The Beauty of Us

August 1, 2024
In a boarding school in Ontario in 1984, three young women wrestle with personal histories and present-day challenges. This novel, set at elite Thornton College, is told from three perspectives: those of young French teacher Nahla, who's originally from Beirut, new student Zahabiya, who's Indian Canadian, and wealthy senior Leesa, who's white. Nahla is hired for her first teaching position following the sudden death of Sylvie, the school's last French teacher. Zahabiya, an outlier in her family, is grappling with loss, a new family dynamic, and the fact that she's not as well off as some of her classmates. Queen bee Leesa targets Zahabiya and her newfound group of racially diverse friends. Beneath the surface of their ordinary school lives--including homework and love interests--lies something more. Sylvie's soul seems to be lurking and trying to say something to Nahla, who also finds a mysterious notebook that Sylvie left behind. Leesa, meanwhile, is hiding a big secret that implodes, affecting all their lives. The author successfully gives distinctive voices to all three protagonists, sharing their compelling family stories and struggles, their everyday losses, and their triumphs in the face of bigger ones. Over the course of the academic year, the two students and their new teacher come to terms with their own conceptions of family, self-confidence, and love and what it means to fit in. Thoughtfully explores crushes, crushed dreams, and friendships. (resources)(Fiction. 15-18)

COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

September 27, 2024
Grades 10-12 Following the death of her mother and her father's remarriage, 15-year-old Zahabiya is enrolled in Thornton College, an international Canadian boarding school, where she hopes to start fresh. Cool and collected 17-year-old Leesa, a Thornton student since middle school and Zahabiya's new housemate, is the it girl, manipulatively climbing the social ladder whilst holding a dark secret close to her chest. Nahla is the new replacement French teacher after her predecessor's mysterious and sudden death, and a bit in over her head. In alternating third-person perspectives, the lives of these young women intersect, thanks to a cryptic notebook left to Nahla by the deceased French teacher. Zahabiya joins new social circles and remains curious about Leesa, while Leesa is determined to manipulate and lie to the school to protect herself (and perhaps, someone else). Doctor's debut aptly captures the diversity of the high-school experience and challenges of teacher-student power dichotomies. With themes of family dynamics, social and familial expectations, and social pressures, this boarding-school mystery encapsulates relatable teen experiences.

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