more power than the administration, voting on a student’s smallest infraction with suspensions and expulsions. The story is told through Claudia’s perspective, privy only to people and events as she sees them. Interspersed between the chapters we get glimpses of the transcript of Claudia on trial. We learn that she is being accused of abusing her power as president of the High Council. How did she get from being invisible to holding the highest office? Claudia relates her journey that takes her from witnessing the corruption from those in power, to being enticed to running for the Senate and ends up being elected president of High Council. Her only intent was to weed out those who were abusing power and to restore the school to a safe, honest environment. How did she get into the predicament of Imperial Day Academy Board vs. Claudia McCarthy.

McCoy does an excellent job of retelling or reimagining the original. It is full of nefarious characters, intensity of emotions, depicting the rise and fall of a reluctant leader, all fo it just works at so many levels. Claudia’s rise and fall takes place over four years, crafted so well that makes it believable. She uses a play on the character’s names from Grave’s text - you have an Augustus, Livia, Herod becomes Hector. Her characters are deep and come to life, jumping off the page at you. It is dark with some violence, drugs, death, but nothing a young adult wouldn’t have come across in other novels for their age. Then ending, cruel almost - you’ll see why. There is al least one big flaw that I found in the story but I don’t want to get into spoilers in my review. I’d be happy to discuss in comments if anyone has the same feeling. McCoy includes two pages of discussion questions that will encourage thought and analysis. Something that can be done individually, in small groups or as a class. This so easily lends itself to be taught in a classroom setting, although I believe anyone would enjoy reading it on its own for pure enjoyment. It is too good to just be in a classroom. Too good to not be done in a classroom.

Definitely one of my stand out reads of 2018. show less

"Don't believe anything they say."

Those were the last words that Annie spoke to Alice before turning her back on their family and vanishing without a trace. Alice spent four years waiting and wondering when the impossibly glamorous sister she idolized would return to her--and what their Hollywood-insider parents had done to drive her away.

When Annie does turn up, the blond, broken stranger lying in a coma has no answers for her. But Alice isn't a kid anymore, and this time she won't let show more anything stand between her and the truth, no matter how ugly. The search for those who beat Annie and left her for dead leads Alice into a treacherous world of tough-talking private eyes, psychopathic movie stars, and troubled starlets--and onto the trail of a young runaway who is the sole witness to an unspeakable crime. What this girl knows could shut down a criminal syndicate and put Annie's attacker behind bars--if Alice can find her first. And she isn't the only one looking? show less