published by: Riverhead Books
publish date: June 4, 2013
It is 1930, the midst of the Great Depression. After her mysterious role in a family tragedy, passionate, strong-willed Thea Atwell, age fifteen, has been cast out of her Florida home, exiled to an equestrienne boarding school for Southern debutantes. High in the Blue Ridge Mountains, with its complex social strata ordered by money, beauty, and girls’ friendships, the Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls is a far remove from the free-roaming, dreamlike childhood Thea shared with her twin brother on their family’s citrus farm—a world now partially shattered. As Thea grapples with her responsibility for the events of the past year that led her here, she finds herself enmeshed in a new order, one that will change her sense of what is possible for herself, her family, her country.
This was an incredible book. I was so surprised by how much I liked this. It looks like Anton DiSclafani has a second book out this year called The After Party. I will definitely be tracking that one down.
Thea Atwell has done something terrible and it has torn her family apart. In response, her parents send her away to a fancy boarding school/riding camp. It was basically a place for the wealthy to send their daughters to get them out of the way. Thea spends her days riding horses and waiting for letters from home. Until, she starts spending time with the headmaster. She goes from one controversy to another.
This book was told in an alternating fashion, telling Thea's story at school and then stringing out the tragedy that landed her at the boarding school. There was a lot of sex and romance in this book, which really kind of surprised me, but I guess shouldn't have been because what else is on the mind of teenage girls? Historical fiction/romance fans will like this one!
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