The Gifted School
2019
The Gifted School was a compelling read. The structure worked well, offering a wormhole into each family’s dynamics, plus a final perspective from a boy outside the core friend group applying to Crystal Academy from a different socioeconomic background. I stayed engrossed in the characters and wanted to keep reading, and I felt for the kids in the book, who were under constant pressure to succeed at the expense of their well-being. The ending was a mixed bag: satisfying in some ways, abrupt in others. The book also hit close to home, since it depicts the kind of high-pressure academic environment that led me to pull my own kid out of traditional school for an unschooling setup at an alternative school.
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