Customer Reviews

The Sixth Form

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book really took me by surprise.

Four years ago, I read Dolby's first novel, THE TROUBLE BOY, and while I enjoyed it, felt that it hewed so closely to much of what's already out there in gay literature that it failed to leave a lasting impression. But with THE SIXTH FORM Dolby makes a quantum leap forward.

The story centers on the tangled relationships of three people over the course of one term at a posh New England prep school - Todd, the gay son of a wealthy New York author (in the vein of Danielle Steele or Jackie Collins), Ethan, the brainy [and straight] son of two middle class California intellectuals and Hannah, the unorthodox bohemian teacher who lures them into her orbit with her seemingly freewheeling attitude and her homebaked goodies. Most people might roll their eyes when they see that this is a "gay" novel that takes place in a private boarding school. And certaintly, the opportunity for cliches abound, but these are no stereotypes; they're complicated, down-to-earth characters with believable problems.

Dolby gives the reader access to both Todd and Ethan's points of view, but lets Hannah's motives remain opaque. And because of this, I found myself drawn to her character in the same way the boys are - hungrily snatching at clues to her mysterious and tragic past. I'll admit to being impressed that a gay male writer took the time to create a three dimensional female character - even if she is clinging, deluded and predatory. It totally worked for me!

There's a lot of really good stuff here. Even the most minor secondary characters seem leap off the page - recognizable and fully formed. Todd's MILF-y mom and n'er-do-well dad, Ethan's saintly mother being devoured by disease, even the semi-closeted lesbian couple who teach at the school. The dialogue is very naturalistic. The interractions between characters are always revealing and enjoyable to read. Each scene moves along at a leisurely pace, but as a whole the book still reads quickly. And the story itself is a unique combination of love triangle (of sorts), mild suspense and coming of age.

Well done.

A new England preppy who has read many prep school novels, I rate Dolby's as one of the very best. This novel far surpasses Curtis Satterfield's Prep. Dolby spends less time making fun of the so-called upper crust world and more time looking at the emotions of boarding school students. The issues of loneliness, abandonment of parents, the single teacher who seeks solace in students....all are so true to life. Furthermore, Dolby takes on a new perspective of boys coming to grips with their own sexuality and dealing with their innocence, identity and confusion. The boy meets girl, the rich girl/poor boy themes are refreshingly left out. Boarding school creates intense bonds. Dolby reveals them in a heart felt and accuarte fashion. Bravo!

Framing his story around the legendary fairy tale Hansel and Gretel, Tom Dolby's The Sixth Form is about how two young men cope with pivotal moments in their lives as they come of age in a world where only people pretend to be kind. An artistically gifted and somewhat tentative boy, Ethan Whitley is suddenly given the opportunity to study at the prestigious Berkley Academy in Connecticut.

Both academics, Ethan's parents encourage their son to take the offer, as this is a perfect opportunity for Ethan to take a break from the burdens of his family, especially from his mother who is sick with cancer, her illness enveloping their lives. Thus Ethan travels to Connecticut with the best of intentions, endeavoring to settle into this new life of dorm rooms and nightly curfews, seeking refuge in the cool calm of the art studios, amidst the smells of dried paint and eraser shavings.

Unwilling to adopt the mainstream, Ethan is a babe in the woods, seemingly eager to experience all that life at the Berkley Academy has to offer. At first, Ethan is intimidated by this rarified world where people make witty remarks to each other, and no one worries too much about money or popularity or sex. He's shocked, therefore to find himself striking up a friendship with Todd Eldon, a wealthy New Yorker, who one night bursts into Ethan's room, and asks him to summarize the weeks reading, the first section of Jane Eyre.

The friendship flourishes with the pair forming a friendly solidarity, their relationship coming to symbolize the coming together of two mismatched young men. Everything that Ethan knows of Todd makes him feel inadequate and he's furthermore in awe of Todd's older brother Brian who had also gone to Berkley. Ethan is the blank slate, a cipher, "the one who was a bit too suspect, a bit too well read and a bit too smug, and he sees his new friend as the type who exists in books or movies, or his imagination, who has everything a teenager wants, " friends, a girlfriend, as much money has he needs. Ethan wants what Todd has, not only emotionally, but also physically in the deepest most visceral part of him.

When Todd talks Ethan into traveling into town to score some dope at the local café, Ethan meets the beautiful teacher Hannah McClellan, who flatters the boy over his short stories and invites him to come visit her at her cottage just down the path from the Academy. Falling under the spell of this woman whom he barely knows, but can so quickly dissect his personality, Ethan spends an afternoon with Hannah where she makes him lunch and then asks him to do some work for her, cataloguing her vast library of books.

