Lessons at the School by the Sea

by Jenny Colgan

Although there were two boys’ boarding schools in my home town in the the U.S., boarding school seems more important in British history and culture than it is in the United States. Jenny Colgan originally wrote this series about a pair of neighboring boys’ and girls’ boarding schools in Great Britain under a pen name at her publisher’s suggestion. They are currently reissuing The School by the Sea Series under the same name as her other popular books.

Having read the first book in the series, I was interested in revisiting the two schools and catching up with the characters. I was disappointed with the pace in Lessons at the School by the Sea. The characters are stymied by their respective roles and are frankly unlikable. There are two storylines. One focuses on the teachers and the other one on a core group of students. The two plot lines in the story overlap.

There is a new character in this addition to the series. Ismé is a scholarship student who keeps her three roommates at arm’s length. Suddenly, one of the roommates questions her own gender and sexual orientation and falls in love with Ismé because of a kiss in a play. The relationship seems contrived and unrealistic.

The only part of the book that truly got my attention is the efforts of David, who has to take a job teaching English literature to high school students at a low income school in a rough part of town. I was interested in his methods to draw the students in. He doesn’t give up even when they resist his attempts to get control so that he can actually teach them.  He is somewhat naive but stands by his moral principles and has a positive effect on his students and the whole demoralized school.

I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Rating: 3/5

Category: Fiction, Women’s Fiction, Young Adult

Publication:  March 7, 2023—Avon and HARPER

Memorable Lines:

“But everyone here is so rich and knows everything and how to get by…” Maggie stared out the window. “Nah,” she said. “They’re faking it just as much as anybody else. Posh people are just better at pretending.”

She couldn’t bear to think that any Downey girl—any student who had ever been in her care—would be capable of doing such a thing. But she knew this was bias, that people did do horrible things on the internet, every single second of the day.

“…if you behaved like a bad person, whatever your intentions, it was entirely possible that you would become one.”

Special Memorable Quote for Those Who Love All Things Bookish:

On Saturday morning she had driven all the way into Exeter, which had the nearest Paperchase, and spent a very happy hour there—like all book lovers, she had a special affinity with stationery and could happily spend half a day among it—choosing the finest, most beautiful writing paper and pen she could find.