Cally is having a
difficult year. Her mother's illness has disrupted the family. When
Tristan, a social outcast, sends her a long serious note, she asks
her friends for advice, which is no substitute for adult guidance.
Their advice leads to tragedy.
The book follows the
lives of the students involved in the incident through their high
school careers focusing on Junior and Senior years when the tragedy
begins to take it's toll on their lives. A young teacher, Molly
Nicoll is caught up in the lives of the students. As a young teacher,
she has trouble finding her place between the experienced faculty and
the students and tries hard to befriend the students wanting them to
like her.
The teenagers are
well portrayed. The author manages to bring out the pitfalls of
adolescence when teens have too much money and time and little
guidance from their busy parents. I found the portraits of the older
teachers and school administrators stereotypical. Some teachers are
burnt out, but others have enthusiasm and are able to communicate a
love of learning to their students. The parents in the book were
uniformly unavailable either through illness, work, or pleasure.
Being consumed with their own lives left little time for their
children's needs.
The book is
appropriate for older teens, although I'm sure younger teens will
also be fascinated by the view of high school. Teachers could profit
from reading the book. It tells the story of children at risk very
well. However, the group I think would benefit most from reading this
book is the parents of teens. Parenting is not an easy job and when
you slough it off through preoccupations with your own life you are
risking tragedy for the whole family.
I received this book
from Penguin Random House for this review.
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