Yesterday I finished reviewing the final page proofs of
The Sixth Form, which means the book is finally off to the printers (hurray!). I figured it was now time to share some of the advance praise for the novel that I've been sitting on for several weeks:
"Written with assurance, nuance, and compassion, Tom Dolby's The Sixth Form is a classic coming-of-age story about two boys, at first surprised by how different they are from each other's perceptions, and ultimately surprised by how different they are from their own self-perceptions. Woven into this narrative is a gripping suspense story that evokes Donna Tartt's The Secret History and makes the book very difficult to put down. These are rich, developed characters, and there is much insight here into the nature of adolescence and the lonely and ambivalent workings of the heart as it first awakens to love."
-Andrew Solomon, National Book Award winner and New York Times bestselling author of The Noonday Demon and A Stone Boat
"In the tradition of Curtis Sittenfeld's Prep, with just the right hint of Tom Brown's Schooldays, Dolby gives us a glimpse into the rarefied world of elite New England boarding schools and manages at the same time to say something new about adolescence, sexuality, and the way art can give us what we need to survive."
-Ayelet Waldman, bestselling author of Love and Other Impossible Pursuits
"The Sixth Form is a tender and funny novel about that messy period of our lives--high school senior year. Tom Dolby captures all the embarrassing moments, all the pent-up desires, all the errors of judgment with empathy and wit. Reading this novel will conjure up your own awkward past, leaving you thankful you've graduated from all the drama. It will reassure you that you weren't the only wounded soul in the room."
-David Ebershoff, bestselling author of The Danish Girl and Pasadena
"Reminiscent of Knowles's A Separate Peace, Tom Dolby deftly explores the outer world of privilege and education and the inner world of adolescent emerging identity. Writing with compassion and authority, he charts the necessary, frequently heart-wrenching, always baffling trajectory of moving from innocence to experience, confusion to clarification. His young men are vividly drawn, and we root for them to find their way, mindful of the endless seductions and distractions that youth offers. A satisfying and engaging read, it reminds us to be grateful to have made it through adolescence and gentle with those who are struggling through it!"
-Madeline Levine, Ph.D., New York Times bestselling author of The Price of Privilege: How Parental Pressure and Material Advantage are Creating a Generation of Disconnected and Unhappy Kids
In the works, too, is a new website that will feature more about
The Sixth Form, its origins, a photolog, a soundtrack, and more.