The New Class - Reviewed by Verona
Note: This review contains spoilers. You may want to read the book first. If you've already read it, just scroll down to the review.
After reading Lauren Brooke’s Heartland series, I decided to check out some more books written by her. Brooke mainly writes fiction books, and they have excellent plots. Chestnut Hill: The New Class is an example of a great book by Brooke.
Dylan Walsh is ecstatic because she has gotten accepted to Chestnut Hill, a boarding school with a prestigious riding program near Cheney Falls, Virginia. Dylan soon finds that being popular back at home means nothing to the many snobs at the academy. From ruining a shirt borrowed from Lynsey Harrison, who comes from a family "rich enough to be featured in Vanity Fair" to competing in her first important competition, Dylan gets a taste of everything there is to Chestnut Hill.
Chestnut Hill: The New Class is both interesting and entertaining. It is interesting because girls around the age of 12 can relate to Dylan's issues. Every girl has to deal with issues with their friends, be it helping them through a rough time or arguing with them over who copied whose look. The book is entertaining because there are different parts of the book that can be humorous and fun to read, like Lynsey's reaction to Dylan's oopsy with her Versace shirt.
While preteen to teenage girls can relate to Dylan's predicaments, there are also some matters of their lives that Ms. Brooke may have left out. Take the issue of boys. Every girl goes through a phase where she likes a guy in her class or on her bus or whatever. The only parts in the book where the girls at Chestnut Hill really interact with the boys from Saint Kits is when Amy Fleming (a character from the Heartland series) comes to Chestnut Hill to give a presentation to the students, but even then, the boys and girls were on opposite sides of the auditorium. They also interact when Dylan and her cousin Nat, who is Dylan's Aunt Ali's son, go to the movies with friends together to celebrate Dylan's release from detention. Boys are a big part of girls' lives and that is an important aspect that Brooke left out while writing the Chestnut Hill series.
Chestnut Hill: The New Class related to me in many ways. I too, have a cousin who I am very close to, like Nat and Dylan. I also share Dylan's love of horses. Obviously, since every girl has issues with friends, Dylan and I are alike in that way. I often fight with my friends over petty matters, and even though Dylan doesn't quarrel with friends over small things, we still share this characteristic.
As you can see, Dylan and her adventures at Chestnut Hill can relate to girls at the age where they are confused about what to do with their lives. From friends to boys, every girl experiences what Dylan did. Again, this book is a great example of the many great books by Lauren Brooke.
This review was submitted by Verona. Thanks!
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