Promising

by Jane Bailey

A humorous debut novel about a young female art teacher in a boys' boarding school where two pupils compete to lose their virginity by the end of the summer term, and nothing is quite as it seems.

185 pages, Hardcover

Published March 14, 1996

Reviews

[Nooks Full Of Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have too many thoughts but think is between 3.5🌠 and 4 🌠 for me actually.

Not bad at all...

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was keen to read Jane Bailey's first novel having so much enjoyed Tommy Glover's Sketch of Heaven. This is really quite different being a fairly straightforward and mildly comic narrative about a young female art teacher in a largely all-boys boarding school. The times have moved on even since 1996 when the book was published and for a good portion of the book I felt quite uncomfortable about the relationship between Eve and Kieron (possibly that's the mother of teenage boys in me)... and I startled myself at one point exclaiming out loud "Don't be so stupid!" Most of the characters were not quite well enough developed (although there was definitely something to go on) but Eve really was quite engaging. I was reminded of a Tom Wolfe romp, albeit somewhat less riotous.