From the boroughs of New York, to the beaches of San Francisco, girls hail from all walks of life, to sport the violet blazer, pink beret, and coveted ‘Galstanberry Girl’ title.
The Galstanberry twenty acre estate, flanked by a magnificent rose garden and horse stables, rises up from the horizon like a French chateau with interconnected balustrades and high-spiraling turrets that seemed to touch the clouds. It was constructed in 1926 by Mr. Charles Galstanberry, an earnest gentleman that believed a son to be the only proper heir to the vast family fortune. Yet when Eleanor gave birth to their only child, Aundrea, not Andrew, he vowed to make her as academically astute as her male counterparts.
Decades later, 5 girls—a spoiled equestrian, funky B-girl, skilled ballet dancer, freestyle poet, and clever debater—from different cities, socio-economic backgrounds and ethnicities are admitted into Galstanberry Girls Academy, a now world renowned boarding school in Connecticut. Their varied personalities and backgrounds lead to inevitable drama and internal conflicts. However, with each triumph and tribulation, the girls grow, transforming themselves and the academy.
In the first installment of the series, readers will travel around the United States to meet these 5 dynamic girls and Galstanberry Academy.
Synopsis taken from goodreads.
Title: The Girlz of Galstanberry
Author: Garen S. Wolff
Genre: Middle-grade fiction, Contemporary
Publisher: Wolff House Books & Publishing
Publication Date: October 10, 2010
Format: Softcover
Source: Received from publicist. Many thanks goes to Caroline and Teen Book Scene for sending me a copy of this book for review. I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review.
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My rating: 4/5
The Galstanberry Girls Academy is a prestigious school for academically brilliant young ladies. With the onset of a new year, we travel across the country to meet five newly accepted entrants into the Galstanberry Girls Academy. With the girls coming from completely different socio-economic backgrounds, and diverse walks of life, conflict is sure to arise. Lillian, Brandi, Fei, Tabitha, and Nisha are all going to be Galstanberry Girls, and are looking forward to this new opportunity in their lives.
Each of the five girls has a distinct voice and it was neat reading from their perspectives. It will be interesting to see how they react to each other as they all have very different personalities and assets that they bring with them. From debate to poetry, and break dancing to ballet, as well as a talented equestrian, it is easy to see why they were chosen to attend the Academy. How they enhance their skills and learn others will be interesting to see, particularly when they are thrown together in the same classrooms.
I expected that we would see more of the girls at the Academy, however this book as the first in the series is an introduction of sorts. We go across the country to meet the girls as they are getting ready to leave for the boarding school, and we see how they finish up their last days in their respective homes, rather than meeting them all together at the boarding school.
All in all, a cute read that I think a lot of middle-grade readers will enjoy. They will identify with at least one of the girls and will enjoy reading about the changes and challenges that come with the new rules at the boarding school. Though this book only has one chapter set in the school with the girls, it is set up for the second book to really bring the girls together so we can see how they will react to each other. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing how each of the girls reacts to each other and their new environment.
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