“Party School” begins in Castleton, an insular, wealthy, village where universities are treated either as it-schools or party schools. Getting into an it-school guarantees your success, whereas attending a party school means you have failed.
Writer Jon Hart’s second book follows Dylan Mills, an average student who doesn’t make the cut to go to an it-school. Instead, he has to settle for going to North South, a small college known more for its parties than its academics.
Throughout high school, Dylan’s life was devoted to his work at the Luncheonette and his relationship with his girlfriend Rosemary Silversmith. He even joined the school’s hockey team to spend time with her. But Rosemary is going to an it-school far away. Knowing that they won’t see each other, Rosemary proposes taking a three-week break from contacting each other. Dylan struggles to find his identity at the new school without Rosemary, far away from Castleton.
When Dylan arrives at North South, it is a culture shock. It’s a quirky liberal arts college known for its sport of vertical disc (alpine disc golf), a motorcycle club fraternity, and its unique expressions. One of these sayings is from Dylan’s sociology professor, Dr. Berkowitz. When students make mistakes, he tells them, “Don’t apologize, make it better!” This encapsulates the choice Dylan has to make. Will he embrace going to a B-list school or view himself as a failure for not going to an it-school?
The plot dragged in some parts of the book where it felt like Dylan was just hanging out with the other characters. Despite this, I enjoyed the fictional world Hart created. Every character had a memorable personality and it was easy to picture the towns of North South and Castleton.
“Party School” is a relevant book for upperclassmen, as many teens face pressures from their families and society to get into prestigious schools. With the ongoing debate about college admissions, Hart argues that maybe it’s not the name of the college that matters. It’s what you make of it.
