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The Irving
School is an exclusive boarding school in New York, and it
is a tradition there for a graduating student to leave behind
a treasure for whoever will inherit their old room. Some students
get expensive gifts, but Duncan just gets a pile of CDs, nothing
very interesting he thinks at first. But he soon realizes
that he actually has something that is worth having, and thus
the story of albino Tim unfolds, a story that will give Duncan
a chance to find out about the school's tragic secret, and
maybe even help him with his own tragedy paper.
I'm not normally a fan of school stories but this one was
about more than the usual day-to-day anecdotes. It is easy
to get sucked in; just like Duncan, to Tim's narrative and
this is a novel that certainly hits the ground running. There
is a secret there to be discovered which makes it exciting,
but more than that, this is a multi-layered story about the
nature of tragedy itself. The titular paper refers to a type
of junior thesis the students have to do before they graduate,
and Duncan is looking at classic tragedies. The love triangle
between Tim, Patrick and Vanessa is mirrored in the books
Duncan is studying, giving the whole novel a greater sense
of depth and making it into the sort of book that stays in
the mind long after. School stories are usually about bullying
and students wishing they were anywhere else, but Ms LaBan
has opted for a totally different approach. The Irving School
is actually rather a nice place, with lots of traditions and
a sense of being the sort of institution that gives education
a good name. Tom Brown's Schooldays this ain't. What it does
lack is any feeling of time, and although I have labelled
it as contemporary there is little to indicate whether it
is set now or a couple of decades ago. Anybody looking for
a good, clean read whether or not they usually enjoy school
fiction is assured of an enjoyable experience with this book.
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