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eleek0609's review
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Classism
Moderate: Infidelity, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, and Outing
kierstens_littlelibrary's review
5.0
I loved Jules so much I love the friendship James and Jules had
charlotteleah25's review
2.0
2.5?
Before I start off this review, I would just like to point a question I have about Bax scraping the graffiti off the locker with his skates. Now, I am a figure skater. I have no idea how hockey skates work.
But in my experience, metal can and will damage a skate's edges and blade. For figure skates (at least) even stepping on the wrong surface can have a huge impact on the quality of your skate's blade.
So, wouldn't aggressively scraping a metal surface with a skate's blade damage it? Even just a little?
I would never, never , do that with my skates. No matter how offensive the graffiti was.
Okay, on to the actual review. I wanted to like this book. I had high hopes for Keily after reading [b:All American Boys|25657130|All American Boys|Jason Reynolds|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1444506678l/25657130._SX50_.jpg|45479026]
But I just didn't. It felt like he tried too hard to get his points across. I'm all for gender equality and bringing assault and r*pe to light, but this book just didn't do it for me. It felt very forced and the characters were unlikable and flat.
Good concept, not-so-great execution.
Before I start off this review, I would just like to point a question I have about Bax scraping the graffiti off the locker with his skates. Now, I am a figure skater. I have no idea how hockey skates work.
But in my experience, metal can and will damage a skate's edges and blade. For figure skates (at least) even stepping on the wrong surface can have a huge impact on the quality of your skate's blade.
So, wouldn't aggressively scraping a metal surface with a skate's blade damage it? Even just a little?
I would never, never , do that with my skates. No matter how offensive the graffiti was.
Okay, on to the actual review. I wanted to like this book. I had high hopes for Keily after reading [b:All American Boys|25657130|All American Boys|Jason Reynolds|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1444506678l/25657130._SX50_.jpg|45479026]
But I just didn't. It felt like he tried too hard to get his points across. I'm all for gender equality and bringing assault and r*pe to light, but this book just didn't do it for me. It felt very forced and the characters were unlikable and flat.
Good concept, not-so-great execution.
catwithbooks's review against another edition
2.0
Mit Elite habe ich mich sehr schwer getan.
James Baxter kommt eher aus dem Mittelstand und darf auf der Fullbrook Academy zur Schule gehen. Eine Schule mit Traditionen und die für was Höhrers steht. Durch sein Eishockey Stipendium kann er in der Welt der Privilegierten schnuppern. Doch James bleibt ein Außenseiter. Auf einer Party laufen die Ereignisse aus dem Ruder und zusammen mit Jules Deveraux erhebt er sich gegen die Elite der Schule. Jules die einstmals auch dazu gehörte aber mittlerweile die Rolle der Rebellin angenommen hat und so zur Außenseiterin wurde.
Auf Grund des Klapptext war ich gespannt was mich erwartet doch so ganz konnte mich die Geschichte nicht packen. Irgendwie ahnte ich im Laufe wo es drauf hinaus läuft.
Jules konnte ich gar nicht so richtig einordnen, an sich ja super für was sie sich da einsetzt, aber so ganz konnte ich das auch nicht nachvollziehen. Schließlich gehörte sie im Jahr davor noch selber zu den Beliebten, als was hat so stark ihr Weltbild verändert? Irgendwie konnte ich das nicht so recht nachvollziehen.
Mit James konnte ich auch nicht so recht was anfangen, anfangs kam es mir so vor als würde er erst mal alles abnicken und bloß nicht gegen den Strom schwimmen. Hinzu kommt das seine Geschichte recht lieblos erzählt wurde. Sowas sollte für den Leser Emotionen hervorrufen, die aber bei mir aus blieben.
Die Geschichte hat an sich sehr viele Interessante Themen zu bieten, vielleicht schon zu viele. Lehrer die wegschauen, Strukturen die Veraltet sind, die Macht der Reichen, Mobbing und noch so einiges. Themen die wirklich interessant sind aber hier schlecht zur Geltung kamen.
