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Final Grades
In despair that her perfect scholastic record is about to be marred by an English teacher whose demands confuse and anger her, seventeen year-old Rachel begins to question the direction of her life and the goals that her parents assume for her.
184 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 1983
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September 25, 2018
This book blew me away when I first read it, because it was like reading my life in novel form.
The main character, a 4.0 student with a love of writing, is finding herself struggling for the first time in an English class where she can't get above a B, if that. I had just had my own faith in my skill rocked by a similar English class that left me floundering. I was later grateful for the metaphorical butt-kicking she gave us to improve all our lacking capabilities, but until I found my way, it was practically traumatizing. I even had the same sort of rival (really a very nice person) who, even in that course, was the one person still excelling at every turn.
In my favorite scene, Rachel takes out a lifetime's worth of writing from a drawer and looks it over, unable to throw any out because "they're part of me," then files it all away. "The complete works of Rachel Gilbert, ages seven to seventeen. My short, brilliant career." That struck such a deep chord with me that it still comes to mind from time to time.
The one place Rachel and I differ is that I'm not great at upper-level math, and yet I loved reading those scenes because I know how she feels. "Calculus. Hard, in an easy way. Easy because it's limited. You get an answer, right or wrong. It doesn't spread out indefinitely, like an English paper, or a story, or even French literature."
It's fascinating to watch Rachel struggle, hit setbacks, but ultimately grow throughout the year. There's her mother's overbearing pressure to apply for college, her lack of certainty about what she really wants to do, a slowly-developing friendship with the aforementioned class star, and several nice scenes with her best friend, forever overrun with kids thanks to her mother's daycare. All in all, just an extraordinary, timeless coming-of-age story.
Plus, due to the in-depth discussion of "King Lear" that frames the story from beginning to end, it's the book that keeps on giving. When I had to study the play in a later course, I was not only more excited to read it because of what I had learned here, but I combed through these pages again and gained some nice insight from the excerpts of various essays and things the teacher discusses in class - it's like having a private mini-course at your fingertips. An invaluable reference for any student!
The main character, a 4.0 student with a love of writing, is finding herself struggling for the first time in an English class where she can't get above a B, if that. I had just had my own faith in my skill rocked by a similar English class that left me floundering. I was later grateful for the metaphorical butt-kicking she gave us to improve all our lacking capabilities, but until I found my way, it was practically traumatizing. I even had the same sort of rival (really a very nice person) who, even in that course, was the one person still excelling at every turn.
In my favorite scene, Rachel takes out a lifetime's worth of writing from a drawer and looks it over, unable to throw any out because "they're part of me," then files it all away. "The complete works of Rachel Gilbert, ages seven to seventeen. My short, brilliant career." That struck such a deep chord with me that it still comes to mind from time to time.
The one place Rachel and I differ is that I'm not great at upper-level math, and yet I loved reading those scenes because I know how she feels. "Calculus. Hard, in an easy way. Easy because it's limited. You get an answer, right or wrong. It doesn't spread out indefinitely, like an English paper, or a story, or even French literature."
It's fascinating to watch Rachel struggle, hit setbacks, but ultimately grow throughout the year. There's her mother's overbearing pressure to apply for college, her lack of certainty about what she really wants to do, a slowly-developing friendship with the aforementioned class star, and several nice scenes with her best friend, forever overrun with kids thanks to her mother's daycare. All in all, just an extraordinary, timeless coming-of-age story.
Plus, due to the in-depth discussion of "King Lear" that frames the story from beginning to end, it's the book that keeps on giving. When I had to study the play in a later course, I was not only more excited to read it because of what I had learned here, but I combed through these pages again and gained some nice insight from the excerpts of various essays and things the teacher discusses in class - it's like having a private mini-course at your fingertips. An invaluable reference for any student!
Displaying 1 of 1 review