Lauren Triplett and her family are on their way to Atwater School, an elite girls school, where Lauren will be a student. As they approach the school there are small signs along the road saying “A Rapist Works Here.” Lauren applied because her friend Grace was going there and the brochures from the school were so inviting. Now she has to deal with the reality.
The rape happened years ago. A former student finally came forward with the story. Now the school is desperately trying to deal with the aftermath. Although the allegations are not new, the fallout is affecting all the girls presently at the school.
The story is not a mystery, but rather a character study of girls growing up, dealing with their own sexuality, and the problems of friendship in an all female environment. This book is almost a series of short stories since each chapter is devoted to one of nine girls. Although it was interesting to get so many perspectives, I felt the story lacked cohesion.
The setting was well done. Descriptions of the buildings and grounds were inviting. The timeline stayed close to the typical events of a school year. Although the writing was good, I found it hard to get immersed in the book because of the shifting points of view. Because of the subject matter and age of the subjects, teenage girls may find it more interesting.
I received this book from St. Martin’s Press for this review.
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