Quickly seduced by two of them, Ethan is thrust into a brave new world of sex and affluence, as both Hannah and Todd begin to peddle their influence, acting out their innermost desires with impunity. Todd invites Ethan to spend a weekend in New York with his wealthy and famous Mother, the trip masking Todd's ever increasing sexual attraction to his friend. Hannah, meanwhile becomes ever more lush and angelic and full of mystery, Ethan's affair with her allowing him to feel as though he's sprawling forward in a great parade of possibilities.

Hannah seems oblivious to her indiscrete behaviour with Ethan, she seems more concerned with looking out for her own best interests and her own version of love, and of her own selfish protection for Todd and Ethan. Unmindful of the warnings of others, Ethan becomes ever more seduced by her world: the gift card with the word love sprawled on it, her blueberry cobbler, a book of Rimbaud's poems, and drinking hot chocolate by candlelight.

Like Hansel and Gretel, enticed by the witch with good food, warm beds and the promise of happiness, Ethan takes Hannah at her word even as he senses she's like a snake waiting for the right time to strike. Ethan, Todd and Hannah circle around each other, desperately acting out their longings and innermost needs with each other while Dolby beautifully demonstrates the brief illusions and the temporary connections that can exist between people, connections that can irrevocably alter their lives.

Throughout the course of the story Ethan and Todd learn the hard lesson that the core of what makes a person can be so different from what is first imagined. Of course all is destined to doom and failure when the affair reaches a crescendo, culminating in Ethan leaning some bizarre rumors about Hannah, the events that happened when she lived in France, even as Todd thinks all the gossip is just a late-night drunken rumor.

The end result is an unforgettable climax in a book that skillfully weaves the age of virtuousness with the realities of sexual ambiguity. Ethan and Todd's time in the sixth form is certainly one of growth, but this growth also comes at a price when they both are forced, reluctantly, to navigate the rocky waters of sex and love, their lives both spinning out of control, moving from the thrillingly new to the familiar dullness of disappointment. Mike Leonard January 08.

Seventeen year old Ethan Whitley is allowed to escape his California home, where his mother is battling cancer, by being sent to attend his senior year of high school at the prestigious Berkley Academy in Massachusetts. Once there, the somewhat shy and artistic Ethan meets Todd Eldon, an outgoing student from a rich Manhattan home, and Hannah McClellan, an English teacher who befriends both he and Tood, inviting them often to her home. Todd is immediately attracted to Ethan, which confuses him, as he always condidered himself to be heterosexual. He attempts to see if Ethan feels the same way, trying to spend as much time together as possible, until an impulsive action threatens to damage their friendship and risk "outing" him to his homophobic prep school peers. Meanwhile, Ethan becomes closer and closer to Hannah, who offers encouragement and attention to the pensive young man, and quickly oversteps the bonds that should exist between student and teacher.

In his second novel (after "The Trouble Boy"), Tom Dolby provides a classic coming-of-age tale, based loosely on his own experiences at a New England prep school. His characterizations of Ethan, Todd and Hannah are infused with realism and great attention to detail, allowing the reader to feel as if he or she comes to know them as they knew each other. Ethan's misgivings about being away from his ill mother, and his fear of what the future might hold for him in terms of a career as well as relationships, are both handled with delicate skill by a talented author, as is the tale of Todd's slowly accepting the fact that he is gay. A beautiful read, which I give five stars out of five.

This novel is an excellent read for teenagers and adults alike. Teens will relate for they are going through similar situations while adults will certainly remember when. Whatever your past is, this novel will surely make you think.

Ethan is a 17 year old who transfers to a prep school in Massachusetts where he meets and bonds with another boy Todd. They in turn meet and bond with a teacher at the school, Hannah. The story slowly unfolds here as it accurately portrays the wonders, yearnings, mysteries and questions that are a huge part of the life of a teenager. Through all this a very meaningful story unfolds as we find out more and more about this very unique threesome.

What you expect to happen does not and when done reading this exceptional book you will be truly amazed at all it encompassed. I don't want to give away much of the story so it doesn't ruin the journey you will take if you choose to pick up this novel.

Highly recommended. A very emotionally charged and honest coming of age novel for today.

Having read plenty of fiction for one lifetime, I'd say Dolby's Sixth Form ranks up in my top ten contemporary novels for its heart, rigorous detail and innovative story-telling. The dimensionality that Dolby gives Ethan, Todd, and Hannah goes far beyond the prep school genre standard. I would recommend this book not only to those interested in the setting, but anyone who's looking for a fantastic, riveting read as well. I can't wait for his next one!

