from Amazon...
Eric, Max, and Schwarz—best friends, brilliant teens, hackers extraordinaire—plan their coup de grâce hack: getting slacker Clay Porter, Eric’s third-grade nemesis, into Harvard. The boys intend their plan to take revenge upon the aging, white male admissions officers who determine every overachieving teen’s future financial and mental health. Then the perpetually money-hungry Max reveals that he has bet the threesome’s archenemies, the Bums, thousands of dollars that Max and his friends can pull of their hack, and the stakes rise dramatically. Wasserman, author of the novels in the Seven Deadly Sins series and a Harvard alumna, writes a story that is harsh, funny, sophisticated, unpredictable, and edgy. The carefully crafted story line is full of twists and turns, concluding with a surprising ending, and the central characters are multidimensional and multitalented young people who speak in authentic, clever dialogue. The vivid Cambridge, Massachusetts, setting and an ironic “don’t-try-this-at-home” introduction add to this memorable reading experience.
My review....
Hacking Harvard was an excellent book. I have to tell you that it was one of the greatest books, but not my favorite but it was still excellent.
Characters: Eric- was an interesting character, he was the tough nerd, But sometimes I was like "WOULD YOU DROP THE ACT!!??" I would yell this because it felt like he was trying to impress someone. He would get in on the hack in the first place and then he would try to make the hack moral. As if hacking into the most prestigious school in the country is going to in any way reach the ultimate moral standards.... He sometimes held his friends back, but he was also the care-taker, he was the only character so sure of himself, until he met Lex.... She sort of changed him I think. Their whole story (together) was adorable. Overall he was one of my favorite characters.
Max- was the cocky nerd, He was the one who started the whole hack, and dragged his friends into it. He was extremely cocky, he claimed to know all the moves and claimed to know that they WOULD win this bet and hack into Harvard's system getting Clay in. But as the story went on I think you begin to understand that Max, risked everything just to prove his father (who happened to attend Harvard) wrong. His father was the one who believed that if you wanted to successful that like him and his daughters (Max's two sisters) that you needed to go to Harvard. Max tries to Rebel against his father by starting his own basement company called XemonCo, in which his father is strictly against. Overall, Max was a sad character, he tried proving himself to his extremely smart friends, his family, and himself. He was my least favorite character, but I still give him some points because he was a pitiful character.
Schwarz- was the smart nerd, he got accepted to Harvard early, I'm thinking it was... 14? 15? I don't really remember, but I know he graduates at the age of 18, so... But, Schwarz B.S (you'll find out what that means after reading this book) was someone with no mind of his own and no self-confidence. He depended on Max and Eric. When the idea of the hack is presented he reluctantly decides to join. Schwarz was a little weird, in my opinion. Because he would compare real women to the ones in his Playboy Magazines. He would compare lots of things to his beloved vintage collection. Then he would compare the collection to the perfect amount of numbers, or whatever he said. He was actually funny especially those last few seconds B.S when he explodes and finally takes a stand! He was a good character, but sort of a push-around.
Lex- the girl, who was obsessed about her ticket to Harvard. Does something horrible in the story that i personally never saw coming. But when finding out this mistake, I don't think any one should really judge her. Because if anyone was put in the same situation as she was then i think that anyone would've accepted to the deal she made. She and Eric, had a thing going on... and she blew it!!!!!! But I think Max really helped fix it. She is the narrator of the story. She is my favorite character, but i felt extremely sad for her in the end. There's nothing more i can say about her without spoiling the story.
Clay Porter- was the deadbeat punk that they were trying to get into Harvard. His story you never hear about until the influential essay he has to write. That's when i actually started liking his character, because he really had a sad story. He also happened to go to the same elementary school as Eric, but wasn't his friend, but the terrifying bully who made Eric's elementary days hell. Even though they never became friends and Clay never remembered anything that he did, let alone Eric, they still became acquaintances, and that made me happy. Clay is also one of my least favorite characters.
Plot- I love the plot of this story and I actually think that Robin Wesserman is an awesome author! I hope to interview and read more of her stories. Even though i don't really understand how Lex, could Narrate the whole story, because there are parts where she wasn't even there... so that was a little off.
Any problems??- The only problem there was, was that the story became a little boring at times. And even though the end basically wrapped up what happened to all the characters, It seemed like it ended too soon... tell me if I'm wrong about these problems...
SO without further due.... I believe that this book is
worth reading!
4.5 stars
It's Monday!!!! I had to run to the library quickly after school to pick up a new personal book. So here I go! As you guys may or may not know, I am currently in a book club. In this book club I have to read....
