Not since Bronwen Hruska's "Accelerated," several years back, has a novel dealing with American education absorbed me. Maybe because I have issues about mine; K-12, that is!
Anyone who has had issue with where they were placed in school, where they should have been, what school they were sent to, as opposed to where they wanted to go, will connect with this book.
I could not put it down. Four families, all friends, all torn apart by bitching and backstabbing, when the community of Crystal, Colorado finds it is going to have a free public school for exceptionally gifted children. And this does not just include math and science. It includes verbal, literary, athletic, and artistic skills as well. Hell, I would have wanted to go here.
The trouble starts with the mothers, who run the show, and start sabotaging other children's projects, and two of the most gifted, Tessa and Xander, are rejected for reasons of reputation; especially Tessa. It fuels rivalry between twins Aidan and Charlie, whose jock dad wants both of them to be the best, but cannot help favoring Aidan.
The big climax comes when Xander's science project, on display at the school, reveals a hidden secret--that two girls named Emma are half sisters! Wow! The fur flies then, the school director, whose name--get this!--is Bitsy Leighton--I mean, straight out of Miss Porter's!!!!--is in a whirl, and the kid who actually makes it is a surprise to all.
The kids and parents are just as bad when it comes to competitiveness. But the novel does make a case for kids who belong in different, rather than regular schools.
My story speaks for that, and "The Gifted School" not only grabbed me as a work of fiction, it reinforced all I had thought, before!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The perfect read, now that school is starting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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