A review by rlk7m
Pledged: The Secret Life of Sororities by Alexandra Robbins

4.0

What I loved about this book is that parts of it read like a trashy beach read, and yet this investigative reporting is my favorite type of genre. I can understand how it would upset many women who were in social sororities. But really, it's not like the information I read was all that shocking; some of my best friends were in sororities (and for the most part enjoyed their experience) and secrets get out. I know about the frat boys drawing Xs on body parts that need improvement; I've heard about the petty fights, the emphasis on beauty and money, but not so much brains; And anyone who doesn't believe drug and alcohol abuse run rampant are simply kidding themselves. Of course this doesn't happen everywhere. I think what I did find the most disturbing was the southern emphasis on keeping the white sororities white and how some girls who would've been wonderful sisters were excluded simply because of their skin color. I was also disturbed by the importance of Texas sororities, as described by the character Brooke, and how ostracized a girl was if she was in the "wrong" sorority. I would love to know how the advent of social networking has contributed to the inevitable in-fighting that occurs when 80 girls live in one house (and of course, among rival sororities).