Rites of Spring (Break): An Ivy League Novel

The third installment to Peterfreund's Rose & Grave series follows the Diggers-members of Eli University's elite, secret society Rose & Grave-on a spring break trip fraught with intrigue. Amy ""Bugaboo"" Haskel can't wait for her first visit to the society's private Florida island, Cavador Key: a prank gone awry against a rival society has loaded Amy's spring semester with petty revenge plots. The pranking takes a sinister turn at Cavador, where Amy nearly drowns after her lifejacket appears to have been tampered with. And there's a small band of weirdos on the periphery, as well (a disgraced government official and his family are on the island, and a gaggle of Rose & Grave conspiracy theorists are camped out on the next island over). As tension escalates, Peterfreund adds an appealing romance subplot. While the stakes are uneven and the climax is predictably soggy, the novel moves fast, packs some laughs and does its job as a light diversion.