It’s a Privilege Just to Be Here by Emma Sasaki is a funny and engaging read that peers into the gilded veil that is East Coast private schools and dissects the dynamics with a razor sharp scalpel that speaks of lived experience and years of rumination that can only make one chuckle after they’ve sifted through the bizarre experience of an independent school (and I would know - I’m the product of one 😅). Sasaki gets right to the heart of the story’s tension without unnecessary exposition, and it feels like a whirlwind story from start to finish with all the different players and dynamics, but it does an excellent job not getting bogged down by the unnecessary details. I read this book in a day because I couldn’t put it down, and its messy, realistic, and satisfying ending made me want to simultaneously cackle and scream, much like the main character wants to do all throughout the book, so I would say Emma Sasaki did a great job 😂