Mike Bordwin, headmaster at Avery Academy, a prestigious New England boarding school, finds himself with a videotape: a disaster in a box. The tape reveals a shocking scene, all the more so because of the three boys and one girl involved. The girl is only 14 and the boys are highly regarded and respected students and athletes.
The news of the tape and its contents are a true Pandora’s box, which unleash a storm of shame, recrimination and ruin. For all the tape reveals, it asks more questions than gives answers. How did this happen? Who is to blame? Will the mistakes of one foolish moment ruin the futures of everyone involved?
Anita Shreve is a well-known writer; her books include: <i>The Pilot’s Wife</i>, <i>The Weight of Water</i>, <i>Fortune’s Rock</i>, and others. This is a gripping and emotional drama that reads like a thriller. Each short chapter is told from a variety of narrators, each revealing a piece of the puzzle and reflections on the night in question. The truth is painfully revealed but lives touched by these events are forever changed.
This is a good book to curl up with, and then discuss its implications. What happens when fear and need drive ordinary men and women into intolerable dilemmas? What happens to best intentions gone awry??