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For information on the Quarterlife Crisis, please also visit www.quarterlifecrisis.biz ReviewsReviews of The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth, an Instant New York Times Bestseller and debuted at #2 on the Washington Post bestseller listAlexandra Robbins: "One of, if not the most, widely read journalists under age 35" -- WETA's InReads “Ms. Robbins has built her career giving voice and shape to the lives of teenagers....Their stories beautifully demonstrate things we know intrinsically: that being popular is not always the same as being liked, that high school is more rigid and conformist than the military, and that the people who are excluded and bullied for their offbeat passions and refusal to conform are often the ones who are embraced and lauded for those very qualities in college and beyond — what Ms. Robbins has dubbed Quirk Theory.” New York Times “Robbins has a gift for writing fact like fiction;...The students and their stories are thoroughly engaging. But their stories aren’t simply entertaining, they’re important. They are a reminder to all of us to celebrate our ‘quirk’ and that which we see in others, as well.” -- BookPeople “An excellent overview of the complex social environment of high school, told in an accessible and often humorous and touching manner. High school students as well as adults, especially those who are or were part of the "cafeteria fringe," will enjoy this book. Very highly recommended.” -- Library Journal *STARRED REVIEW*
“Insightful and timely… Robbins’s keen eye shows us how the eternal adolescent struggle between individuality and inclusion lures many students--and teachers--into a mindless ‘groupthink’ about what is conventionally popular and acceptable behavior. At the same time, she shows how the qualities that set her subjects apart from their classmates are the same qualities that make them stand out in positive ways. She ends with an effective list of tips for parents, teachers, students, and schools on how to support and encourage students who value ‘original thought and ex
“A useful reminder to all of us to discover and encourage the quirks that make certain students exceptional. Robbins offers real hope to adolescents who must realize that “it gets better” is far more than wishful thinking. The author has a gift for writing fact like fiction [and] includes a helpful appendix, “31 Tips for Students, Parents, Teachers, and Schools.” – Kirkus Reviews
“Phenom nonfiction. I devoured it… I could continue on and on about this book. But I won’t. Because there’s so much about it that’s a process and I want each and EVERY one of you to process it yourself.” -- Reading Thru the Night
"A fascinating read, and an important one for parents. I highly recommend this book." – Petoskey News-Review "Moving stories that are both triumphant and heartbreaking, offering a genuine look inside today's high schools." -- Winnipeg Free Press
Reviews of The Overachievers
"Impossible to put down."-- People. Critic's Choice. Four out of four stars. "I couldn't get enough of it. 'The Overachievers' is part soap opera, part social treatise. . . I was so hooked on their stories that I wanted to vote for my favorite contestant at the end of every chapter . . . It reads like very good . . . fiction, thanks to its winning cast, its surprising plot twists and its pushy parents, including one truly disturbed mother. . . Robbins is also a good writer, and she must be a good listener, because she more than delivers on the promise of 'secret lives' in the subtitle. . . At the end of the book, Robbins offers sensible suggestions for reform. . . Robbins gets the big picture right." "Quick and riveting." -- Entertainment Weekly "Thrilling [...and...] heartbreaking." -- The Washington Post "A must-read …. I found myself devouring ‘The Overachievers’ in two days, more eagerly than I might an actual novel…. ‘The Overachievers’ is perfect for anyone agonizing his or her way through high school and beyond. Robbins brilliantly captures the thoughts and feelings of a generation pushed to excel while offering insight for turning this pervasive and potentially harmful drive into positive motivation.” Intelligencer Journal (Lancaster, Pennsylvania) "All the kids are likable and the reader comes to care about them and their futures... Compelling." "Robbins' book is structured like the movie 'Fame,' if 'Fame' had been filmed as a PBS documentary. She gives us in-depth looks into the lives of a group of highly personable teenagers." "In this engrossing anthropological study of the cult of overachieving that is prevalent in many middle- and upper-class schools, Robbins follows the lives of students from a Bethesda, Md., high school as they navigate the SAT and college application process. . . . The portraits of the teens are compelling and make for an easy read. Robbins provides a series of critiques of the system, including college rankings, parental pressure, the