Willa doesn’t plan to fit in at the super-swanky boarding school her mother sent her to; in fact, she doesn’t plan on staying long. Instead, she decides that she’s going to kill herself. Pembroke is unbearably posh and she doesn’t see how she’ll make it through the year. That is, until she meets Remy. Remy is everything that Willa’s not: cool, charismatic and effortlessly rebellious – people are falling over each other to worship her. So why has Remy decided to befriend little Willa, newly arrived from a small town in Iowa?

Remy, glamorous though she is, recklessly plays with Willa’s life and future, and her own. Ignorant of the fact that Willa’s academic scholarship allows little room for error, Remy’s own situation is quite different  – her rich father is on the school board. The girls’ friendship is well realised and is a clear depiction of how two girls can quickly become attached to one another in an occasionally harmful and co-dependent way.

When Remy spirals into drug use and a flirtation with a teacher, Willa has to make her own decisions about how important the friendship is to her, weighing it against life outside Pembroke. This dilemma is clearly and carefully portrayed in a way that readers will find relatable. The characters are well drawn, not just the two leads, but also their array of friends and teachers, and indeed the school itself, which functions as a character. Willa’s overbearing mother never makes a direct appearance, but her presence is felt throughout the novel.

Although there are romantic aspects to the story, the general lack of concern with love is somewhat refreshing, and the novel really is more concerned with the dynamics between the friends rather than romance. This is an interesting and complex read, perfect for older teenagers in the midst of their own big life choices.

Isobel Moore