Rating: 
Summary: Read it
Review: Sweet reads for those of us in Boston, especially if you hangout in Harvard Square. Lots of familiar places mentioned. Im not usually into mystery type books, but this was a winner. Read it, its worth it!
Rating: 
Summary: An Unabashedly Lame Gimmick
Review: The Marketing
Before I read pjammer's review, I thought I was the only one who was the target of the "fellow reader" spambot from Jane Harvard. Now, I DO subscribe to a number of reading-recommendation mailing lists, and CERTAINLY don't mind if authors honestly told me who they are and why I should read a book (recently discovered Lee Gruenfeld, author of the delightful All Fall Down, this way). Pretending to be a fellow reader, suggesting that "I think Amazon might have it." is another thing altogether.
The Book
Well, I admit I wanted to like it. But the "comically rainbow-coalition-esque," observation of Reader from LA, captured the spirit of the novel completely. The charaters are so Politically Correct, to absurd lengths (Black! Ambitious! Woman! Bisexual! Vietnamese! Sex Machine! Aaack! Just! Shoot! Me!), that you find yourself silently wishing for everyone to die halfway through the novel. No luck. May I suggest that characters be crafted with interesting personalities (that can stand on their own) first, and THEN decide on a race, instead of the other way around? I think it would work much better.
The authors smugly asser their PC-credentials throughout the novel - a white character who refers to a black prostitute as "brown sugar" is a "racist a--hole." Well smack ME upside the head with a Clue-by-Four, if identifying somebody's skin color in an admittedly tacky phrase automatically makes you the scum of the earth, what phrase do we reserve for lynchers, klansmen, and the truely odious troglodytes of society?
The fundemental flaw of this novel is its lack of an authentic "voice." Like white rappers who grew up in the suburbs trying to rap about inner-city life (An aside: where IS Vanilla Ice these days, anyway?), Jane Harvard misses the mark every time she wanders outside of the pristine halls of Harvard. The grit and sex are laughably lame, and the PC attitude grates the nerves of anyone who has ever dealt with authentic racism. Thank God for Amazon's generous return-policies.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting Read - Novel Idea!
Review: The most impressive part about this book is the continuity created in the plot when it was written by four different people...The biggest drawback to the book is the fact that it was written by four different people...I did enjoy this book (see rating), however I got a headache not from plot holes, but from character holes. It seemed like each author had their own idea of what each character is like, showing glimpses of personality at different points of the book, but the resulting psychological gestalts are confusing to say the least. The effect was disturbing, but did make for an interesting read. The insight into life on an elite Ivy League campus is intriguing, and there are sufficient twists and turns to keep you turning the pages. If nothing else, you should read this for its pure creative value. It's amazing what a group of people can get together and do... for a grade.
Rating:
Summary: I COULDN'T PUT IT DOWN!
Review: The Student Body is a real page turner! I read the book on a plane going from Boston to Mexico City, and it kept me occupied the whole time -- in fact, I could barely put it down to check out the sights when I arrived! (And I stayed up late into the night to finish it). The book is terrific on its own as a murder-mystery thriller, but it also has the added interest of a very topical storyline, drawn from today's headlines (racial and sexual politics and biotechnology are among the issues covered within its pages). With compelling, well-drawn characters and clever, surprising plot twists, The Student Body provides hours of reading pleasure. I can't wait for the sequel!
Rating:
Summary: Fun for a long hot summer
Review: The Student Body is suspenseful, sexy, and hilarious. The setting is Harvard and, it captures the flavor of the college town and the city of Boston. Toni Isaccs, the heroine, is smart and resourceful and passionate about solving the mystery invlving her friends and classmates. Van is an unforgettable character, the sexiest man on campus with a hidden secret. Chase scenes and snide sarcasm alternate to make a really entertaining book. I'm so glad this is finally a paperback!
Rating:
Summary: Fun for a long hot summer
Review: The Student Body is suspenseful, sexy, and hilarious. The setting is Harvard and, it captures the flavor of the college town and the city of Boston. Toni Isaccs, the heroine, is smart and resourceful and passionate about solving the mystery invlving her friends and classmates. Van is an unforgettable character, the sexiest man on campus with a hidden secret. Chase scenes and snide sarcasm alternate to make a really entertaining book. I'm so glad this is finally a paperback!
Rating:
Summary: A Major Oxygen Rush
Review: This is the best book I've read in about two years. It made me feel I was living on the Harvard campus, and then it made me glad I wasn't. The tone is smart without being smart-ass. I particularly liked the various depictions of sex -- as in real life, it's sometimes scary, sometimes a drag, sometimes just plain boring....but you have enough good memories or unrealized hopes that you keeping looking for it on the wrong places. This is the kind of book that is equally at home in "Cosmopolitan's Top 10 Summer Reads" (which it was, incidentally.....don't ask me how I know that) and "The New York Review of Books".
Rating:
Summary: EXCITING, DANGEROUS, SMART, TITILLATING, AND FUN!
Review: This is the best thriller I've read in a _very_ long me--and I've read a lot of thrillers. The characters are all real people, with real emotions, as opposed to the cardboard stock figures found in most books of this genre. Even the villains have depth--I cared about them almost as much as I cared about the sexy heroine and her dashing friends. The plot is as complex as any I've seen, and yet Jane Harvard somehow manages never to tangle the threads. I'm with her every step of the way, but never ahead of her; she always keeps me guessing. This is a book full of mystery, sex, and excitement. I can't recommend it highly enough.
Rating:
Summary: A Genuine Page Turner
Review: Though the sex was less titillating than the implied coupling in an Archie Comics Digest, I found the book's pace brisk and the references to Harvard and its surroundings sublime--very genuine and delivered with authority. The anti-stereotypes were a bit overwrought, but the characters were drawn in an intersting, tounge-in-cheek fashion. I literally, could not put this book down! If there is a sequel (Jane, if you are reading, please!) may I suggest a Serbo-Croatian protagonist on the order of Boston news legend Natalie Jacobsen.
Rating:
Summary: TERRIFIC READING REALLY PUTS THINGS IN PRESPECTIVE
Review: TRULLY ENJOYED THE NOVEL. LET'S YOU KNOW THAT IVY LEAGUE SCHOOLS ARE NOT ALL PROTOCAL AND PROBLEM FREE. LEAGUE SCHOOLS ARE NOT ALL ABOVE PROTOCAL AND WITH THE BEST OF INTEREST FOR EACH STUDENT. SUSPENSE, THRILLER, I COULDN'T PUT THE BOOK DOWN UNTIL I GOT TO THE LAST CHAPTER. I AM SURE THAT THIS NOVEL WILL BE MADE INTO A MOVIE. YOU WOULD HAVE A LOT OF RESPONSE FROM THOSE COLLEGE BOUND STUDENTS OR THOSE STUDENTS CURRENTLY IN SCHOOL. THANK YOU AUTHORS FOR A GREAT NOVEL. ENJOYED EVERY MINUTE OF THE BOOK ESPECIALLY YOUR MULTI CUTURAL GROUP OF INDIVIDUALS WHO WERE YOUR STARS, CONSUELO SANTANA "CHELO" GREAT SOUL MUCHA FE, TONI, VAN, CABOT AND TO THOSE WHO WHO BELIEVE IN HIGHER EDUCATION.
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