Das Ende hatte keine Überraschungen parat, was sehr schade war.
James Baxter kommt eher aus dem Mittelstand und darf auf der Fullbrook Academy zur Schule gehen. Eine Schule mit Traditionen und die für was Höhrers steht. Durch sein Eishockey Stipendium kann er in der Welt der Privilegierten schnuppern. Doch James bleibt ein Außenseiter. Auf einer Party laufen die Ereignisse aus dem Ruder und zusammen mit Jules Deveraux erhebt er sich gegen die Elite der Schule. Jules die einstmals auch dazu gehörte aber mittlerweile die Rolle der Rebellin angenommen hat und so zur Außenseiterin wurde.
Auf Grund des Klapptext war ich gespannt was mich erwartet doch so ganz konnte mich die Geschichte nicht packen. Irgendwie ahnte ich im Laufe wo es drauf hinaus läuft.
Jules konnte ich gar nicht so richtig einordnen, an sich ja super für was sie sich da einsetzt, aber so ganz konnte ich das auch nicht nachvollziehen. Schließlich gehörte sie im Jahr davor noch selber zu den Beliebten, als was hat so stark ihr Weltbild verändert? Irgendwie konnte ich das nicht so recht nachvollziehen.
Mit James konnte ich auch nicht so recht was anfangen, anfangs kam es mir so vor als würde er erst mal alles abnicken und bloß nicht gegen den Strom schwimmen. Hinzu kommt das seine Geschichte recht lieblos erzählt wurde. Sowas sollte für den Leser Emotionen hervorrufen, die aber bei mir aus blieben.
Die Geschichte hat an sich sehr viele Interessante Themen zu bieten, vielleicht schon zu viele. Lehrer die wegschauen, Strukturen die Veraltet sind, die Macht der Reichen, Mobbing und noch so einiges. Themen die wirklich interessant sind aber hier schlecht zur Geltung kamen.
Das Ende hatte keine Überraschungen parat, was sehr schade war.
fiendfull's review
3.0
Tradition is a powerful young adult novel about privilege, rape culture, and how institutions can protect perpetrators rather than victims. Fullbrook Academy is an elite American boarding school full of traditions, including secret parties in the woods and archaic traditions about how male students treat female ones. Jules is in her senior year at Fullbrook and wants to get out and go to a good college. Her friend Javi wants the school to move past its attempts to brand itself as 'gay friendly' and for students to actually accept if he kissed a boy in public. New scholarship student Jamie is there to play hockey and have a second chance at his senior year. When these students decide to take a stand against the toxic traditions at Fullbrook, they find out what they are really up against.
This is a young adult book that touches on a lot of issues as well as having a main focus on sexual assault and consent. It depicts these as part of the difficulties and frustrations of being a teenager, particularly through Jules who often feels trapped by things she cannot change or improve. This element helps to remove some of the sense that a lot of big issues have been thrown at the narrative to go alongside the focus on rape culture. The class issues that run through the narrative and the subplot looking at the school's treatment of sexuality are probably the best handled of these other issues as they are given time to be explored. The protagonists are interesting and flawed, with a classic YA character who has a past secret they have run away from.
Tradition looks at difficult subject material in a way that exposes how power, wealth, and tradition have a big role in sexual assault. It is another important young adult book—it feels like a much later successor in the genre that Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak is part of—that tries to raise awareness of a lot of issues. It didn't quite come together as a book for me, but it is still an engaging read.
This is a young adult book that touches on a lot of issues as well as having a main focus on sexual assault and consent. It depicts these as part of the difficulties and frustrations of being a teenager, particularly through Jules who often feels trapped by things she cannot change or improve. This element helps to remove some of the sense that a lot of big issues have been thrown at the narrative to go alongside the focus on rape culture. The class issues that run through the narrative and the subplot looking at the school's treatment of sexuality are probably the best handled of these other issues as they are given time to be explored. The protagonists are interesting and flawed, with a classic YA character who has a past secret they have run away from.
