Nick McDonell

Well written, a little too many platitudes though, especially in the first 100 pages.
You recognize the writer age while reading. I was sometimes hearing my students talking.
Nevertheless, I really loved McDonell's sparse language, the short chapters and the constant switching point-of-view. White Mike is a well-developed character whose psychological flaws and strengths make him interesting and lifelike. The plot has its weak points. I got really used to this fatalistic stories, and in the end I wasn't really interested in who gets killed and who doesn't. Maybe I'm as nihilistic as the kids in this novel.
Just like watching series like Gossip Girl or any other teen drama I had to try to remember that the protagonists are just kids. Although, in contrast to these teen trash series the kids here are adolescents. They don't whine as adults do and above all they don't have adults supervising them and teaching them a valuable lesson once in a while. These soapy parents are only there to remind the young audience that they shouldn't try the things they see on TV at home anyway. In this novel there simply are no parents.… (meer)

The author here comes from a very rich family and he takes a deep dive into all the perks he and others of his ilk enjoyed and continue to enjoy and how they keep their privilege. He spends a lot of time delving into Buckley, a private school he attended with other elite kids. The book's title (Quiet Street) refers to teachers telling kids on their bus to be quiet when they went into minority neighborhoods lest they be yelled at or attacked. He also interviews some of his fellow Buckley scholars who are all successes.… (meer)