Shreve, consummate crafstman and frequent provocateur, is on fire in her latest novel, a mesmerizing read centering on a sex scandal at a prestigious Vermont prep school. The story is laid out in short, dramatic chapters narrated by a chorus of participants and bystanders, from the beleagured headmaster to the heartbroken parents to the vacuous girl at the center of the scandal. Three star basketball players were videotaped having sex with a freshman, and the tape was then posted on the Internet. The reaction is immediate and the results devastating, destroying marriages, ruining futures, and, most horrifying of all, resulting in a death. Part of what makes the novel so riveting is its graphic rehashing of a scandal familiar from newspaper headlines, but most of this affecting novel’s appeal lies in the way it so carefully fills in the nuances often missing from the headlines. One of the boys, the son of local farmers who was attending the elite school on scholarship, had learned a shocking secret about his mother just prior to the incident and, uncharacteristically, had too much to drink. Conversely, the girl ultimately calls the cops, thereby alerting the media, and accuses the boys of rape because it’s easier than having to face the wrath of her father. Shreve views all of the characters, even the most flawed, with a good deal of compassion, revealing the heartbreaking consequences of a single reckless act.— Joanne Wilkinson
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