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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
Super rich ground to mine for group discussion. Read this for March 2024 Yorba Linda Public Library book club, but unsure how open people are to deconstructive conversation given it's likely going to be a bunch of geriatric republicans?
How do teens understand class, especially in a boarding school situation where different cultures and income levels/funding status mix?
What does it mean for our memories of our teen years - our own experiences, the social position we assume others held - are so at odds with our classmates' experiences and memories? What is the truth and does an objective truth even matter?
Is having a glow up and showing up at the reunion a victory? Or does it continue our inability to stop defining ourselves thru the lens of others?
What should the recipient of charity feel? Do we owe the charitable our gratitude? Is there such a thing as correct/right/appropriate motivator of charity vs incorrect? Why would the motivation matter if the end action is the same?
We value loyalty in our friends, but when that loyalty is held for an institution, a structure of power, is that necessarily bad? What does it mean to be loyal to a school, an experience, nostalgia? How can we honor the things we love when it has hurt others?
What does it mean for an author to explore well worn tropes that are nonetheless true and topical? Teachers grooming and raping students, boys hurting girls, black men framed by racist rhetoric from seemingly good woke white people.
Did Bodie do a good thing? Do we admire her motivations or simply empathize with them? Is the end result worth the collateral damage? How do we define collateral damage when the people falling victim are not good people?
Do you side with Jerome or Jasmin?
Why show Geoff sleeping with Bodie? Another teenage lost opportunity grasped decades later? Showing that Bodie is continuing her unhealthy patterns of engaging with unavailable men?
Is Bodie flirting with Mark Stiles ethical? How did he even fall for her clumsy and obvious line of questioning?
Is Bodie stalking and pressuring Beth ethical? What measures do we justify in the name of justice?
Do we like the litany of true crime cases, the anonymous yet recognizable details? Is it an indictment of tragedy as entertainment? Is it a lamentation of how numerous and common place violence against women is?
Internet mob, armchair detectives, vulture content creators. I still think it's all ghastly and unethical even if every now and then they might help a case or "hurt the right guy". Is the author saying the public hunt for and cancellation of the pedophile teacher is correct and right, only way to get justice in a flawed racist slow to fix its errors world? Or is she saying this is how people get hooked, this is how people get convinced of their own righteousness and become vindictive fiends?
Is there further relevance to her being a film teacher or is it a convenient mechanism for the teaching and podcasting? Will the podcast unfortunately date the book, keeping it frozen to the 2010s when the other topics it tackles are evergreen?
When we study film, we study the building of narratives. Was Bodie able to break the case because she understands how to break a story? She pushes thru even when shes barking up the wrong tree, even when there is no proof only vibes. Is the author saying thats good, she is a dogged fighter for truw justice? Or is she saying this is the delusion self-trauma motivated behavior that creates scary super fans and internet sleuths and netflix documentaries?
Is omar dehumanized in Bodies imagination, a black life and body made into metaphor, a gratuitous tale of suffering, a dietified saint? Bodie never actually meets or talks to him. Does she see him as human or as a tool to construct her revenge dismantling of Granby around?
What does the last chapter with Carlotta's ashes and Omar's failed overturn and the New Hampshire plants mean? Even if we lose in the end, there is beauty and value in the struggling? In the trying? In the people we connect with on the way? Doesnt that seem a bit blase and preoccupied when we are talking about decades of false imprisonment? Literally an entire life lost because of RACISM??
Lol at Paul Holes being thanked in the acknowledgements.
How do teens understand class, especially in a boarding school situation where different cultures and income levels/funding status mix?
What does it mean for our memories of our teen years - our own experiences, the social position we assume others held - are so at odds with our classmates' experiences and memories? What is the truth and does an objective truth even matter?
Is having a glow up and showing up at the reunion a victory? Or does it continue our inability to stop defining ourselves thru the lens of others?
What should the recipient of charity feel? Do we owe the charitable our gratitude? Is there such a thing as correct/right/appropriate motivator of charity vs incorrect? Why would the motivation matter if the end action is the same?
We value loyalty in our friends, but when that loyalty is held for an institution, a structure of power, is that necessarily bad? What does it mean to be loyal to a school, an experience, nostalgia? How can we honor the things we love when it has hurt others?
What does it mean for an author to explore well worn tropes that are nonetheless true and topical? Teachers grooming and raping students, boys hurting girls, black men framed by racist rhetoric from seemingly good woke white people.
Did Bodie do a good thing? Do we admire her motivations or simply empathize with them? Is the end result worth the collateral damage? How do we define collateral damage when the people falling victim are not good people?
Do you side with Jerome or Jasmin?
Why show Geoff sleeping with Bodie? Another teenage lost opportunity grasped decades later? Showing that Bodie is continuing her unhealthy patterns of engaging with unavailable men?
Is Bodie flirting with Mark Stiles ethical? How did he even fall for her clumsy and obvious line of questioning?
Is Bodie stalking and pressuring Beth ethical? What measures do we justify in the name of justice?
Do we like the litany of true crime cases, the anonymous yet recognizable details? Is it an indictment of tragedy as entertainment? Is it a lamentation of how numerous and common place violence against women is?
