Taking the Reins

Finished May 24

Taking the Reins by Katrina Abbott

This teen novel is the first in a series set at a high end boarding school (Rosewood) in the United States. The central character is Brooklyn Prescott, who has returned to the country after living in England for the last two years. Her father is involved in government security and the name she goes by is not her real one, a precaution arranged for her safety. 

She is a bit nervous about some of the celebrity-related and wealthy girls she'll be going to school with, but also eager to make a fresh start. She feels that she has been less outgoing and popular than she would prefer. She finds that even though it is an all girls' school, there is plenty of interaction with the nearby all boys' school which caters to a similar demographic. 

The school does has some quirks though, like the requirement to participate in the school through doing regular work at the school. When she finds that she has been assigned laundry work, and that her shift conflicts with the dressage club that she's been pining to join, she must try to find a way to make it work. 

There is lots of socializing here, and we hear more about that than the studies, and we also begin to see the hierarchy that has developed at both schools and the way that the students interact even outside of sanctioned times. 

With romance, a bit of suspense, and lots of action, this book is a quick read.