The School Run – ARC Book Review

Title:- The School Run

Author:- Ali Lowe

Date published:- will be published on 29th February 2024

No. of pages:- 349 pages

Genre:- Psychological Thriller

Setting:- Australia

Rating:-

Plot:- 4/5

Writing:- 4/5

Overall rating:- 4/5

How far would you go to protect your children?

For parents living in the beautiful coastal town of Pacific Pines, all their hopes and dreams are pinned on the outcome of the annual Gala Day hosted by St Ignatius Boys’ School. To be accepted into the prestigious institution, their sons must battle it out, facing rigorous rounds of physical and mental tests. Their parents will stop at nothing to ensure their sons succeed.

But after one boy is struck down in a hit and run, the scandals, secrets and lies that entangle three mothers threaten to unravel their seemingly perfect lives . . .

How far will the women go to protect their reputations – and their families?

I love reading Ali Lowe’s books and this is the third book I have read from her. And this book is no exception.

The story talks about three mothers–Bec, Estella and Kaya. All these mothers are determined to put their sons into one of the prestigious schools in the country, St. Ignatius and would do anything to make sure that their son is accepted into that privileged school. The story is told in these three mother’s POV and you can see jealousy is playing through in the story. However, the real story begins when a boy gets into a hit and run accident and was left to die on the road, and that’s when things start getting interesting.

The story is fast paced and I have to say, it was quiet unputdownable and as a reader you are intrigued which of these boys will get into the school and which of these boys won’t get in and then what is going to happen after that. Not only that, the hit and run accident also made this story as I mentioned before more interesting and intriguing. The writing was really greater and I like how the author managed to make the reader feel like they are also a part of the story as well. Not to mention all the scandals and secrets and lies that are uncovered after the accident, which made the whole story more interesting. If you have read Big Little Lies, and maybe watched Gossip Girl, think of this story as a mix of Big Little Lies and Gossip Girl. Overall, this book worth 4 stars!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Hodder for the ARC. Thank you Hodder for the invitation to review this book. The review is based on my honest opinion only.