Although I did not attend an elite boarding school, I found some of the "traditions" in this book hit home. I went to a very small high school in a very small town, where one of the senior privileges was access to a triangle of grass, wedged between the glass hallways of the building extension and the original school structure. This area was called the "senior lounge". The seniors would sit out there, relax, and as the girls walked by, the boys would hold up pieces of paper, rating each girl who passed. This "tradition" was demeaning to the women walking the glass hallway, but was never challenged.
I was incensed. Filled with rage, yes, but the word "incensed" has a deeper meaning. It was first used to describe fire-breathing animals on medieval coats of arms -- and that's exactly how I felt right then, like I wanted to breathe fire and burn their aggressive laughter right up in smoke.
It's been a really long time since I thought about the senior lounge, and how it made me feel, but reading Tradition made me wish I had a Bax and a Jules back then, to challenge this activity, which was demoralizing and the norm in my school culture.
From Wikipedia:
Toxic masculinity is defined by adherence to traditional male gender roles that restrict the kinds of emotions allowable for boys and men to express, including social expectations that men seek to be dominant (the "alpha male") and limit their emotional range primarily to expressions of anger.
Kiely deftly tackles toxic masculinity, sexual violence, and class issues. He does so in a way, that made me really pay attention. At no point did I feel as though I was being lectured or spoken at. Rather, Kiely let's these ideas merge with the story in an organic way, which kept me interested and listening.
He stole something else. Something deeper -- like the voice inside my head, the thought before my word, the rest before my heart. He took it, and everywhere I went, I walked as a person with something missing. I want it back.
One of the things I really liked, was the way the story was told. Kiely employed the dual point of view structure, and it was perfect, because it allowed the reader to learn about Fullbrook from someone on the inside and from someone on the outside.
it was more how everyone acted. Like cruelty was currency, and the meaner you were, the richer you were.
Jules was a Fullbrook legacy student. Her mother counted herself among the first females to attend the institution, but Jules was counting down until she could escape this school and its culture that disguised bad behavior as tradition. Once part of the "in-crowd", she was now viewed less favorably as a troublemaking feminist, and seemed alone in her battled.
I once heard another girl put it like this: This is a boys' school and they accept girls here too.
Bax was the outsider. He was awarded a hockey scholarship, and was automatically accepted as part of the "boys' club". However, there were circumstances, which brought Bax to Fullbrook. He had been part of a rather horrific accident, and he sort of lost it all back in Ohio. Because of what happened, he sought to become a better person. He reflected often on advice his ex-girlfriend gave him, and especially embraced the art of listening.
No woman had walked on the moon. And when she did, because surely that would happen one day -- wouldn't it? -- there would be all the jokes, because that was also inevitable. For every achievement there was always the joke intended to take it away.
It was heartbreaking watching Jules fade before my eyes. I had so much rage for what happened to her, but was glad that she had Javier, Bax, and Aileen as her allies in this fight.
I guess I hadn't said anything when I'd seen others be that way to her. Collateral damage is real. What about collateral accountability? I hadn't thought about that.
Bax was actually the standout for me in this book. His journey was one I was happy to be a part of. He actively had to wage a war with ideas that were so ingrained in him, but he did it, because he knew those ideas were wrong. It's a difficult line he had to walk, because he needed that scholarship. He saw Fullbrook as his last chance at a future, and therefore, Bax struggles throughout the story with challenging the school norms. There were quite a few times I wanted to cheer for Bax, because I was proud of him, when he had to make those difficult decisions.
At a place like Fullbrook, a man could do whatever he wanted to me, to anyone, and get away with it.
Overall: A thoughtful and honest look at what happens when we challenge "traditions", which I think will serve as an excellent conversation starter.
*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.
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