This is one I probably should sit on the way I usually do with reviews, as I probably wouldn’t be as rapturous in description if I sat down and examined all the holes in this book (and it has plenty).
But man, that ending.
Those of you who have read my posts and commented before know my thing with endings: I usually hate them because they’re so predictable and inevitably disappointing. And the ones that shock usually do so gratuitously. I appreciate an ending where an author is true to their word, to the story they’re trying tell.
This one is. Whoa but it is.
This is the second Tara Isabella Burton book I’ve read, following Social Creature. I found that one to be a good freshman effort that examines female relationships and the need to fit in.
Burton, who apparently is a theology scholar (and does it ever shine through here), takes the kernel of that idea and uses it to tell a prep school story about exploring faith, community and sexuality.
There’s a real power in attaining something you’ve pursued for so long, and lingering in both the beauty and disappointment of it. I imagine many of us who attended our dream college (as I did) felt the same way. So I found a lot to appreciate about Laura’s journey, even though it’s set in a prep school. Burton writes her character with such sincerity and conviction that I couldn’t help but be moved by her and worried for her on every other page.
Yet what happens when the inevitable disappointment of imperfection happens, especially to a 16-year old? The story unfolds in such a sad way but the journey to get there is rich and meditative. Parts were sped up for the sake of plot, which did annoy. But the way they built to their conclusion…oof. It worked. And it gave me a feeling that’s sticking.
