The Most Dangerous Place on Earth
Fiction
Random House
January 10, 2017
Advanced Reader Copy
288
BEA and Penguin First to Read
A captivating debut novel for readers of Celeste Ng s "Everything I Never Told You "and Curtis Sittenfeld s "Prep" "The Most Dangerous Place on Earth" unleashes an unforgettable cast of characters into a realm known for its cruelty and peril: the American high school. In an idyllic community of wealthy California families, new teacher Molly Nicoll becomes intrigued by the hidden lives of her privileged students. Unknown to Molly, a middle school tragedy in which they were all complicit continues to reverberate for her kids: Nick, the brilliant scam artist; Emma, the gifted dancer and party girl; Dave, the B student who strives to meet his parents expectations; Calista, the hippie outcast who hides her intelligence for reasons of her own. Theirs is a world in which every action may become public postable, shareable, indelible. With the rare talent that transforms teenage dramas into compelling and urgent fiction, Lindsey Lee Johnson makes vivid a modern adolescence lived in the gleam of the virtual, but rich with the sorrow, passion, and beauty of life in any time, and at any age.
My review:
Where might this be you ask? High school of course 🙂 It was hard to throw myself back that far and remember, but I thought the author did a great job of writing about the angst and social issues most students face. Also, having a child who was on occasion bullied meant that I had an extremely emotional reaction to the first chapter. The rest of the book jumps ahead three and four years later where we follow several of the students introduced at the story's beginning. Some of these students I liked, some were annoying, but all were very well written. Interspersed within the students stories is that of a young, newly hired teacher who wants to create more of a friendship with her students. While I believe the point of the book was to make us see the impact the bullying incident had on each child's life, I did feel that it missed the mark a bit on some of the characters. It almost seemed that the first chapter was stuck in there, but not referred back to enough for it to have been there in the first place. It makes you realize as a parent, how much can go on right under your nose even if you are responsible (and clearly some of these parents were not). I'm fairly certain that I would not want to parent any of these kids.
Overall I thought this was a well written narrative of the high school years, albeit maybe a bit of a letdown from the first chapter. I'm just thankful that I've made it through the high school drama myself, and with my kids, hopefully not too worse for wear.
Thanks to Penguin First to Read program for the opportunity to read this novel. As always, my opinions are my own.