This is a very engrossing novel by a talented young writer! It is difficult not to consider reading it in one sitting. The characters are well drawn, and the "twists" are unexpected as the drama unfolds. I also enjoyed the fact that there were no grammatical or spelling mistakes so often found in today's efforts.

In a nutshell, the story is this: Ethan's parents decide he should attend his senior year at a prep school. He befriends Todd, the son of a nouveau riche novelist. The two meet Hannah McCLellan at a bakery shop early in the story. Ethan begins to fall for her and Todd begins to fall for him.

My gripe with this book isn't the fact that nothing actually happened to the protagonists (or between them), It more has to do with how the story was handled. For one, it's immensely predictable. Too soon in the story, the reader begins to mistrust Hannah and wonders how the two boys would continue to associate themselves with her with all the rumors. It seems just about everyone they meet has something negative to say about Hannah McCLellan.

It also seems Todd could have probably had a little more "screen time." In the beginning of the novel, he is established as Ethan's foil. They're completely different yet they were inseparable. Somewhere around the middle of the book, Todd's character seems to be written out. The author made us genuinely care about Todd but his name hardly comes up reaching the end of the novel, even Ethan completely disregards his friend and decides to make no communication with him and only considers him his last resort. He'd prefer to talk to a school adviser before he decided to talk to his best friend.

And lastly, the story does not progress. You can probably read the first few chapters and the last few and completely skip the middle and it would be as if you picked up where you left off. The only progression made was probably by Todd and the cancer cells in Ethan's Mother.

But let's talk about the good. Tom Dolby knows how to describe things. Every room had a scent. Every object had a touch. It seemed as if when he described a room, you entered it, you had a look around and you made yourself comfortable by taking a seat. It's rare to find an author who can do this right, and while it seemed excessive a few times, it was welcoming and inviting the majority of the time. He's an excellent author in this respect. However, no amount of imagery would make you want to spend time with characters or situations that just don't entice beyond the superficial.

This book is short enough to entertain for a day or two (I read it in two sittings) but not at all deserving of a second read.

When Ethan Whitley's mom gets cancer, his parents believe it's best he goes somewhere far for his senior year of high school. Thus, Ethan leaves California for the prestigious Berkley Academy. Before long, Ethan realizes he does not fit in. Then he meets Todd Eldon, a fellow classmate and Hannah McLellan, a seductive teacher.

When Todd Eldon and his girlfriend break up, Todd befriends Ethan. The school knows Ethan as the strange kid from California. Soon, the two become friends. Todd, however, realizes that he starts developing feelings for Ethan, but how could Todd ever compete with Hannah. Not too mention, Ethan is not gay.

Together, Ethan and Todd go through their senior year of high school, a time of change and discovery.

The Sixth Form is difficult novel to review. I enjoyed reading it, but looking back Tom Dolby could have delved so much into the characters, plot, etc. Dolby had a great start to all of his characters, but unfortunately it was only a start. I really would have liked to know more development from Ethan and Todd. Todd's homosexuality never seemed like a main focus, even though Todd was definitely struggling with it. Ethan's relationship with Hannah was interesting at first, but then I kind of pitied him. Hannah, who is in her 30s, more than took advantage of Ethan. Eventually, Ethan does end things (I'd call this a spoiler, but come on, you had to see that one coming!), but this was not near as satisfying as I thought it would be. Throughout the novel, Dolby hints about Hannah's past. By the end of the novel, readers know about most of her past, but certainly not all of it. I found myself craving to learn more, but I just did not get that.

Having said all that, The Sixth Form was not really that bad of a novel. The book was pretty easy to get into, and the content itself was not the problem. The lack of content was the problem. Dolby set out to create a heartfelt coming-of-age story, but it feels like he got tired halfway through, so his greatness never truly materialized. Overall, however, I can certainly see myself reading more from him. I actually have The Secret Society, and I look forward to reading it, so there you go. :P

I recommend this novel if you are looking for a coming-of-age story.

What a great second book By Tom Dolby. It's night and day from his first novel. His first novel was fluff when this one really attached to your heart. What you think is going to turn out to be a love story between Ethan and Todd takes many twists and turns that lure you in and make you interested in all the characters - a true threesome.
The final pages of the book are very philosophical and really make the reader think about life and relationships. I found tears in my eyes as I related to every character at the end and could relate their experiences to ones of my own. Death, love, obession, desire, despair, freindship - it's all here in 1 novel.
This novel is truly marvelous. The writing is controlled and clear - this novel is both compelling and entertaining. Read it!