Trust Falls

The Wessex Papers #1

by Daniel Parker

"Hey man,

This place is crazy. They (I'm not exactly sure who "they" are, but that oaf of a dorm counselor I told you about is at the top of the list for sure) actually planted chewing tobacco in some kid's bag so that they could expel him. And I thought all I'd have to put up with this year was a bunch of spoiled brats with platinum cards.

James, an evil stench is wafting through the air here at Wessex Academy, and it smells just like a conspiracy.

Gotta go,
Fred "

Alumni brat Sunday Winthrop and new student Fred Bushmill's pranks lead to their uncovering a sinister blackmail ring -- one that will stop at nothing to incriminate one of their friends.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Mystery, Boarding School, School, Teen

272 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 1, 2002

About the author

Daniel Parker is a pseudonym of Daniel Ehrenhaft.

Reviews

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review: https://hiplibrariansbookblog.com/200...

[Sarah Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars
Pretty good boarding school story.

* Fred is a post-graduate student who has come to Wexsex because he can't get into college. He's hung up on his ex-girlfriend Diane who dumped him for her ex-boyfriend. Fred thinks he's going to use Wessex for what he wants and leave, but changes his mind and decides that instead he'll improve Wessex.
* Sunday is an 'Alumni Brat' but she's beginning to dislike being told what to do.
* Hobson thinks he's some kind of gangster/homie, and dumps Alison because he can't stand being with her any longer.
* Alisongoes a bit crazy after Hobson dumps her, and is convinced that they'll get back together.
* The headmaster has some weird thing with Burwell (the maths teacher) and seems to be plotting something related to the seniors behind their backs.
* Tony gets expelled for having chewing tobacco when he never used it. Fred is convinced that something is not right. Especially as the student who sells tobacco to the other students didn't sell any to Tony.
* Olsen asks Alison to talk to Sunday about her relationship with Fred which nobody approves of.
* Sunday finds Alison going through her bin and reading a letter she had written to Fred, which didn't go down well.
* Mackenzie goes to see Hobson intending to ask him to get back together with Alison because she's driving them all crazy, but instead ends up making out with him.
* Sunday and Fred go to Olsen's house in the middle of the night to steal some of his stationary to play a prank on Alison, but find him watching a porn movie, with a student (Winnie) featuring one of the students (Noah) having sex with his teacher (Miss Burke) 😲
* Fred and Sunday go back to Fred's dorm only to be caught by Burwell, which is really bad because Fred is on probation and could well get expelled for having Sunday in his room after hours.

[Coco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Compelling and enjoyable read.

[teddy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly the plot was silly enough for me to read the generously provided ten-cent sequels but the characters were all a bunch of freaky white kids and the author seems to think all high schoolers want to do is pull pranks.

[Cheryl Sitmer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Must read in order or the story is ruined.