Tradition looks at difficult subject material in a way that exposes how power, wealth, and tradition have a big role in sexual assault. It is another important young adult book—it feels like a much later successor in the genre that Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak is part of—that tries to raise awareness of a lot of issues. It didn't quite come together as a book for me, but it is still an engaging read.
urban's review
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
saarahn's review against another edition
5.0
Powerful- will frightfully resonate with its readers.
Brendan Kiely takes you on a journey. The reader steps into the shoes of two teenagers tackling their college years at Fullbrook, a prestigious haven for the privileged. He's a new scholarship kid. She is the daughter of Fullbrook's first female student. He wants to belong but feels out of his depth. She's given up with that, sworn off dating and false friendships and is all for reclaiming herself for herself. She can't wait to get out.
This is a book that forces you to step up and listen. Quite like a piece of controversial art, you just have to give it the attention it's due. A book that means something. We never want to know everything, no one likes feeling uncomfortable. We hide away from the truth, we don't ask the harder questions. It's easier to deny the truth than it is to confront it. We never get too close- not until it's too late and the damage has been done. I'm thinking of an incident, and I'm sure you are as well. Rules are there for a reason, we laugh when they're broken: innocent rebellion. But there's always more to it. Always. But hey, “Don’t worry... They’re not really going to do anything about it. They never do.”
No one ever does. Traditions are difficult to destroy, they're seeped in history, sentimentality and patriarchy.
A tough battle. You have to stand your ground. Never give up. You have to work harder to gain respect, to earn it. You'll have to prove yourself. It's even harder if you're female, the respect from others doesn't come naturally. Kiely gets that: toxic masculinity, the persistent rape culture. This is just what is needed in the wake of the sexual harassment claims. Traditions, the old way of doing things, the easy manner of minding your own business, of compliance, sweeping crimes under the rug, looking past the elephants in the room, justifying sexist remarks... And on it goes. "Burn out the old. Bring in the new."
Make this your next read!
I received this book through NetGalley.
Brendan Kiely takes you on a journey. The reader steps into the shoes of two teenagers tackling their college years at Fullbrook, a prestigious haven for the privileged. He's a new scholarship kid. She is the daughter of Fullbrook's first female student. He wants to belong but feels out of his depth. She's given up with that, sworn off dating and false friendships and is all for reclaiming herself for herself. She can't wait to get out.
This is a book that forces you to step up and listen. Quite like a piece of controversial art, you just have to give it the attention it's due. A book that means something. We never want to know everything, no one likes feeling uncomfortable. We hide away from the truth, we don't ask the harder questions. It's easier to deny the truth than it is to confront it. We never get too close- not until it's too late and the damage has been done. I'm thinking of an incident, and I'm sure you are as well. Rules are there for a reason, we laugh when they're broken: innocent rebellion. But there's always more to it. Always. But hey, “Don’t worry... They’re not really going to do anything about it. They never do.”
No one ever does. Traditions are difficult to destroy, they're seeped in history, sentimentality and patriarchy.
A tough battle. You have to stand your ground. Never give up. You have to work harder to gain respect, to earn it. You'll have to prove yourself. It's even harder if you're female, the respect from others doesn't come naturally. Kiely gets that: toxic masculinity, the persistent rape culture. This is just what is needed in the wake of the sexual harassment claims. Traditions, the old way of doing things, the easy manner of minding your own business, of compliance, sweeping crimes under the rug, looking past the elephants in the room, justifying sexist remarks... And on it goes. "Burn out the old. Bring in the new."
Make this your next read!
