Who will you be at Lyrecroft Phelps?
At this school, only the elite are welcome. The students that walk these hallowed halls are propelled into success and acclaim, but behind the perfect exterior is a dark side full of secrets and skeletons.
Charlotte is the perfect student with the perfect boyfriend and social standing, while Max struggles to balance his scholarship with the social demands of the school and the other students. And there's Quinn, who has to watch quietly as the boy who abused her walks around with an untarnished reputation and bright future.
He needs to pay, to suffer - he needs to die for the pain he's caused her. People need to know.
Until now, the rule at the school was that boys will be boys - but now, boys are going to be held accountable for their actions. And our unlikely trio are going to be the ones to make sure that happens, no matter who they have to take down with them.
I'm as far away from that little girl as I can be, watching her, suspended in some dark antigravity.
TSEOS is a searing indictment of rape culture and the dangerous toxicity that outdated patriarchal standards spread through society. Written with a painful authenticity that I recognised as the voice of a fellow survivor, Rosenblum perfectly captures the unyielding expectations women have forced on them while genuinely exploring the shame and grief that follows abuse, and the deafening silence that can follow asking for help.
Set in the most exclusive and elite of private schools, the setting is suffocating and intense - you can feel the pressures to fit in, to succeed, to conform, to be quiet. The school itself almost feels like a supporting character, a villain in the story. With an almost lyrical, poetic writing style at times, the imagery invoked is so vivid that a simple school almost becomes otherworldly and alienating, with a intensely threatening aura surrounding it.
The characters are masterfully written - we hear from their distinct voices, jumping between perspectives and learning about their individual struggles - Quinn who is being crushed under the weight of the rage she's carrying, Charlotte who is glowing in the light of first love and terrified of her life changing, and Max who is desperately trying to belong in a world that doesn't want him. The intricate relationships between them are a testament to the importance of genuine friendship in our toughest times. All three are imperfect in the most perfect of ways and immeasurably relatable despite their differences and their extreme actions in these pages. Their stories eventually collide together in a fiery conclusion, but every little strand is important in this story.
With the cinematic intensity of a thriller and the brutal honesty of a woman speaking up for her sisters - this is a fast-paced, timely and climatic story full of rage and revenge that was dark and disturbingly delightful. A striking and unapologetic portrayal of the dark underbelly of modern life and the fight for our place in a world designed to beat us down.
TSEOS is an explosive debut that is definitely going to set off some sparks in the literary world this year.
Comments
Post a Comment