rush ('rəsh) [14 c.] v.
1: to entertain prospective members that visit a fraternity or sorority before making bids for membership. 2: to move forward or act with haste or eag e r n e s s—
Okay, so rush is my new favorite book.
— Nicholas B., Redmond, WA
It's funny, it's happy, it's sad,
it's really pretty much everything.
— Mariel B., Newport, RI
Bret's a junior.
He's a brother of the Pi Alpha Kappa fraternity at his Southern California university.
Pi Alpha Kappa Fraternity, California Epsilon Chapter
He's turning 21 tonight.
And by PAK tradition, he going to do the 21. He has to drink 21
- shots,
- beers,
- mixed drinks,
- malt beverages,
- glasses of wine,
- you name it,
before crashing into bed a year older.
But this isn't just any random night at PAK—the house is throwing its epic Party Formerly Known as "Run for the Border". . .
Which—at an anti-Greek school uniting against them—may very well prove their last.
Number 79 in the 2012 college ratings
But that won't stop the guys from partying like rock stars tonight. Right?
No one sleeps until the kegs are kicked,
the hot girls get hot-tubbed,
the PAKs regulate some dude from Fiji,
and Bret does his 21.
But there's only one problem. . .
Somewhere between the beer bong and the shot of Captain Morgan, Bret begins to wonder how he came to this C-list school.
And begins to wonder what he really wants out of life.
It's a beautiful night, and the stars are shining. . .
rush was featured on FOX's Good Day Live and in Entertainment Weekly!
It's less than a movie ticket for far more
than two hours of pleasure.
— Ryan W., Miami Springs, FL
I got it for my own 21st, and I'm
such a jackass I brought it to the
bar because I had to keep on reading!
— Matt H., Laguna Hills, CA
Check out this excerpt:
Number 8
“Keg stand!” someone was hollering. “Birthday boy does a keg stand!”
Brothers and others crowded around him. Bodies pressed him and he grabbed onto the dented metal edge. He let himself be lifted upside down. . . .
“Yeah, Bret!” someone bellowed by his ear. He took the thick rubber tube in his mouth.
People chanted: “Bret! Bret! Bret!” The music pounded on all around him. "California knows how to party!"
Ryan Yeager(meister) pressed the valve and the liquid began to flow, slightly bitter. Liquid poured the wrong way, upward, defying gravity, pulled into his body by the action of throat muscles.
“One. . .” a cry rose up, “two. . . three. . .”
The flow, its enumeration—this seemed like a beautiful system, a peaceful system that promised some sort of release, some assurance that what he was doing was right, and rage and disappointment exploded in Bret's mind as he choked on the liquid and his lungs began to explode at only nineteen.
They quickly set him down and Bret staggered backward. Some fat guy's face loomed up large: “Are you okay, buddy?” Bret nodded and the coughing quickly died. There was a collective breath taken and then. . .
“Yeah, Bret!” probably the same person as before bellowed.
His brothers shook, embraced, cheered, hand-clasped him. He was a boss. He fuckin' owned it. He was twenty-one and this was legal!
It's totally absorbing. . . I really entered this world.
— Jonas K., Brookline, MA
I think rush is the best book I've ever read. . . .
— Mallory B., Boise, ID
And you're about to discover a bonus most people don't know.
Like a true initiation ritual, rush hides a vast realm of secrets all its own. There is another meaning behind everything that happens.
On a level deeper than most readers will venture, the story is an allegory of unimaginable dimension. See if you can unlock its secrets.
Yes, we know they're going fast! If your local store is sold out, you may still be able to quickly snatch up your copy
online.
