Tuesday, May 22, 2018

Tradition by Brendan Kiely

Tradition by Brendan Kiely is a powerful and important novel about privilege, expectations, power, but most importantly about doing what is right.  This book should help to open the eyes of the reader to the dangerous nature of tradition in an every changing world. 

This novel is told through the dual narration of James and Jules, two senior students at the prestigious Fullbrook Academy.  James is a new student, one who doesn't quite fit, but because of his hockey ability has been given a scholarship for the year.  Jules is a legacy, attending the same school her mother graduated from years ago.  She has decided that she is going to take control of her future during her senior year.  But this ruffles the feathers of many other students since she doesn't just fall in line with what is expected of her. 

Both being outcasts at Fullbrook, James and Jules become friends as their senior year progresses.  Along with friends Aileen and Javi, their friendship is put to the test after Jules is sexually assaulted by an ex-boyfriend.  But Ethan has power at the school and is untouchable.  Jules and Aileen are tired of being quiet though, and with the help of James and Javi, they plan on putting an end to the dangerous traditions that continue at Fullbrook.

From Amazon:

From New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Brendan Kiely, a stunning new novel that explores the insidious nature of tradition at a prestigious boarding school.

Prestigious. Powerful. Privileged. This is Fullbrook Academy, an elite prep school where history looms in the leafy branches over its brick walkways. But some traditions upheld in its hallowed halls are profoundly dangerous.

Jules Devereux just wants to keep her head down, avoid distractions, and get into the right college, so she can leave Fullbrook and its old-boy social codes behind. She wants freedom, but ex-boyfriends and ex-best friends are determined to keep her in place.

Jamie Baxter feels like an imposter at Fullbrook, but the hockey scholarship that got him in has given him a chance to escape his past and fulfill the dreams of his parents and coaches, whose mantra rings in his ears: Don’t disappoint us.

When Jamie and Jules meet, they recognize in each other a similar instinct for survival, but at a school where girls in the student handbook are rated by their looks, athletes stack hockey pucks in dorm room windows like notches on a bedpost, and school-sponsored dances push first year girls out into the night with senior boys, the stakes for safe sex, real love, and true friendship couldn’t be higher.

As Jules and Jamie’s lives intertwine, and the pressures to play by the rules and remain silent about the school’s secrets intensify, they see Fullbrook for what it really is. That tradition, a word Fullbrook hides behind, can be ugly, even violent. Ultimately, Jules and Jamie are faced with the difficult question: can they stand together against classmates—and an institution—who believe they can do no wrong?

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