Briarcliff Prep

October 15, 2024
In this follow-up to the 2022 series opener, a Black teen struggles with anxiety while she's away from home at a Georgia boarding school. After Avielle and her sister, Belle, were physically attacked by Belle's ex-boyfriend, their father declared a Summer of Survival Instincts for the entire family. In addition to boxing, Avi took weightlifting, driving, and self-defense courses. Now, after what she thinks of as her "summer of torture," she's eager to return to Briarcliff Prep for sophomore year. As a first-year student, Avi started to discover her independence, but now she's consumed with worry. She experiences panic attacks and night terrors, and she's more forgetful than ever before. Plus her relationships with both Quincy, her ex, and her best friends are in trouble. But Avi has an idea for a student lifestyle magazine unique to the experience of students at Historically Black Boarding Schools, a project that she hopes will be a creative outlet not just for herself but for all the girls at Briarcliff as well as students at Preston, the boys' school next door. When the pressure of juggling everything gets to be too much, Avi is diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder and must decide if medication is the right choice for her. The book's major strength is in how mental health care is portrayed: Peppins thoughtfully unpacks stigmas around medication while also exploring other options, including therapy and grounding techniques. A satisfying series entry with affirming mental health representation. (content note)(Fiction. 14-18)

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August 15, 2022
A 14-year-old girl discovers a dangerous secret that puts her relationships to the test. Avielle LeBeau has dreamed of carrying on her family's legacy of attending Historically Black Boarding Schools at Briarcliff Preparatory School for Girls, especially since it means being with her older sister, Belle, and near her twin brothers, who attend all-boys Preston Academy. Despite her excitement, Avi worries about landing a spot on the prestigious school paper and adjusting to life away from home. Her hectic schedule fills with extracurriculars, homework, a budding romance, and social events--but it doesn't escape her notice that Belle's boyfriend seems off. Avi notices how controlling he is, telling Belle how to dress and who to be friends with, and after witnessing an explosive argument between them, she knows something is wrong. Suddenly Avi's problems seem small as this larger crisis unfolds. Debut author Peppins' thoughtful, realistic writing shows the alienation that victims of domestic violence endure along with the impact it can have on those who love them but have a limited ability to bring about real change. Through limited omniscient narration, readers enjoy a detailed account of Avi's life at an HBBS; however, the author doesn't skimp on the characterizations of members of Avi's core support system. Many people and subjects significant to Black culture are woven into the story and will spark recognition for many readers. A necessary story, full of emotion and with a hopeful ending. (author's note) (Fiction. 14-18)

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January 1, 2023

Gr 8 Up-Told in third-person point of view, this novel follows 14-year-old Avi as she begins her freshman year at Briarcliff Prep, a fictional Historically Black Boarding School, or HBBS. Other members of Avi's family have also attended Briarcliff Prep, and her older sister, Belle, is a current student who has established relationships and friendships. Avi is excited but nervous and quickly becomes friends with her roommate, Zazie, and another freshman, Rhyon. Peppins draws from personal experience to create this authentic high school experience in a place where most of the characters are Black or of color. Avi is a writer who is applying and submitting samples to win a coveted position on Briarcliff's prestigious school newspaper. Just as Avi is settling into school and forming her own connections, she begins to see red flags in her sister's relationship. Peppins tackles the issue of teen domestic abuse thoughtfully, in a way that will feel authentic to readers. VERDICT This debut novel is very character driven and will make a great addition for collections that need realistic fiction with strong worldbuilding and character development.-Helen Prince

Copyright 2023 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from November 1, 2022
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* Avielle is in her first year of high school at a historically Black boarding school for girls where she joins her older sister (a senior). Of course, there's an all-boys school across the way, where her sophomore twin brothers attend. Since parents and guardians are not in the day-to-day, the main characters go through the school year with a bit more freedom and agency than is usually typical in a YA novel. Soon enough, Avi notices things about her sister's boyfriend that nobody else wants to accept, which eventually becomes a crisis that will test her mettle. Meanwhile, she has to juggle her classes and her own problems, such as how to get her creative writing out there. Peppins' debut explores a variety of themes, illustrating sisterhood, positive and non-positive models of parenting and relationships, and how those can be affected by violence, abuse, and secrets. The third-person narrative effectively takes on gender and race in a realistic setting with characters who all feel real and true. Peppins treats her characters and topic carefully, gracefully taking on the themes and using the boarding school's classes to emphasize the importance of Black writers and icons in helping young people bolster their own understanding of the strength of their identity and community. A fresh and thoughtful take on the boarding school setting.

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Starred review from October 31, 2022
Avielle LeBeau is an incoming freshman at prestigious Briarcliff Preparatory School for Girls, a Historically Black Boarding School in Georgia attended largely by affluent Black teens. Avi is excited to finally be in the same school system as her older siblings, especially her sister Belle, a senior and the most promising performer of Briarcliff’s dance troupe, the Cheetahnaires. Avi also has her own aspirations: she’s set on making a good impression with the staff of Briarcliff’s student newspaper Cliff News, determined to become their creative writing columnist. Avi doesn’t take long to make new friends, and she soon develops feelings for her handsome math tutor Quincy, who goes to the neighboring all-boys school and happens to be her older brother’s best friend. But when Avi witnesses Belle’s boyfriend, the Briarcliff headmaster’s son, physically assaulting Belle, Avi struggles to advocate for justice and maintain her fledgling social life at school. Brimming with a wealth of pop culture references—Belle dreams of modeling her career after “Beyoncé’s dance captain”—and told via a limited omniscient viewpoint that renders Avi’s life and the people around her in expertly nuanced detail, this powerful debut compassionately tackles themes of class privilege and domestic violence. Ages 14–up. Agent: Jas Perry, KT Literary.