The Ivies by Alexa Donne

If you attend Claflin Academy and want to apply for an Ivy League school - think again. Unless you are one of the Ivies. The group of ambitious young women (now seniors) have done whatever is necessary to hobble the competition. That's probably too polite - they sabotaged their classmates so they be in charge of groups and have the highest test scores. The Ivies did anything to make sure they had their choice of schools. 

Within the group, each girl has to choose a school. The Ivey Leagues would never choose more than two or three people from each school, so no two Ivies can apply for the same one. Harvard belonged to Avery. She's a legacy coming from a wealthy family. No way her mom will settle for Avery going to any where other than Harvard. 

Olivia wants to go to Harvard, but she accepts Penn because that's the the rules of being an Ivy. She's never been completely sure why she was accepted into the group. She is on scholarship, so she doesn't have money and luxuries like the others. Despite her insecurities, she has always been grateful to have been included. 

Just a few issues: Olivia applies for Harvard anyway (unbeknownst to anyone), and one of the Ivies is murdered. I may be telling you too much already. Suffice it to say that Olivia is desperate to find who killed her roommate. Knowing how ruthless Avery and the other Ivies can be, no one can be trusted. 

It may be difficult to have much sympathy for Olivia knowing her part in hurting others, but above all else you want to know who the killer is (like we do). Aside from the police, she is the person doing the most to find out. Suspenseful and intriguing. 

For more info, check out the Indianapolis Public Library catalog and the author's site.