Cori’s Pick: The Gifted School by Bruce Holsinger

Wow.  What a timely read!  This book was published in July of 2019 – which coincidentally was just a few months after the massive college admission cheating scandal of a couple of famous actresses (Ms Huffman, Ms Loughlin – we’re talkin’ about you).

This is a juicy, page-turning read told from the perspective of several members of four close-knit families.  At the core, are four women that have been through it all together – friendship, marriage, kids, death, divorce and they are now raising their children alongside each other in the elitist community of Crystal, Colorado.  When news that an exclusive new school for gifted children is opening up, cracks begin to form in the families’ lives and children are pitted against one another – revealing an even larger secret!

I read a review that described this book as reminiscent of Big Little Lies but with standardized testing, (lol!) and in hindsight, I totally agree!!!  There are plenty of lies and callous behavior by nearly all characters, but at its core, this book shows us the intense extremes parents are willing to go to for their kids.