The Gifted School by Bruce Holsinger
Rating: 4 stars
Published: July 2, 2019
Publisher: Riverhead
Pages: 450
Genres: contemporary fiction, women’s fiction, domestic fiction
Recommend to fans of: families with unique/gifted kids, domestic fiction novels, drama!
Synopsis:
Smart and juicy, a compulsively readable novel about a previously happy group of friends and parents that is nearly destroyed by their own competitiveness when an exclusive school for gifted children opens in the community
This deliciously sharp novel captures the relentless ambitions and fears that animate parents and their children in modern America, exploring the conflicts between achievement and potential, talent and privilege.
Set in the fictional town of Crystal, Colorado, The Gifted School is a keenly entertaining novel that observes the drama within a community of friends and parents as good intentions and high ambitions collide in a pile-up with long-held secrets and lies. Seen through the lens of four families who’ve been a part of one another’s lives since their kids were born over a decade ago, the story reveals not only the lengths that some adults are willing to go to get ahead, but the effect on the group’s children, sibling relationships, marriages, and careers, as simmering resentments come to a boil and long-buried, explosive secrets surface and detonate. It’s a humorous, keenly observed, timely take on ambitious parents, willful kids, and the pursuit of prestige, no matter the cost.
Review:
I won this book for free through the Goodreads Giveaways. Thank you to Goodreads, Riverhead, and Bruce Holsinger for an ARC copy. As always, an honest review. Also, I’m so sorry that it took me so long to read and review this book. Life has been absolutely busy, stressful and overall ridiculous lately. This is honestly the longest it’s ever taken me to read a book due to life stresses. But I truly enjoyed the read!
Like:
– Centers around a group of 4 moms and their gifted kids (reads like a women’s fiction book in that it centers around 4 friends, but with a literary fiction aspect)
– The teenager daughter that you know is going to cause a lot of trouble (loving and hating it)
– the underhanded drama and sneakiness of some of the characters makes for a wonderfuly addictive read
Love:
– For some reason, it’s so interesting to read about the dynamics of families with gifted children. It’s also interesting to read about these families in general (lots of gossip … please spill the tea, but without the over the top dramatics)
– Love and also hate how witty, mean, and smart these 11 year old girls can be – mean girls starting young – it’s scary good
Dislike:
-the hot tub scene between the dad and the teenage girl – while nothing sexual actually happened, it still rubbed me the wrong way and most of the people were incredibly blase about it
Wish that: —
Overall, a wonderfully highly entertaining read. Due to the chaos of life it took me weeks to actually read the entire book, but it’s actually not a slow read. The writing held my attention even when I would put it down for a week or more. I highly recommend this captivating book set in the world of families with gifted children living in suburbia.
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