It is her first novel.
STORY SUMMARY
In the northwest, hilly corner of Connecticut, on winding rural roads, there is an all-girls boarding school named Atwater. It is for the best and smartest young women. It's known as a haven for progressive thinkers and feminist intellectuals and it was founded in 1813.
One early autumn morning, when the new students are arriving on campus, all set to start their academic year, they're met with some startling news: an Atwater alumna has made an allegation of sexual misconduct against an unidentified teacher. It is now 2015. She said this happened in 1995. The thing that is startling to most is that this teacher is still employed by the school!
Rumors begin to swirl and the weeks go on. The administration's attempts to control this crisis fall short and it forces the Atwater teens to discover their voices as well as their power.
"What does it mean to grow up in a place that promises the world....when the world still isn't yours for the taking?" (taken from the jacket cover).
MY THOUGHTS
This is a good look at modern teenaged girls. It shows the various perspectives of many different girls, in the different grades. Some are gay, some are straight. Some are sportsy, some are artsy. Some have sexual experience and many do not.
I enjoyed the diversity of the characters. I really got frustrated though because i wanted the problem to be solved yet it never really is (kind of like real life, right?).
I do like that the author had the adults in the book appear to not fully understand the very people (girls) they're trying to lead, influence and teach. The adults in this book have a certain power yet it's the girls who are more mature!
The main themes in this story seem to be: sexual consent, classism, gender issues, racism, abuse, power dynamics, boundaries.
The character development and setting is spot on.
However, the plot is all over the place and although I understand the point of showing each girl's perspective (the main girls in the book were 2-3 from each class), nothing is truly resolved or finalized. It sort of just ends with graduation.
I only found a couple of editing errors.
In my opinion, this book is appropriate for ages 14 and older (although there is some mature content).
On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest, I rate this an 8.
1 comment:
I tend to not like ambiguous endings unless I know it's a series and there is more coming.
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