14 Jun / The Chandler Legacies by Abdi Nazemian [in Booklist]
*STARRED REVIEW
Vikas Adam, who was one-third of the terrific trio that voiced Abdi Nazemian’s Like a Love Story (2019), returns solo to adroitly cipher the diverse boarding-school cast here (Nazemian closes the recording with his own author’s-note narration). Chandler Academy is tiny enough, but to be truly anointed is to be in the Circle, a writing group led by enigmatic Professor Douglas. The chosen Circle in 1999 will become each other’s family. Beth is the rare townie; Spence, the wealthy mixed-race daughter of a global power-couple; Ramin, forced to flee Iran for being gay; Brunson, an overachiever and Beth’s former roommate; Freddy, a would-be Olympian.
Adam has the challenging task of suffusing each character with individuality – he’s more successful distinguishing Ramin and Freddy; the girls – so different in personalities – have more similar speaking voices, but the five-part rotating chapters allow for easy recognition. The tone turns chilling when Nazemian reveals his own Choate Rosemary Hall nightmares: from, “The hazing I describe in these passages is a mild version of what happened,” to 20 years later receiving a 50-page report that “outlined decades of horrific sexual abuse at the school.”
Adam underscores Nazemian’s revelations: “sometimes stories are the only way to make sense of complicated emotions.”
Review: “Media,” Booklist, May 15, 2022
Readers: Young Adult
Published: 2022