Girls with Bright Futures by Tracy Dobmeier and Wendy Katzman is a fictional behind-the-scenes look at college early application season at a prestigious Seattle prep school. Madness ensues as the kids are trying to apply to their top picks for schools and their parents are unable to withhold meddling in this momentous decision. When Stanford announces it will only be accepting one student from the academy because student athletes have filled all the other slots, it gets cutthroat as three girls and their mothers do whatever they can to assure they are given the coveted Stanford slot. One of the girls lands in the hospital after a horrific hit-and-run and her mother is left to pick up the pieces and figure out if college fever was responsible for what happened to her daughter while grappling with her own history that she would prefer to keep private.
I was quite impressed with Girls with Bright Futures! Based on the synopsis I expected a solid level of thrills and mystery, but I was pleasantly surprised by the development of the characters, the multiple viewpoints, and how real the characters felt. I don’t share their lifestyle by any means, but I know people like this, and I’ve heard horror stories about the ivy league application process that were confirmed here. I’m so glad that wasn’t something I ever had to experience first-hand!
I truly felt for the girls and wanted to throttle every single one of the parents. I understand no one is perfect, but how could anyone in this situation not see how gross their behavior is! They were able to call out each other but felt totally justified in their own poor decisions that affected not only themselves but their children and spouses. I can’t even imagine what psychological damage these parents wrought on their children. It’s hard enough to be a senior in high school trying to decide what to do next with your life without your parents trying to push you into their own unfulfilled dreams.
Tracy and Wendy wound this storyline so tightly, it was like watching a sweater unravel with each slight tug. Everything was connected to cleanly; each character’s choices unraveled someone else’s lies. The twists kept coming all the way through to the epilogue. After you thought everything had been revealed, Tracy and Wendy still weren’t finished. I found myself sitting in the car after I reached my destination or throwing in my headphones every chance I got to fly through this book.
I listened to this as an audiobook and was thrilled with their choice of narrator in Mia Barron! She was brilliant and I hope to read more book narrated by her. She has a clear, even tone, reads at a great pace that didn’t feel like it was dragging, and had fantastic voices for each other the characters that were easy to distinguish.
Thank you to Netgalley, RB Media, Recorded Books, Tracy Dobmeier, Wendy Katzman, and Mia Barron for the pleasure of listening to the audiobook of Girls with Bright Futures in exchange for an honest review.
Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org. I may earn a commission from purchases made through any above links.