I received this book through NetGalley.
falconerreader's review
4.0
3.5 stars. I might round up to four stars because man, does this book have its heart in the right place. Or I might drop it to 3 stars because I'm a litle weirded out by this white guy writing about how this oher white guy learns to use his white male privilege to save the oppressed white girl. I guess I'll decide as I corral my thoughts in writing.
"That's all right; that's okay; you'll be working for us someday," chant the students at Fulbrook Academy when the public school team from Buffalo scores a goal against their hockey team. Which seems almost cartoonishly evil of them, right? But it's the same chant my high school used to taunt 7 of the 9 other teams in our league if they bested our teams. (One high school was roughly equivilant to our socio economic bracket, and one was home of the even richer kids.) That immense sense of entitlement is real, and ugly, and plays out in so many ways throughout the whole book. Male entitlement to the female body (with complete disregard of the human inhabiting said body) is the main thing Kiely examines, but he looks at homophobia and classism as well.
It can be hard to feel deep empathy for the travails of wealthy children at snooty New England private schools. I never quite got as invested in the characters as I wanted to, though I do have a soft spot for Bax. There's also the ongoing discussion about who needs to be telling what story, and you gotta wonder if Brendan is the one to tell Jules's story of assault by an ex. I'm also thinking about the White Savior trope as it translates to Male Savior, or the centering of the experience of the Enlightened One Who Isn' Like Those Racist/Sexist Ones versus the receipients of racism and sexism.
Still, he nails that horrifying sense of having your body treated as if it's a) separate from you and b) not yours to control. And while the slow build to understanding the male characters undergo is nice, it is, in the end, Jules and Aileen who reclaim their own dignity and strength. All American Boys does a lot towards gaining my trust in the author's sincerity as well. Plus, the book was engaging and well written, taking the story deeper than I'd initially expected. I'm going to go with the round-up.
"That's all right; that's okay; you'll be working for us someday," chant the students at Fulbrook Academy when the public school team from Buffalo scores a goal against their hockey team. Which seems almost cartoonishly evil of them, right? But it's the same chant my high school used to taunt 7 of the 9 other teams in our league if they bested our teams. (One high school was roughly equivilant to our socio economic bracket, and one was home of the even richer kids.) That immense sense of entitlement is real, and ugly, and plays out in so many ways throughout the whole book. Male entitlement to the female body (with complete disregard of the human inhabiting said body) is the main thing Kiely examines, but he looks at homophobia and classism as well.
It can be hard to feel deep empathy for the travails of wealthy children at snooty New England private schools. I never quite got as invested in the characters as I wanted to, though I do have a soft spot for Bax. There's also the ongoing discussion about who needs to be telling what story, and you gotta wonder if Brendan is the one to tell Jules's story of assault by an ex. I'm also thinking about the White Savior trope as it translates to Male Savior, or the centering of the experience of the Enlightened One Who Isn' Like Those Racist/Sexist Ones versus the receipients of racism and sexism.
Still, he nails that horrifying sense of having your body treated as if it's a) separate from you and b) not yours to control. And while the slow build to understanding the male characters undergo is nice, it is, in the end, Jules and Aileen who reclaim their own dignity and strength. All American Boys does a lot towards gaining my trust in the author's sincerity as well. Plus, the book was engaging and well written, taking the story deeper than I'd initially expected. I'm going to go with the round-up.
golongria's review
3.0
Tradition deals with themes of consent, toxic masculinity, and male privilege in ways that feel so appropriate and timely. The narrative took a bit too long to gather steam, but once it did I was hooked. Told through two perspectives, a boy and girl at an exclusive private school, the story portrays the strength, heart, and perseverance needed to stand up against a culture that portrays women as inferior objects. I loved that the male protagonist embodies feminist ideals and has the courage to defy expectations. It was refreshing, and I hope young, male readers walk away with an understanding that it's okay to be emotional, vulnerable, and sensitive. In a world where men are taught that violence and anger are their only outlets, that's a message we could all benefit from hearing.