I first discovered this book when I was bored out of my mind at a TJ Maxx store. I detest shopping for anything that's not books or music with a passion, but my parents had insisted, and so I found myself wandering listlessly around the store after pointing out that they didn't stock shoes over a size 9. (And this, friends, is why I wear men's shoes. Because finding women's size 12s, let alone ones that are actually practical and not stiletto heels, is next to impossible.)
Anyway, so I passed by a small ragtag bookshelf in the middle of the cooking aisle. Among all the Bibles, cookbooks, and self-help manuals, I noticed one title that stood out at me in a large spidery font: SCHOOL OF FEAR.
That certainly got my interest. It sounded like a B horror movie. I could imagine a poster with a big looming school building (which would almost certainly turn out to be haunted) and the title creeping across it. Intrigued, I fished the book out from under 200 chicken recipes. The cover was curious: A stylistic, sharp drawing of four young people surrounded by carnivorous-looking plants, with the subtitle "Everyone's afraid of something..."
Turning it over, I instantly knew I wanted to buy this book. A story of a bizarre school meant to help people get rid of their phobias? I'm in. And one of the main characters is claustrophobic (which I am), another is afraid of bugs (which I DEFINITELY am). So I did buy it.
The book tells the tale of Madeleine, Theodore, Lulu, and Garrison, four people sent off to the incredibly mysterious "School Of Fear" to try to eliminate their individual fears. But the school isn't exactly up to state standard, as it's filled with the most bizarre things and locations (including a library of horrible-smelling items and a room completely covered in doors that lead anywhere, or nowhere). The eccentric teacher/headmistress Mrs.Wellington only contributes to the weirdness - from her insistence on the importance of vanity, to the fact that she doesn't seem to actually be helping her students at all, the four students get more and more confused as their session runs on. And when a tragedy occurs, they're forced to go on a rescue mission just as odd as the school itself.
From the first paragraph of the book, I knew I liked the writing style:
A bell is not a bell. While undeniably constructed out of metal and heralded for its ability to ring, it is actually a great deal more than that. It's the taste of barbecue, the feel of sunburned skin from playing outside all day, and the smell of chlorine from freshly cleaned pools. It's the promise of football games, sleepovers, and video-game tournaments, all without the interruption of homework. In short, the bell is the gatekeeper of summer.
And I was not let down by the rest of the book. Daneshvari is one of the few authors I know who has an incredibly natural writer's voice. Her descriptions are vivid, and create a wonderful mental picture, but she never does so much that you're distracted from the story itself.
To be frank, I loved this book. It was entertaining, and it actually did keep me wanting to turn the page, wanting to know what happened next. The characters are believable, if not 100% likeable, but that only adds to the realistic nature of a story that is otherwise so weird. Pacing was perfect for the most part, though I do wish there was more detail towards the end of the book.
Speaking of the end, I was a little surprised at how dark this book got for a children's story. It certainly never became horrific, but there were some things you don't usually expect to find in the YA section. But that only made me appreciate it more, me being me.
Overall, this is just an amazing book. Good story, great writing, and quite unique. I'll see if I can get my hands on the sequel.
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