We Regret to Inform You (★★★★☆)

Ariel Kaplan   •   Alfred A Knopf   •   August 21, 2018   •   352 Pages

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Mischa Abramavicius is a straight-A student at a top private high school. The fact that she’s there on scholarship has only motivated her to work her hardest, and it shows. She’s consistently at the top of her class with good grades and impressive extracurricular achievements. When the time comes to hear which colleges she made it into, Mischa is anxious but still confident that the acceptance letters will come rolling in. So she is absolutely devastated when she gets into…zero schools, not even her safety. Of course, Mischa is humiliated. But as time goes by, she wonders what went wrong and, ultimately, concludes that the facts just don’t add up. With help from her best friend, Nate, as well as a quirky group of girls in the technology club at her school, Mischa follows the trail of her admissions paperwork and uncovers some shocking truths.

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This book wasn’t at all what I was expecting it to be. I actually thought it was going to be about Mischa getting completely rejected from colleges and then having to, like, find a job and struggle to redefine her life. Ooooops. Not even close. In reality, We Regret to Inform You is basically a young adult mystery. There’s a good story in there, but it’s mostly a whodunnit. And it’s great! The book is light and fun, quirky and entertaining, with lots of clever banter between characters. It never gets too deep or layered, but it works. This is a perfect feel-good read when you want something engaging but not too heavy. It’s not the type of book I’d normally pick up, but I surprised myself by really enjoying it.

Thank you to Alfred A Knopf and Amazon Vine for the Advanced Reader Copy!