A review by jonid
She Was the Quiet One by Michele Campbell

4.0

You may think you have things figured out by page 28, but keep reading. Fraternal twins Rose and Bel Enright are shipped to a New England boarding school by a grandmother that barely know after their widowed mother dies. Sarah and Heath Donovan run a dorm on campus, with Sarah advising students and Heath teaching English. There is a secret in his past that must not come out because he has plans to ascend to the Headmaster’s role. Darcy is the queen bee of the fast crowd and although a senior, allows sophomore Bel to join her clique. This reads a bit like a YA novel, but the themes are on the adult side. There are good twists along the way and characters act consistently. The epilogue is great but also a bit annoying (and disappointing) — several threads are completely dropped and then (surprise) picked up at the very end. It felt like the author planted a few seeds a third of the way through the book and then totally forgot about them until the last couple of pages (or her editor did.). It makes sense — but a reader might feel overtly manipulated.