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A review by 24hourlibrary
Gossip of the Starlings by Nina de Gramont
5.0
I've sat on this review for a while because it was such a perfect fit for my reading tastes that I'm not sure I can (A) accurately describe how and why I liked it and (B) make it a review that would actually be useful to anyone who doesn't have identical reading tastes to mine -- which, based on my fairly extensive number of conversations and readings around bookish preferences, seem to be somewhat unusual. So, no promises this will actually say much of anything that will be useful to you other than I loved this book and definitely think it's worth reading.
Let's set the scene. Catherine has recently enrolled in the Esther Percy School for Girls after some behavioral issues at her last school, where she's left her small group of close friends (including her boyfriend). Privileged -- but not too privileged -- Catherine is suddenly swept up into a world steps above her own when Skye Butterfield, a senator's daughter, also enrolls. Fast and deep friends, Catherine and Skye are inseparable. Catherine can't help but fall deeper and deeper into Skye's world, no matter how outrageous she is and no matter how dangerous a crash course she knows Skye is on. Until it's too late.
I suspect if I were to classify this as dark academia, a lot of folks would balk at the idea. Strictly speaking, I suppose it's not technically dark academia -- but it's a sibling of the genre enough that fans of dark academia will almost definitely be on board with the premise and story of this novel. You've got your boarding school setting, your 1%-er drama, your high stakes and dark events, and an introspective narrator who, for the most part, is quite secondary (Richard of The Secret History is an excellent comp for Catherine). One of the things I loved about the plot of this book -- and, another thing I think it has in common with many dark academia novels -- is how the storyline that is ultimately the main plot of action creeps throughout. Mentions of drugs start off like passing details and the mentions grow until their role is evident.
With this method of plotting, the story lends most of its focus to Catherine's observations and indecision around what to do about her relationship with Skye. Even as she sees the damage Skye causes, Catherine again and again convinces herself to return. While it's true that Catherine's narration style -- and, ergo, the prose -- is lofty and, really, what you'd expect from campus literary fiction, and it's also true that this style is unlikely both for Catherine's age and what we know of her personality, the captivating style pushes all that aside and manages a fantastic balance of compelling the reader forward while still maintaining that particular tone and texture so common in literary fiction. All to say -- despite still coming off as distinctly literary, the prose is still massively accessible and the plot, perhaps, makes the story even more so. Although they're totally different books, I was frequently reminded of Ellen Hopkins' Crank as I read this one, noting how the use of drugs (as in the characters' use as well as the use of the concept of drugs in the story) somehow humanizes characters and story in a way that few things can. There's the danger of drugs being a cliché or otherwise not working in a story, but Gossip never falls prey to it. Meanwhile, despite the deliberate pacing, the tension of Catherine and Skye's story make it exceedingly difficult to put down.
Gossip's cast of characters, too, rely somewhat on archetypes (again, those typical to dark academia). But these types are never boring, often surprising, and all the better for their slightly fewer years of experience compared to the casts of most dark academia novels. Though about 17, most of the main characters shine through in moments of typical teenage behavior and immaturity while the story still acknowledges the privilege and circumstance (ie, largely unsupervised lives thanks to boarding school and the 1980s) in their independence. The cast moves throughout New England and beyond as they please, not restricted by authority figures, the law, or the societal expectations (hitchhiking, for instance) more common today. Any reader who suggests the characters acted beyond their years don't know teenagers very well, have forgotten their own teenage selves, and probably have not considered the importance of Gossip's setting.
I hate to always compare dark academia (-adjacent) novels to The Secret History, but as Tartt's novel is the gold standard, it's hard not to. Gossip hits many of the same notes as TSH while drawing from real-life events at Choate Rosemary Hall that make the story even more interesting. While the book will satisfy a lot of the cravings that TSH appetizes readers with, it's also less of a commitment, both in page count and prose density. It's a novel that will appeal both to adults and (perhaps slightly precocious) teens, and one that, now having read it, I'm surprised is not more frequently mentioned or discussed by book lovers. It's a book lovers book and one I absolutely recommend clearing your weekend for.
Let's set the scene. Catherine has recently enrolled in the Esther Percy School for Girls after some behavioral issues at her last school, where she's left her small group of close friends (including her boyfriend). Privileged -- but not too privileged -- Catherine is suddenly swept up into a world steps above her own when Skye Butterfield, a senator's daughter, also enrolls. Fast and deep friends, Catherine and Skye are inseparable. Catherine can't help but fall deeper and deeper into Skye's world, no matter how outrageous she is and no matter how dangerous a crash course she knows Skye is on. Until it's too late.
I suspect if I were to classify this as dark academia, a lot of folks would balk at the idea. Strictly speaking, I suppose it's not technically dark academia -- but it's a sibling of the genre enough that fans of dark academia will almost definitely be on board with the premise and story of this novel. You've got your boarding school setting, your 1%-er drama, your high stakes and dark events, and an introspective narrator who, for the most part, is quite secondary (Richard of The Secret History is an excellent comp for Catherine). One of the things I loved about the plot of this book -- and, another thing I think it has in common with many dark academia novels -- is how the storyline that is ultimately the main plot of action creeps throughout. Mentions of drugs start off like passing details and the mentions grow until their role is evident.
With this method of plotting, the story lends most of its focus to Catherine's observations and indecision around what to do about her relationship with Skye. Even as she sees the damage Skye causes, Catherine again and again convinces herself to return. While it's true that Catherine's narration style -- and, ergo, the prose -- is lofty and, really, what you'd expect from campus literary fiction, and it's also true that this style is unlikely both for Catherine's age and what we know of her personality, the captivating style pushes all that aside and manages a fantastic balance of compelling the reader forward while still maintaining that particular tone and texture so common in literary fiction. All to say -- despite still coming off as distinctly literary, the prose is still massively accessible and the plot, perhaps, makes the story even more so. Although they're totally different books, I was frequently reminded of Ellen Hopkins' Crank as I read this one, noting how the use of drugs (as in the characters' use as well as the use of the concept of drugs in the story) somehow humanizes characters and story in a way that few things can. There's the danger of drugs being a cliché or otherwise not working in a story, but Gossip never falls prey to it. Meanwhile, despite the deliberate pacing, the tension of Catherine and Skye's story make it exceedingly difficult to put down.
Gossip's cast of characters, too, rely somewhat on archetypes (again, those typical to dark academia). But these types are never boring, often surprising, and all the better for their slightly fewer years of experience compared to the casts of most dark academia novels. Though about 17, most of the main characters shine through in moments of typical teenage behavior and immaturity while the story still acknowledges the privilege and circumstance (ie, largely unsupervised lives thanks to boarding school and the 1980s) in their independence. The cast moves throughout New England and beyond as they please, not restricted by authority figures, the law, or the societal expectations (hitchhiking, for instance) more common today. Any reader who suggests the characters acted beyond their years don't know teenagers very well, have forgotten their own teenage selves, and probably have not considered the importance of Gossip's setting.
I hate to always compare dark academia (-adjacent) novels to The Secret History, but as Tartt's novel is the gold standard, it's hard not to. Gossip hits many of the same notes as TSH while drawing from real-life events at Choate Rosemary Hall that make the story even more interesting. While the book will satisfy a lot of the cravings that TSH appetizes readers with, it's also less of a commitment, both in page count and prose density. It's a novel that will appeal both to adults and (perhaps slightly precocious) teens, and one that, now having read it, I'm surprised is not more frequently mentioned or discussed by book lovers. It's a book lovers book and one I absolutely recommend clearing your weekend for.