Editorial Content for Boarding School Girls
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
Thien-Kim H., Teen Board Member
If you judge it by its cover, BOARDING SCHOOL GIRLS doesn’t have any right to be more than a lighthearted, fluffy escapade of clothes and snide humor and pop culture. That’s what I expected when I chose to pick it up. But like its characters, this book is not what it appears to be.
It begins with an epigraph from The Lady of Shalott, which should tell you a lot about what’s to come if you haven’t read the author’s other book STELLA. BOARDING SCHOOL GIRLS is the prequel and its events are seminal, so I’d recommend reading STELLA first. Anyway, next is a very cryptic prologue. A group of popular girls, nicknamed “Starlets,” are holding trial in a crowded school cafeteria, but they discuss matters of a friend’s death rather than social events, and one of them runs out of the room. It’s a disorienting and somewhat morbid take on a classic scene, and a few vague clues are given, but we aren’t expected to know anything just yet.
The friend who has died now narrates the first chapter (we are taken back six months from the prologue’s events). Because we know that BOARDING SCHOOL GIRLS will tackle more serious topics later, it is easier to forgive the seemingly inane ramblings about social outcasts, tweets and ensembles. Don’t give up after a few pages if the story seems a bit trivial; as one Starlet, Phoebe, says, “new challenges” are on the way.
Our main characters are Siena Hamilton, leader of the elite Starlets, and Romy Dyer, a former Starlet and now an outcast. Despite having only seen one episode of “Gossip Girl,” I can tell that Siena is basically Blair Waldorf with blonde hair, and Romy is a tomboyish Serena van der Woodsen, returning from a year-long stint at another school with a murky reputation. She’s not welcome at Temperley High because Siena’s second-in-command, Libby, fell off a ladder one night. But what really happened, and why did it happen?
The mystery is actually mysterious, and its outcome surprising but deftly foreshadowed.
The mystery is actually mysterious, and its outcome surprising but deftly foreshadowed. But until we truly know what went on that fateful night (did anyone else think of “Pretty Little Liars”?), we are immersed into a very lengthy and cinematic unraveling. BOARDING SCHOOL GIRLS is not afraid of going over the top in its portrayal of private school life, and though it may be hard to adapt to at first, it’s engaging and sometimes funny. “Stop trying to create symbolism!” a distressed Libby screeches angrily.
Those who cannot stand the Plastics from Mean Girls for the sole reason that they are mean should probably stay away from this book. The Starlets are petty and their dialogue is ridiculous on more than one occasion. But it is exaggerated enough to be clearly meant as a parody of its genre --- whether we laugh or not, we aren’t expected to take it too seriously. While the writing will not appeal to everyone (“‘Do you remember her Doc Martens with the multi-coloured laces? Never mind contravening dress code; I’m surprised they were even legal’”), it goes on to explore heavy subject matters like relationships and parental pressure with a blend of sympathy, depth and dry humor. The narrative is powerful though sometimes disjointed as it tries to balance a lot of topics and feelings.
The character development is effective because each character is capable of surprising us, some more than others. They are weirdly charming, from caring Jack to ditzy Phoebe. Though she’s the most complex and dynamic character, it’s possible you may still dislike Siena after reading. We cannot agree with most of her behavior, but the important thing is that we are always offered an explanation for it. Doled out in slow, dreamlike sequences, some of the passages are very beautiful, and you will understand her. Romy’s story is moving as well, when we realize who she is under her cool facade.
Published as SIENA in some editions, BOARDING SCHOOL GIRLS is a dark and complicated rendition of a familiar plot with some strong development. Comparisons to “Gossip Girl,” PRIVATE and “Pretty Little Liars” are justified at first, but the book does become its own. It occupies itself with the question of whether our pasts and backgrounds define us, and does so with a generous heaping of dramatization. You will probably either love or hate this slow burner of a tale. BOARDING SCHOOL GIRLS is a very bizarre story that manages to convey a thoughtful understanding of loneliness and insecurity amidst frivolity and glamour.
Teaser
Worshipped, envied, desired, and feared by all, Siena Hamilton reigns over Temperley High, the embodiment of the Hamilton legacy. She and the Starlets may still be healing from the unfortunate and horrible events of that night, at the end of last year, but nothing can shake her place as the head of Temperley’s elite any longer. The Starlets are nothing if not adept at dealing with traitors, and Siena is her mother's daughter: she knows how to be perfect, and she will not disappoint. There is only one person who could possibly get in her way.
Promo
Worshipped, envied, desired, and feared by all, Siena Hamilton reigns over Temperley High, the embodiment of the Hamilton legacy. She and the Starlets may still be healing from the unfortunate and horrible events of that night, at the end of last year, but nothing can shake her place as the head of Temperley’s elite any longer. The Starlets are nothing if not adept at dealing with traitors, and Siena is her mother's daughter: she knows how to be perfect, and she will not disappoint. There is only one person who could possibly get in her way.
About the Book
Worshipped, envied, desired, and feared by all, Siena Hamilton reigns over Temperley High, the embodiment of the Hamilton legacy. She and the Starlets may still be healing from the unfortunate and horrible events of that night, at the end of last year, but nothing can shake her place as the head of Temperley’s elite any longer. The Starlets are nothing if not adept at dealing with traitors, and Siena is her mother's daughter: she knows how to be perfect, and she will not disappoint. There is only one person who could possibly get in her way…
Romy, former Starlet, is back—back from a mutually-agreed-upon term away, in France—and no one is happy about it, least of all herself. She's changed now, though. She's trying harder to be normal, to dress appropriately, to blend in, to keep her head down and keep the secret of what really happened that night safe and hidden. But when your former best friends are untouchable, and you've betrayed them, you don't just get to come back—even if you're beginning to think they might not have been your friends in the first place.
In Boarding School Girls, prequel to Helen Eve's first novel Stella, revenge runs deep, old wounds break open, and the past can never, never be outrun.
