In Jon Hart’s debut novel Party School, Hart aims to depict the party life in colleges, the differences between “safety” schools and “it” schools, and relationships going into college. 

While the topic of school shaming is one that needs more exploration, Party School takes a while to get to the point, as if Hart did not have a full plan for where the story was going to end. However, once it arrived there, the ending of the book was worthwhile.  

As a reader, the story was difficult to follow and engage with, because there was no set moral or life story happening. The book skips between Dylan’s, the main characters, college life, his girlfriend (whom he plans to cut contact with for the first three weeks of college), and memories.  

The book does an excellent job at depicting the difficulties of college life. The major changes and growth that occur when high schoolers leave for college.  

The ending was very moving as the main character decides to stay at his “safety” school even after being offered a place at an “it” school, and getting shamed for his school, North South. This really related to real life, this still is happening today. Students going into college do not just think about which ones have what they need or financial help, instead it’s what it looks like to others. Do they look superior and is it an “it” school? What will people think about where they go to school? 

This book had a great plot when it ended. It all seemed to wrap together, but still lacked preview of story line in the beginning, making it hard for me to want to continue reading. The lesson displayed is especially important and relates directly to the real world today.  

The story gives insight into the fears, worries, and reality of life. Overall, the story was interesting and creatively written, but the plot line was hard to follow as a reader.  

The book is available for purchase on amazon for Kindle and Paperback (new and used), Party School on Amazon.