Privilege Paperback – December 30, 2008

Ariana Osgood is obviously a girl that has had everything handed to her for her entire life. There have never been any consequences to any of her actions, because Daddy just buys them off. The necklace is a perfect example. She truly believes she did nothing wrong to land her in this mental hospital. Everything is everyone elses fault. Her victims "had it coming" or "they forced her to do it". In the end she finds yet another person to blame for her actions because, as she put it "she misread the person and their intentions". Rather than just take her punishment, she finds a way out. Breaking into people's houses and complaining about the selection of clothing you have to choose from to steal, is another example of how highly she thinks of herself. When someone opens their home to her and access to everything that's theirs, all she does is complain about how it's not to her standards. Now what I found interesting was, rather than try to blend in with society and live a normal life, she decides that's not good enough, so she finds a way to pick up where she left off two years ago, and get her privileged lifestyle she's always had. But how long can she keep this up? I really liked this book because it keeps you guessing. Things aren't as they appear. I can't wait to read Beautiful Disaster.

The Simplified Version:Plot: 19/20Characters: 20/20Writing: 19/20Originality: 20/20Entertainment: 8.5/10Recommendation: 9/10Total: 95.5/100Rating: AReview:This book really surprised me. I was glad when I got it to review from PulseIT, but I didn't know what to expect. Privilege is from Ariana's point of view when she's at Brenda T. Trumbull Correctional Facility for murdering Thomas. Kate Brian really did an excellent job of getting into all of the characters heads and figuring out what an insane person would think while they're acting how they are.How twisted Ariana's mind gets now that you're actually in it is amazing. While reading the Private series, you think she's just a cute little Southern belle -- but in this book you will learn differently, and some of Ariana's actions in previous books will be explained now.Privilege will have you hooked from the first paragraph all the way to the last page. I look forward to reading Beautiful Disaster just to find out how Ariana will survive and get by. I definitely recommend you read the Private series - or at least start to - before reading Privilege. It gives you a different perspective of the book if you have.

I reccomend this book series to everyone over the age of 12 it has so many unexpected twist in it and is soexciting you never know whats going to happen next. Great job Kate Brian.

I absolutely love this series! After reading the series in the library, I just had to buy them! I TOTALLY recommand this whole series! Kate Brian is amazing!

I was really bored and nearby the library, so I wandered in and randomly selected two books from the YA fiction shelves. This was one of them. (The other one was Airhead by Meg Cabot, which is equally as good. Lucky me, I happened to pick up book one in the series on both counts...) Last summer was the summer of Gossip Girl for me; they are lighthearted summer reading, but after the first two or three books it became obvious that ghostwriters had picked up the series now that it was a major blockbuster and the writing was really shallow and became less interesting.Not this series. This is actually a spin-off from the best-selling series Private, also by Kate Brian - except that this is the story of Ariana Osgood, the girl who got expelled from Easton Academy for killing her secret lover Thomas Pearson. (Not spoiling anything...it would be a spoiler to the Private series, but if you read this book, you've already spoiled yourself - it's on the back cover.) Ariana is now in a correctional facility, but she's got a plan to get her life back on track the way she wants it.It is amazing how Kate Brian can make you identify with, and root for, a psychopathic murderer like Ariana. Especially if you go back and read the Private series and see what kind of girl she really is - and follow the things she does in this book. But somehow, Brian draws you into Ariana's mind and makes you sympathize with her - even justify her most heinous actions, or at least brush them aside so you can read the rest of the book. Sure, there's a little suspension of disbelief involved, but for the most part Brian draws you to the end of your seat and makes you flip the pages. It's not just a shallow read about the privileged lives of a bunch of rich snobs - although for those of you out there like me who love the brand-name dropping and partying and fabulousness of Gossip Girl, that's there too. But this series is darker and older, much more sophisticated, and much more an intricately woven story with lots of suspense. You're unable to put it down. The end of almost every chapter is some kind of cliffhanger, so you can't just put your bookmark in it and go to sleep, you have to read into the next chapter. And the next. And the next...it's a great ploy, because after reading this book I couldn't wait to go back to the library and get the next ones - I had to buy them on my Kindle and read them right then and there. (Gotta love the Kindle!)So if you're looking for a series you can dig into, get this book!

While this book is definitely better than the average installment in the Private series, which this is a spin-off of, because of its depth and better plot, it turned to be a pretty unique novel. I think I'm not being exaggerated when I say this was a truly crazy ride of a reading on many levels. It spooked me, because I really can't imagine myself in Ariana's pants. They are terrible for her mainly, and for the others, also. And she is a bit disturbed, but I adore her (well, kind of - when she doesn't act stupid); maybe I only admire her in a way.I think the psichiatrist deserve to be fired, because he is wicked and unprofessional, and indeed.Second of all, Ariana clearly isn't a total psychopath, because she feels guilty. Maybe only a little. Alison DiLaurentis and Amy Elliott are, because they don't. The difference is not a trivial matter. Umpf. But I'm not a psychologist. And Ariana is so interesting... just like Alison and Amy. Maybe it's the A beginning the names. :P