Author: Alexa Donne
Genre: YA Thriller / Dark Academia / Boarding School Mystery
Ideal For: Readers who love fast-paced whodunits, privileged teens with secrets, boarding schools that are full of glitz and danger, and a story that asks: what happens when your peers are your rivals—and every mistake could ruin you.
Plot Summary (Spoiler-Free)
Right from the opening pages of The Ivies, Alexa Donne grips you in a world of ambition stacked three-deep with tension. At Claflin Academy—an elite boarding school feeding into the Ivy League—five girls known as “the Ivies” compete not just for grades, glory or college acceptances—but for survival in a world determined to pick the winner of winners. Then someone gets into Harvard when they weren’t supposed to. And the next morning? Dead.
The murder sets off the thriller’s engine. Who among them is killing for a coveted spot? Who’s lying? Who’s desperate? The plot surges forward with twists, secrets, betrayal—and surfaces so many truths about privilege, ambition, identity, and the cost of winning.
Donne’s Style: Sharp, Relentless, Morally Uncomfortable
Donne writes with an eye for the glamour and the rot beneath it. Claflin’s mansions, exclusive clubs and glory-bound aspirations are rendered in vivid detail. But alongside that, the emotional landscape is jagged: envy, cruelty, fear. The author doesn’t let you off easy—her characters are ruthless, flawed, human.
The pacing is bipolar—in the best possible sense. Moments of sharp action, fast revelations, merge with quieter scenes where you see the internal cost of the race to succeed. It’s addictive.
Themes That Hit Hard
Ambition as a weapon. These girls aren’t simply trying to survive high school—they’re fighting for futures defined by prestige. Donne lays bare what that weaponised ambition does to camaraderie.
Privilege, guilt & authenticity. One of the protagonists comes from a scholarship, tries to fit in. The Others? Legacy, money, reputation. The class divide pulses.
Friendship, loyalty and betrayal. “The Ivies” club is at once throne and trap. Are their alliances real? Or built on convenience and fear?
Identity and control. In a world where every façade is curated, every move is calculated, Donne asks: when you’re one of the elite, who are you really?
Boarding School as petri-dish. The enclosed world of Claflin lets Donne magnify pressure, isolation, secrets—and the result is both intense and immersive.
What Works Exceptionally Well
- Character hooks you early. The dynamic between Olivia, Avery, Emma, Sierra and Margot is electric—each unique, each dangerous.
- Mystery that keeps twisting. Red-herrings abound; alliances shift; the reveal surprises. As one blog wrote: “twists and turns in every other chapter or so.”
- Voice & milieu dovetail. The boarding-school prestige, the Ivy League dreams, the backstage politics—all feel rich and authentic.
- Emotional aftertaste. This isn’t just “who did it?” It’s “why did we allow it?” You finish the book not only with answers, but with lingering questions.
A Tiny Caveat (Which Doesn’t Dim the Overall Praise)
If you prefer extremely likable protagonists—or zero nastiness—note that the characters here are deeply flawed, morally messy, ruthless at times. That’s the point, but it may matter if you want clear heroes.
Also: some reviewers felt the motive could have used more buildup. But frankly? The book leans into atmosphere, urgency and character so well that the payoff still lands beautifully.
Why You’ll Carry This Book With You
Once you close The Ivies, you’ll remember the crunch of early-decision applications, the hum of privilege, the way a library door closing echoes a bang of betrayal. You’ll think of the hallways of Claflin, the dinners, the rankings, the fake smiles—and the real monsters hiding within. You might even catch yourself wincing at your own ambition—because Donne holds a mirror to how competition can become desperation.
You’ll bookmark lines like, “I guess I’m a bitch, too. It’s an unfortunate side effect of being an Ivy.” You’ll tell friends: “Read this before college applications—check your soul.” And you might stay up too late just one more chapter, because once you’re in, the suspense doesn’t stop.
The Ivies earns five stars because it delivers a thriller that’s compelling, stylish and emotionally smart. It doesn’t just tangle you in who-done-it ; it digs into why. Alexa Donne has created a world of glitz, ambition and darkness—and invites you to explore it. If you love dark academia, secrets wrapped in Ivy League dreams, and the beauty of breaking apart the perfect façade—this is absolutely the read for you.
