Seton girls

Review by Booklist Review

When Aly and her longtime boyfriend, J, start their academic journey at an elite prep school, Seton Academic High, they are over the moon at how welcoming the school is. J is in line to become Seton's first Black quarterback, and both Aly and J are immersed in the all-encompassing football mania that engulfs the community. At Seton, varsity quarterbacks are gods, and the current quarterback, Parker, is no exception to the rule. When Aly discovers the truth behind Seton's flawless season, however, she and a small group of powerful girls are the only ones who stand between Seton's winning streak and justice. Thomas executes a smartly plotted debut where every page is fraught with tension, and she explores the nuances of group-initiated peer pressure. The novel showcases a diverse cast of girls, each memorable and powerful in the face of societal oppression. Thomas forces the reader to question the validity of an institution that silences and subjugates young women. This bold and unapologetic story of female empowerment will stay with readers long after the last page.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

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Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Seton Academic High prep school's varsity football team attributes tradition to their 12-year winning streak, and they're not about to let anything get in the way of another victory in Thomas's high-stakes debut. Though Aly Jacobs and her boyfriend J, both Black and 16, often feel out of place in their affluent, mostly white high school, they believe that Seton, despite its occasionally classist atmosphere, is the key to better future opportunities. J, the first Black quarterback in Seton football history, is on track to make the varsity team, but tensions run high when white Parker, the current quarterback and younger brother of the QB who led Seton to victory 13 years ago, believes that J is infringing on his territory. After Aly learns the football team's darkest secret, she must reckon with the possibility that exposing them could unfairly and disproportionately hurt her and J's futures. Thomas skillfully employs alternating past and present chapters, going as far back as Seton's first win, to illustrate the sinister ways in which the school's traditions were formed and maintained. Poignant conversations examining the lack of accountability for wealthy, well-protected men in power permeate this thought-provoking story. Ages 14--up. Agent: Ann Rose, Prospect Agency. (Aug.)

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Review by Kirkus Book Review

A new friendship leads a Black high school newspaper editor to pen an article that attempts to expose the real power behind her prep school football team's undefeated seasons. Parker Adams wants to continue the Seton Academic High School football legacy started by his older brother, Cooper, to secure the team's 13th undefeated season and take home a state championship. But the season unravels when a varsity player loses a flash drive with compromising information. On top of that, Parker's girlfriend, Michelle Rodriguez, hears that he slept with her best friend, Britt MacDougal. Parker is looking to restore his image by having junior Alyson Jacobs, editor of The Seton Story, write a glowing piece about him. She and J Turner, her boyfriend and Seton's junior varsity quarterback--who's on track to become the school's first Black quarterback--are bused in from a nearby town. Football is J's ticket to a college scholarship, and he and Aly enjoy the perks of the town's worship of the team. However, Aly idolizes the friendships of Britt, Michelle, Bianca Patel, and Kelly Donahue, a quartet of wealthy, glamorous girls, and she supports Britt when she accuses Parker of sexual misconduct. Aly's and J's backstories are limited, and their relationship feels underdeveloped; the focus is on their existence in connection to the elite Seton students as the racially diverse cast members explore the privileges conferred by gender and money. A timely examination of consent, power, and who owns the rights to the truth. (Fiction. 14-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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Excerpt from The Seton Story , October 30, 2019 It isn't easy to create change that lasts. In fact, it's really, really hard. But we did it, here at Seton. And we believed we did it together. Don't you remember the stories? All the tales passed on from seniors to freshmen year after year? Cooper Adams. Who he was. What he meant. How he came in and changed our whole entire world. The tales I've heard go like this: Once upon a time, thirteen years ago, the heavens placed upon us Cooper Adams. He had dimples that could seduce a housewife and threw a spiral that could dent a brick wall. He inherited a pretty good football team in a really good division, and he led that team to undeniable greatness. An undefeated season that no team--­not ­Billingsley, not St. Mary's, not Anderson Prep--­had ever seen before. And as he did it, he united a school that had only ever cared about football to care about its girls as well. He was our ally. A feminist before it was even cool. How, you ask? Well, the tales say that during the summer of 2006, just before he would take over as Seton Academic High School's Varsity quarterback, he sat in his basement and penned a cheer. When it was finished, he taught it to his team. And then, at Seton's first game of the season, right after halftime, the entire football team stood on benches and faced the crowd--­faced us--­ as they recited the legendary Seton Girls cheer for the very first time. Cooper Adams did other cool stuff, too. He convinced the school to create Seton Girls swag to go with all the Seton Football stuff sold in the online bookstore. He donated the proceeds from the football team's Season of Giving bake sale to a women's shelter, instead of to another junior football league. Cooper Adams saw us. Cooper Adams loved us. Why, you ask? Because he couldn't have had his perfect season without us. Those were his words. On October 27, 2006, in the very first center spread quarterback feature that Seton ever ran, he was asked why he cared so much about the girls. What was it that made us special? What did he want the rest of the world to know? And he said: "I want all those girls to know that we couldn't have had this perfect season without them." I read the quote myself when I was researching whatever the hell it is I'm writing now, which I know is the exact opposite of the "I-­cannot-­tell-­a-­lie/Isn't-he-a-hero?" quarterback feature that all of you were expecting to see. I want to say I'm sorry, but I'm not. I just want us to be okay. I imagine, at the time that Cooper's words were first published, Seton girls everywhere sighed longingly and collapsed into the nearest arms like they were at a BTS concert. Because Cooper was so perfect. Because he was, and continues to be, our star. Every year that followed, Seton quarterbacks stood on the foundation of what he built. Undefeated season after undefeated season, like we were magic. But Cooper was only replicated, never duplicated. Until now. Because we get to have his kin. His blood . His brother, with his own delicious dimples and killer spiral. But if you thought, like I did, that that made us the lucky ones . . . You were wrong. Excerpted from Seton Girls by Charlene Thomas All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

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