Secret Society Girl: An Ivy League Novel » (Reprint)

Diana Peterfreund graduated from Yale University in 2001 with degrees in geology and literature. A former food critic, she now lives in Washington, DC with her husband and writes full-time. Tap & Gown is her fourth novel.

In a fabulous blend of the bestselling traditions of Prep and The Devil Wears Prada, Secret Society Girl takes us into the heart of the Ivy League’s ultraexclusive secret societies when a young woman is invited to join as one of their first female members.

Elite Eli University junior Amy Haskel never expected to be tapped into Rose & Grave, the country’s most powerful—and notorious—secret society. She isn’t rich, politically connected, or…well, male.

So when Amy receives the distinctive black-lined invitation with the Rose & Grave seal, she’s blown away. Could they really mean her?

Whisked off into an initiation rite that’s a blend of Harry Potter and Alfred Hitchcock, Amy awakens the next day to a new reality and a whole new set of “friends”—from the gorgeous son of a conservative governor to an Afrocentric lesbian activist whose society name is Thorndike. And that’s when Amy starts to discover the truth about getting what you wish for. Because Rose & Grave is quickly taking her away from her familiar world of classes and keggers, fueling a feud, and undermining a very promising friendship with benefits. And that’s before Amy finds out that her first duty as a member of Rose & Grave is to take on a conspiracy of money and power that could, quite possibly, ruin her whole life.

A smart, sexy introduction to the life and times of a young woman in way over her head, Secret Society Girl is a charming and witty debut from a writer who knows her turf—and isn’t afraid to tell all....

Library Journal

Yale grad Peterfreund sets her debut novel at the fictional Ivy League school of Eli University. Literary magazine editor Amy Haskel, a junior at Eli, expects to get tapped for a middle-of-the-road campus society, which would fill out her resume nicely. Instead, abducted by mysterious men in black-hooded cloaks, she joins the most elite society, Rose & Grave, a.k.a. Diggers. Conflict arises because not everyone wants women to join the once men-only society. The opening pages suggest intrigue, but the book is more of a coming-of-age story as Amy learns to appreciate herself and find sisterhood with her fellow Diggers. Perhaps because it is the first installment in the "Secret Society Girl" series (the second is due in summer 2007), the novel feels more like an introduction to the characters than a finished narrative. With much of the book devoted to college hijinks such as drinking and hooking up, it is likely to have more appeal for twentysomething readers. Appropriate for large popular fiction collections, especially those serving college populations. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 3/1/06.]-Lisa Davis-Craig, Canton P.L., MI Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.