The Gifted School — Bruce Holsinger. A new school is coming to town, and every parent wants to make sure their kid gets in, no matter the cost. It’s a gifted school, only for the best of the best, the smartest students. The novel is set around four main families, all of whom have different reasons to believe their children are better than the others, but they’d never tell their friends that, of course.
Dude-Lit is a thing. A friend and I maintained a blog back in the heyday of blogs where we reviewed what we called "Virile Lit." Books about war, outdoor adventures, sports, and classic dude-driven detective stories. I think we maintained it for a year and a half or so.
I read The Gifted School and think the trade paperback cover is more similar to other books I read like it. Really making me unpack my own biases! I would have very different expectations of the hardcover and the paperback covers shown. I actually did not care for the book - I found the class analysis too shallow and the pace uneven. I still read it in two days, though.
Even the blurbs are very different on the two covers, “A deeply pleasurable read” on the hardcover and “The juiciest novel I’ve read in ages” on the paperback. That is quite the contrast!
Ohhh I hadn’t heard of this before but it sounds right up my street! The cover discussion is so interesting - I think both would appeal to me in different ways but they definitely do give off different vibes.
As a mom of two school-aged kids I’m both intrigued by and wary of this book. I suspect it will hit home in some super uncomfortable ways. Though the details are different, your description made me think of Little Fires Everywhere, which I loved.
Also, I have the exact opposite reaction to the covers. I’m much more drawn to the more “literary” cover, and would have picked it up right away, whereas the paperback cover gave me the impression that the story is about two moms treating each other terribly in that gossipy, underhanded way, so I would have looked right past it. I find that dynamic really depressing.
Dude-Lit is a thing. A friend and I maintained a blog back in the heyday of blogs where we reviewed what we called "Virile Lit." Books about war, outdoor adventures, sports, and classic dude-driven detective stories. I think we maintained it for a year and a half or so.
I read The Gifted School and think the trade paperback cover is more similar to other books I read like it. Really making me unpack my own biases! I would have very different expectations of the hardcover and the paperback covers shown. I actually did not care for the book - I found the class analysis too shallow and the pace uneven. I still read it in two days, though.
Even the blurbs are very different on the two covers, “A deeply pleasurable read” on the hardcover and “The juiciest novel I’ve read in ages” on the paperback. That is quite the contrast!
Ohhh I hadn’t heard of this before but it sounds right up my street! The cover discussion is so interesting - I think both would appeal to me in different ways but they definitely do give off different vibes.
Ohh. Adding to my TBR!
As a mom of two school-aged kids I’m both intrigued by and wary of this book. I suspect it will hit home in some super uncomfortable ways. Though the details are different, your description made me think of Little Fires Everywhere, which I loved.
Also, I have the exact opposite reaction to the covers. I’m much more drawn to the more “literary” cover, and would have picked it up right away, whereas the paperback cover gave me the impression that the story is about two moms treating each other terribly in that gossipy, underhanded way, so I would have looked right past it. I find that dynamic really depressing.
Your comparison of the two different covers really got me thinking. Why would the hardcover be more dude-ish when the content is exactly the same