Internet mob, armchair detectives, vulture content creators. I still think it's all ghastly and unethical even if every now and then they might help a case or "hurt the right guy". Is the author saying the public hunt for and cancellation of the pedophile teacher is correct and right, only way to get justice in a flawed racist slow to fix its errors world? Or is she saying this is how people get hooked, this is how people get convinced of their own righteousness and become vindictive fiends?
Is there further relevance to her being a film teacher or is it a convenient mechanism for the teaching and podcasting? Will the podcast unfortunately date the book, keeping it frozen to the 2010s when the other topics it tackles are evergreen?
When we study film, we study the building of narratives. Was Bodie able to break the case because she understands how to break a story? She pushes thru even when shes barking up the wrong tree, even when there is no proof only vibes. Is the author saying thats good, she is a dogged fighter for truw justice? Or is she saying this is the delusion self-trauma motivated behavior that creates scary super fans and internet sleuths and netflix documentaries?
Is omar dehumanized in Bodies imagination, a black life and body made into metaphor, a gratuitous tale of suffering, a dietified saint? Bodie never actually meets or talks to him. Does she see him as human or as a tool to construct her revenge dismantling of Granby around?
What does the last chapter with Carlotta's ashes and Omar's failed overturn and the New Hampshire plants mean? Even if we lose in the end, there is beauty and value in the struggling? In the trying? In the people we connect with on the way? Doesnt that seem a bit blase and preoccupied when we are talking about decades of false imprisonment? Literally an entire life lost because of RACISM??
Lol at Paul Holes being thanked in the acknowledgements.
3.5 Stars rounded up to 4.
Thank you to Libro.fm and Penguin Random House Audio for the advanced listener access through the #Libro.FmPartner program.
Bodie Kane is a journalist and podcaster invited back to her alma mater to teach a class to a group journalists and wannabe podcasters. While there, the past of her bygone days at the school come flooding back--that include the murder of her former roommate.
This is not a fast-paced novel--it is a slow-burning, smoldering fire. One that you can't look away from. I loved how Makkai embraced the narratives of believing women, but a lot of the Me Too movement is shoved into the readers face. Overkill?
The beginning third of the book gave me vibes of The Secret History by Donna Tartt.
Thank you to Libro.fm and Penguin Random House Audio for the advanced listener access through the #Libro.FmPartner program.
Bodie Kane is a journalist and podcaster invited back to her alma mater to teach a class to a group journalists and wannabe podcasters. While there, the past of her bygone days at the school come flooding back--that include the murder of her former roommate.
This is not a fast-paced novel--it is a slow-burning, smoldering fire. One that you can't look away from. I loved how Makkai embraced the narratives of believing women, but a lot of the Me Too movement is shoved into the readers face. Overkill?
The beginning third of the book gave me vibes of The Secret History by Donna Tartt.
It didn’t *not* work for me, but it didn’t work as well as it could have.
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
It's amazing. How dare she honestly.
Murder/mystery with all the regular turns and misinformation, but done in a way that makes you hope for it. Bodie is a fantastic narrator, and Makkai truly brought forth a fantastic narrative.
Murder/mystery with all the regular turns and misinformation, but done in a way that makes you hope for it. Bodie is a fantastic narrator, and Makkai truly brought forth a fantastic narrative.
Gosh I really loved certain aspects of this book but I wanted more from the ending.
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
The pace felt really slow- almost gave up on it. A bit confusing.
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I love the concept of this book and I did enjoy it. I thought the part 1 dragged on too much (290 ish pages) and I enjoyed part 2 a lot more! But overall a fun read
mysterious
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The story follows Bodie, who returns to her elite boarding school as an adult and finds herself drawn back into the unsolved murder of a classmate from decades earlier.
What makes this book work so well is how realistic Bodie's journey feels. Makkai captures something true about how we bury childhood trauma and how it resurfaces in unexpected ways as adults. Bodie's process of uncovering and reexamining her memories never felt forced or too convenient—instead, it felt like watching someone make connections from an adult perspective that she simply couldn't have made as a teenager.
Bodie herself is refreshingly imperfect. She's come a long way from her difficult youth but has built up protective walls because of those experiences. Watching those walls come down as she revisits the past felt authentic and compelling. I particularly appreciated how she grapples with guilt over her younger self's role inpointing suspicion toward Omar during the original investigation, even though it was unintentional.
While the murder mystery serves as the driving plot, it's really a device for Bodie's psychological journey—and both elements complement each other beautifully. The boarding school setting isn't just backdrop; it's crucial to understanding how these characters were shaped and how power dynamics played out in their formative years.
What makes this book work so well is how realistic Bodie's journey feels. Makkai captures something true about how we bury childhood trauma and how it resurfaces in unexpected ways as adults. Bodie's process of uncovering and reexamining her memories never felt forced or too convenient—instead, it felt like watching someone make connections from an adult perspective that she simply couldn't have made as a teenager.
Bodie herself is refreshingly imperfect. She's come a long way from her difficult youth but has built up protective walls because of those experiences. Watching those walls come down as she revisits the past felt authentic and compelling. I particularly appreciated how she grapples with guilt over her younger self's role in
While the murder mystery serves as the driving plot, it's really a device for Bodie's psychological journey—and both elements complement each other beautifully. The boarding school setting isn't just backdrop; it's crucial to understanding how these characters were shaped and how power dynamics played out in their formative years.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Murder
Moderate: Bullying
Minor: Alcohol