meaninglessness of standardized testing and the push for A.P. classes. She ends with a call to action, giving suggestions on how to alleviate teens' stress and panic at how far behind they feel." "Interspersed with the compelling, novel-like narratives of each teen's hectic life are revealing looks into the issues these students face. . . . Highly recommended." -- Library Journal Reviews "Robbins' compelling investigative journalism traces a year in the lives of several overachieving teens at Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda, Maryland, a public high school often touted as one of the best in the nation. . . . The author concludes this eye-opener with suggestions for high schools, colleges, counselors, parents and students alike on ways to break the addictive, abusive cycle of extreme perfectionism." "Hot Type: Alexandra Robbins grades the lives of the amped-up, perfection-obsessed kids known as The Overachievers." "Robbins' account of life inside the sorority house . . . makes for fascinating reading. . . . Where the author really scores is in her analysis of why otherwise intelligent and sensitive women would sacrifice their independence, and often self-respect, for the sake of an artificially engineered secret society." [An] often startling study of college sororities. . . . Robbins's book, both fascinating and eye opening, tells us a great deal about well-to-do young women in America and about the pressures on them. . . . Robbins is a 1998 Yale graduate who has become something of a media celebrity largely due to her two earlier nonfiction books, both of which dealt with various aspects of collegiate or post-collegiate life. Robbins writes with empathy and affection for her college-age subjects . . . many of whom are 'sweet, smart, successful and kind.' The appeal of the book is . . . in its fly-on-the-wall details, reminiscent at times of reality TV. . . . Pledged is still a powerful warning and an astonishing slice of American life." "Outside my Sorority Life obsession, I didn't know much about the Greek world -- I had my stereotypes, but I wasn't too familiar with the facts. Then I read Alexandra Robbins' Pledged: The Secret Life of Sororities (Hyperion $24). For her exposé, Robbins went undercover as a college student, after being told that Greek organizations don't talk to the press. The narrative, which follows these girls through pledge hazing, hook-ups, sister drama, and date rape, is better than reality TV - it's riveting." “Funny but alarming” - People “We've all heard the sordid tales coming out of the Greek scene -- the heavy drinking, the startlingly old-fashioned values, the exclusivity and racism, the date rapes, the hazing deaths. Robbins folds all of these weightier issues into her narrative, while also offering an often humorous snapshot of today's college youth” – Salon “Fascinating and, in the end, highly alarming. Pledged is amazing in the same way that reality TV is amazing: It's the car crash you can't take your eyes off of. . . . Every parent of a college-bound daughter should read this book. And Alexandra Robbins: You go girl." -- The New Republic "Alexandra Robbins rips into the secret, sordid underbelly of sororities." --Vanity Fair “Compelling reading…” --The Atlanta Journal Constitution “A juicy read” – Pensacola News Journal “Fascinating look at sororities” – CNN “The wild sorority sisters in Pledged make the brothers of Delta House look like altar boys.” – Time Out New York “Cosmo contributor, Oprah guest, and Skull and Bones investigator Robbins offers a titillating take on sisterhood gone mad.” -- Kirkus “Racy” – Newsday "This book is a juicy expose on one (unnamed) university's Greek system. Alexandra spent a school year following four girls through two sororities, where everybody diets like crazy, has random hookups, and drinks a lot. . . . You have to read these shocking true stories." "Readers. . .will find themselves guided by an excellent stylist and a first-rate mind." "Inside a gloomy, forbidding Greco-Egyptian stone building on High Street in New Haven exists one of the most secretive and exclusive societies the United States has ever known. . . All this is vividly described in 'Secrets of the Tomb'. Alexandra Robbins's lively, penetrating, and witty account of the Skull and Bones, which to this day remains a remarkably elitist organization." "Sound, probing reporting. . .Robbins presents a delightful history. . .The details provide some keen insights into the culture, breeding and background of the Skull and Bones elite. . . Clear and clear-headed. . . A useful, often very entertaining and painstakingly responsible examination of an institution which, if not very important, will always be -- because of its mystery and its prominent members -- intriguing." "Tantalizing. . .Robbins provides a fascinating look at the history of Yale's secret societies and. . .an entertaining examination of the Order of Skull and Bones."
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