The Gifted School, by Bruce Holsinger, follows four female friends as they endeavor to get their children admitted to a new school for gifted children. The process strains their relationships and reveals shocking personal secrets. Since this book came out on the heels of the college admissions scandal, I picked it as our book club selection for the month and looked forward to a lively discussion.

Sadly, this book did not live up to the hype. Everyone was disappointed with it — some found it enjoyable but too “soap opera” like, others hated all the characters and couldn’t relate to any of it.

I didn’t hate it but I didn’t like it much, either. I think it was a story with a lot of promise — privileged parents vying/conspiring to get their kids into a good school — but the characters were so unlikable that there was no one to root for. I was hoping for ALL of them to be rejected. The female friendships, that really should’ve been the heart of the novel, were not believable. I also didn’t like the way that the truly highly gifted children were described in the novel — it seemed stereotypical and gimmicky.

Ultimately, even though I know a lot of parents who could be motivated to act like this (I was a ballet parent and now I’m a musical theatre parent, for goodness sakes!), almost nothing in this novel rang true to me.

I think this novel was a missed opportunity to discuss difficult, sensitive topics with nuance and depth. Instead, it’s a frothy, sensationalized soap opera. Can’t recommend it.