The School for Dangerous Girls

by Eliot Schrefer

[Kim Deister]

I absolutely LOVED this book! It is very different from most of the YA that I have read... dark, gritty, and fiercely intense. Most of the story is set at Hidden Oak, a boarding school that is really a last resort for girls considered to be unmanageable. Many of these girls are there less for their own actions and more because of their parents' prejudices or inability to care. These are girls that have had less than stellar lives and now are on paths of self-destruction through drugs, alcohol, promiscuity, etc.

Angela Cardenas has been the "bad girl" for most of her life. Her parents were frustrated and tired of dealing with her, so when her grandfather became sick, her parents sent her to live with him. After his untimely death, her parents become convinced that she is in some way responsible so they send her off to Hidden Oak. This is a place that embodies all of the stereotypical darkness of a delinquent facility. It is a lockdown facility and the rules are strictly enforced. "Gold thread" girls are those that the powers that be have decided can be rehabilitated. The "purple thread" girls mysteriously disappear and it is an unspoken rule that they never be mentioned again. What happens to those girls leads Angela onto a path of discovery and a deep-seated desire to escape this dangerous place.

This is a remarkably intense and compelling read. It is dark and full of mystery and intrigue and twists and turns that will keep you turning the pages. It is also an emotionally deep story that drove me to tears more than once. This is a story about decisions, choices, and survival. It is a book that makes you question whether the ends really do justify the means.

The characters in this book were the driving force. I liked the fact that the cast was multiracial, multicultural, and all with their own stories and complications. There were many that were evil to the core, and many others with whom you completely empathize. Regardless of your feelings for a particular character, they invoke emotion.

Things to love about The School for Dangerous Girls...

--No sunsets. This isn't typical YA with the boy and the girl riding off into the sunset. Yes, there is some romance, but it is not a central theme to the novel.
--The variety. These girls are of all races, colors, creeds, and sexuality. They are of all body types. They are real.

Things I wanted more or less of...

--More ending. I almost felt like the ending was a bit anti-climatic. I wanted to know about more about what happened to Hidden Oak and the girls.
--More understanding. Some of these teachers were just plain cruel and I would have liked to know more about why that was.

Some quotastic goodness...

--She blamed me. And now, I was going to be punished (Loc. 58).
--Pay attention. Because I can destroy you (Loc. 125-126).
--You may never discuss your past with your schoolmates. Every girl here has dark stories that she would love to share late at night when the lights are down, but you may not, under any circumstances (Loc. 126-128).
--You could never undo a dangerous girl. You could only ask her to be dangerous for the right reasons (Loc. 4294-4295).

My recommendation: Gripping and intense, I highly recommend this book!