theSkimm Reading Pick! Blurring the lines of blame and moral ambiguity, Indecent by Corinne Sullivan is a smart, sexy debut. Shy, introverted Imogene Abney has always been fascinated by the elite world of prep schools, having secretly longed to attend one since she was a girl in Buffalo, New York. So, shortly after her college graduation, when she’s offered a teaching position at the Vandenberg … offered a teaching position at the Vandenberg School for Boys, an all-boys prep school in Westchester, New York, she immediately accepts, despite having little teaching experience–and very little experience with boys.
When Imogene meets handsome, popular Adam Kipling a few weeks into her tenure there, a student who exudes charm and status and ease, she’s immediately drawn to him. Who is this boy who flirts with her without fear of being caught? Who is this boy who seems immune to consequences and worry; a boy for whom the world will always provide?
As an obsessive, illicit affair begins between them, Imogene is so lost in the haze of first love that she’s unable to recognize the danger she’s in. The danger of losing her job. The danger of losing herself in the wrong person. The danger of being caught doing something possibly illegal and so indecent.
Exploring issues of class, sex, and gender, this smart, sexy debut by Corrine Sullivan shatters the black-and-white nature of victimhood, taking a close look at blame and moral ambiguity.
more
I flew through Sullivan’s debut on vacation. I think what impressed me most is that even though you know where the novel will end up, she still does a great job of unraveling the story in a really layered, calculated, and surprising way. It’s a quick page-turner that I’d recommend for a beach/vacation read!
A remarkable novel that brings you back to the days when sexual experiences and knowledge might not have been something you were well versed in, Indecent by Corinne Sullivan examines how one woman’s journey to self-discovery through an intimate relationship helps her get to the root issue of her insecurities. This novel is innocent while steamy all at the same time. It brings to like one of the more common fantasy but with a darker side.
Imogen is a 22-year-old apprentice at the Vandenberg School for Boys. This prestigious apprenticeship is meant to get her ready for her master’s program while giving her a taste of real life teaching experience. Amongst her first week of being there, an inappropriate encounter with a student during room check rounds causes her to begin to think more and more about her sexual experiences, or lack thereof.
The late night encounter introduces her to Adam Kipling or Kip as his friends call him, a 17-year-old senior at the Vandenberg. He’s confident in a way that’s almost cocky and seems to be interested in Imogen. She knows that beginning a relationship with Adam is against Vandenberg rules, but something is alluring about Adam and the way he makes her feel. Disregarding her better judgment, Imogen and Adam begin in an illicit affair. This rollercoaster relationship can only last so long, and you are left to hold on for the ride.
I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. The story is captivating, and you can’t help but want Imogen to keep this relationship, despite knowing that it will only get harder as it goes along. You know that it’s wrong, but at the same time you can’t help but relate to Imogen as she gets blinded by a love she craves so badly. Indecent brings to life a fantasy that you may have thought about but brings it around to show that even from the hardest heartbreaks, there is a silver lining.
Indecent by Corinne Sullivan begins with a rather idyllic look at the privileged teenaged boys attending a private boarding school, a view akin to Old School by Tobias Wolff, which is also mentioned in the book. Imogene, a middle class girl fromBuffalo, New York, fantasizes from an early age about attending such a school with all its connotations of wealth and status. With body dysmorophic problems, bad skin, and conical boobs, Imogene feels isolated. Her love life has been a bust. After graduating from college, she accepts a position as a teaching assistant at Vandenberg School for Boys, an all-boys prep school in Westchester, New York. When Adam Kipling, a popular, charming seventeen-year-old boy, seduces her, Imogene convinces herself that he loves her as much as she loves him. The reader feels the rumble of the train coming down the tracks but is helpless to keep Imogene from being hit by the train of her obsession with Kip.