Review: Hacking Harvard

Hacking Harvard by Robin Wasserman
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Pub Date: September 11, 2007
Pages: 336
Age Level: 14+

Synopsis
It's the ultimate challenge: breaking into the Ivy League.

The hack:
To get one deadbeat, fully unqualified slacker into the most prestigious school in the country.

The crew:
Eric Roth -- the good guy, the voice of reason.
Max Kim -- the player who made the bet in the first place.
Schwarz -- the kid genius already on the inside...of Harvard, that is.
Lex -- the beauty-queen valedictorian who insists on getting in the game.

The plan:
Use only the most undetectable schemes and techno-brilliant skills. Don't break the Hacker's Code. Don't get distracted. Don't get caught. Take down someone who deserves it.

The stakes:
A lot higher than they think.
They've got the players, the plot, and soon -- the prize.
It's go time.

Review

When I first started reading Hacking Harvard, I thought, "Oh no! We have a dud." Well, thankfully I was wrong and it quickly picked up the pace. Of course, I’ve learned to give a book more than 20 pages before judging it.

Hacking Harvard was snarky, witty, and very fast paced. It was fun and I often found myself laughing. It was also very original though it kind of reminded me of a movie called The Perfect Score.

The characters were well developed and authentic, each having their own distinct personality that separated them from the rest. There is Eric, the level-headed and righteous one of the group. Then we have Max who is all about the money and extremely impulsive. Schwarz is the geek of all geeks. At 16 he is a freshman at Harvard and the more gullible one of the three friends. Last, but definitely not least, we have Lex, our narrator. She’s sassy, smart, and will do whatever it takes to win. I felt that I could see a little bit of myself in each of the characters, which is something I really loved about this book.

I thought Robin Wasserman did a superb job writing the dialogue, especially for the guys. However the random changes from first person to third person narrative could get a little confusing. Well, for me anyway.

The ending was satisfactory and tied everything up well but it was very brief and I couldn’t help but feel that the whole book was spent leading up to the result only to end too suddenly. Although, I must say Wasserman had some terrific last sentences to end the book with.

All in all, it was a fun, quick, and enjoyable read that made me laugh and smile. Will I re-read it? Yes, I definitely plan to. It was a great story and I recommend this book to anyone looking for something to cheer them up, give them a good laugh, or who just want something good to read.

Grade
Characters: B+

Writing: B

Plot: B

Ending: B-

Cover: A

Recommendable: B+

Overall: B