The Gifted School by Bruce Holsinger

THE GIFTED SCHOOL by Bruce Holsinger is a work of fiction with recent parallels in the news about admissions and financial aid scandals, including today’s front page story, “Guardianship Ploy Taps Aid for College” in The Wall Street Journal. In the novel, set in a fictionalized town reminiscent of Boulder, Colorado, four families are vying for admission to a new exclusive school named Crystal Academy. I generally agree with Ron Charles’ review in The Washington Post; the story begins a bit slowly since there are so many characters and relationships to introduce, but they are treated with empathy, not satire. In essence, they are a composite of people we know: medical researcher Rose whose “plodding” husband Gareth is a stay-at-home Dad, locally raised Azra with ex-husband fun-loving Beck (he struggles with balancing two families), widow Lauren, “smugly obsessed” with the abilities of her children, and Samantha and Kev, well-off and well-connected. These parents, despite their relatively affluent and privileged lifestyle, experience concerns that Holsinger aptly describes – and their children feel the pressure. One child is “always sorry. Sorry for sounding too smart, sounding too stupid, eating too fast, …” Another is described as “a living, breathing benchmark, a proof of concept for the over invested parenting they all practiced with varying degrees of obliviousness and guilt.” A relatively quick and entertaining summer read, THE GIFTED SCHOOL received starred reviews from Kirkus and Publishers Weekly. It is sure to keep generating buzz – meaning local book groups will likely be reading this.

Unclaimed Baggage by Jen Doll

UNCLAIMED BAGGAGE by Jen Doll frankly has a horrible cover, but get over it and read this young adult novel about three friends who learn much about themselves and each other while spending the summer working at Unclaimed Baggage - a store which specializes in selling the goods left behind at lost luggage. Doris, Nell and Grant actually each have quite a bit of emotional baggage, but somehow that helps them to be accepting of each other and to transform in an endearing way as the story progresses.   Doris is a free spirit, accepting of others and talented at finding lost items. Nell, a rising high school Junior, has just moved to Alabama from Illinois and is missing the love of her life. Grant was “Mr. Popular” and the star high school quarterback until his drinking was out of control and he was involved in an accident that injured his head cheerleader girlfriend.

I really loved the originality of the premise here and enjoyed the ready friendship that forms between Doris and Nell, eventually encompassing Grant.  This is a “feel good” young adult novel that simultaneously tackles tough issues like alcohol abuse, sexual assault, and racism. UNCLAIMED BAGGAGE received a starred review from Publisher’s Weekly. I also agree with School Library Journal which says fans of Morgan Matson will enjoy this book [despite the cover]. There’s definite appeal for late middle school and early high school students.  

We Regret to Inform You by Ariel Kaplan

I have some mixed opinions about the YA novel WE REGRET TO INFORM YOU by Ariel Kaplan. This is a story of Mischa Abramavicius, a scholarship student at a prep school, who has joined tons of clubs and worked hard for excellent grades and test scores, all to get into a selective college. Her friends accomplish that goal with surprising ease, but she receives rejection letters not only from her reach schools, but also from her local safety school. WE REGRET TO INFORM YOU certainly evokes a variety emotions and overachievers will find themselves in this novel, but may also have a hard time reading parts of it. I think the best fit is likely to be with Freshmen and Sophomores despite their distance from the college application process. My biggest disappointment was the absence of any really empathy from adults. Was Mischa so narrowly focused that she had failed to develop a supportive relationship with a teacher or club sponsor?  Just recently, The New York Times published an opinion piece about how important that is at the college level and we stress that for our students, too.

WE REGRET TO INFORM YOU has some funny moments, a light romance, and a fairly fast pace. The mystery aspect builds as some female STEM club members attempt to find out who has been altering transcripts. Readers will benefit from the reminders about how easily online accounts, include email, may be hacked and how little online privacy exists. In addition, Mischa and her friends, especially Nate, offer several wise observations as she tries to figure out who she really is:

“At any point in your life, you are two people.  There’s the Mischa you think you are, and then there’s the Mischa everyone else sees…. who gets you into college, or not. That’s the one who applies for jobs, and mortgages, and gets written about in the paper.”  or

“What would you have done differently? …. I would have had fun …. More fun, I guess. I wouldn’t have joined twenty clubs I don’t care about and studied very minute.” or

“You can see what all our struggles are worth.  They have exactly as much meaning as we give them, and not one bit more.”

WE REGRET TO INFORM YOU was given a starred review by Kirkus and by VOYA. I am also looking forward to reading Kaplan’s debut, Grendel’s Guide to Love and War, which received multiple starred reviews.