by Anita Shreve
First published 2008
A videotape surfaces at a prestigious New England boarding school, capturing sexual acts that will destroy multiple lives. The recording becomes a catalyst that unleashes a cascade of confessions, accusations, and revelations from everyone touched by the scandal. Students, parents, faculty, and administrators find their voices as they grapple with the fallout from what began as a moment of reckless teenage behavior. Each person connected to the incident must confront how quickly a single poor decision can unravel everything they've built. The multiple perspectives reveal the complex web of motivations, desires, and fears that led to this crisis. As the scandal spreads, it exposes the fragile foundations beneath seemingly stable lives and forces each character to face uncomfortable truths about themselves and those they thought they knew.
Genres: fiction, drama, literary-fiction, mystery, contemporary, thriller
Vibes: dark, emotional, intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: multiple-perspectives, unreliable-narrator
Setting: New England
320 pages · Hardcover · Little, Brown and Company
Content warnings: sexual-content