Educating Waverley

In Educating Waverly, local author Laura Kalpakian delivers an incredibly well-written, engaging tale of student Waverly Scott, her cohorts and teachers at the Temple School. Banished to the school on the remote island of Isadora in the Puget Sound, Scott comes of age amidst a cast of eclectic but lovable characters. Meanwhile, World War II explodes in Europe, soon to indelibly impact Scott's life as a French refugee is sent to the school for protection. Kalpakian artfully describes Scott and her fellow teens as they discover their world in an alternative, private school owned and operated by Sophia Westervelt, the heir of a local logging family. With compassion and understanding, Kalpakian brings her characters to life with believable, memory-invoking descriptions of teen angst as the students attempt to embrace Westervelt's unconventional teachings on becoming a "North American Woman of the Future." In spite of the book's cover, the Temple School is unconventional and the students' dress is anything but short skirts and penny loafers. Instead, the students are clad in comfortable tunics, slacks and Roman sandals to instill in them the freedom they will need to "see the unseen" and to "fear nothing save ignorance, untruth and ugliness." Throughout the 300+ page read, the author interweaves life on the island with the tragic events of the war, each having an impact on the other. Slowly, she allows the character's pasts to unfold creating a fascinating interconnection that can only be understood as each piece is deliciously revealed. With unmatched skill, Kalpakian smoothly transitions from one historical time to another, in one breath telling the impacts of World War II and the next describing the bitter disappointment of those who fought in the Great War before it. Without following a logical or chronological pattern, the author manages to paint the complete picture of each of the main characters as they move through life, love and loss. Perhaps without realizing it, Kalpakian creates a suspenseful novel, holding the reader's attention with poignant descriptions of our nation's history, while sharing long forgotten adolescent pain and triumph. Her story is beautifully written, her words well chosen, and her story magnificently told. This novel is not your everyday romance novel. Rather, it is a rare treat to the discerning reader, one not easily forgotten.

i picked up a publisher's copy of this book, knowing nothing about it. (it literally had a blank cover) what a joy! funny, inspiring, masterfully well-written and meaningful on many different levels...i could keep this up, but your time will be better rewarded by reading this treasure. i actually feel lucky for having happened to stumble upon this book - it is one of those very rare ones that truly 'changes your life.' how much? well, to start with, i've never before felt motivated to post something on the web!

Ms. Kalpakian has tremendous talent; the story flows, the characters are interesting and there are always some surprises.

Another tale of Isadora Island - beginning with the waning years of Temple School - a mystical place where a nonconformist approach is taken to the training of "North American Women of the Future" and where resident students are bound by secret pacts. The story winds through four generations and unfolds in the present tense of various eras to complete a fascinating circle of life with an emotionally riveting revelation of love and lies. As with her last novel set on Isadora Island many years ahead of this, Ms. Kalpakian brings us a new look at unconventional familial relationships in a delightfully engaging way - it is a work that would indeed please the King of Sweden! Go ahead - Waste not thy hour! Hear the unspoken! See the unseen! Effect transformation! Defy Descartes! While I stop to worship at the Church of the Chocolate God!