Loved this book! A squash book - and so I couldn't say no. Alexander Tilney captured the YA moment. Bravo.

Thank you to Little, Brown and Company for providing me with a copy of Alexander Tilney’s novel, The Expectations, in exchange for an honest review.

Fourteen-year-old Ben Weeks is a new student at St. James, an exclusive boarding school that has been attended by generations of men in his family. He is ecstatic to continue the family tradition, especially entering the school on the heels of his recently graduated and very popular older brother. Ben is ready to take his rightful place at St. James and fully anticipates that he continue the family legacy.

Ben’s roommate is Ahmed Al-Khaled, the son of a very wealthy Emirati sheik. Ahmed is wealthier than any of the other kids at St. James, but immediately, he is an outsider. Ahmed doesn’t act or dress like the other students, but more than that, he is legitimately self-confident, a rarity among teenagers. Ben is conflicted. He wants to help Ahmed fit-in with American culture, but he is doing it for his own benefit, as he doesn’t want to be looped with the “weird kid.” He also witnesses other students harassing Ahmed and Ben is conflicted as to whether or not he should intercede.

Ben doesn’t lack empathy, but his drive to be accepted overrides almost everything. The importance of being accept was a fundamental lesson from his upbringing and a core value that is reinforced at St. James through hazing.

The biggest issues that Ben faces are a direct result of his upbringing. He comes from an upper-class family that places a high value on money, social class, and tradition. This brings immense pressure and a sense of responsibility to uphold the family name, but a conflict arises when it is revealed that the Weeks’ family has lost their wealth.

Shortly into his first semester at St. James, Ben learns that his family is in a dire financial crisis and his father is involved in a tentative business deal. His father’s desperate business deal involves land for strip malls. Ben is mortified that his father would be in a deal with such a scummy, lowly enterprise as strip malls. This is the heart of the problem: Ben has been raised to be snobby. His parents are desperate to keep up their image of wealth, including hiding their problems, as much as possible, from their son. When Ben learns that there is trouble, his first instinct is to hide it from his fellow students. He doesn’t want to be perceived as different from them and must keep up the image of his family. The idea that he might need to go on financial aid is incredibly devastating and he is desperate to figure out an alternative. When a solution to his problem presents itself, he jumps on it, even though it involves a secret with Ahmed.

The Expectations is an apt title, as the novel deals with a variety of expectations: The expectation that Ahmed will learn to fit in at St. James. The expectation that Ben’s family will seamlessly maintain their wealth and status. The expectation that Ben’s life will continue on the trajectory that Is expected for men of his station.

On a smaller level, Ben is learning to handle these expectations vs the reality of being a teenager. He is a talented squash player and he fully expects to be a top athlete at St. James. His father has even donated money towards a fancy new squash court. The news of their financial situation derails Ben, as he cannot play on this new court knowing that they are no longer rich. Quitting squash is a way that he can directly go against the expectations of his father.

Tilney does a great job at writing teenage anxiety. The Expectations isn’t a story with dramatic plot twists, it is far more subtle and affecting. It is easy to remember being a teenager and struggling to fit in, trying to combine the expectations of your parents with those of your peers. I didn’t come from a wealthy family and I can appreciate that Ben’s expectations were different from my own, yet I feel that any reader will be able to relate to Ben’s conflicts, which include things like stressing over having the right clothes and talking to a girl that he is crushing on.

Ahmed, with his lack of awareness, is a refreshing contrast to Ben. It’s not that Ahmed doesn’t care about fitting in, as he does want to mesh with American society, but he also does not fear being himself. Although extremely wealthy, he doesn’t carry with him the same social status hang-ups that Ben and many of the other student’s carry.

Ahmed’s family has different expectations. The whole reason that Ahmed is studying at St. James is because of an old family friend, who helped Ahmed’s family grow their wealth and status. This friend was an American who studied at St. James and who told them that the private school fundamentally altered his life. Ahmed’s father is hoping that the same will happen for his son and there is a strong expectation that Ahmed will soak in this magic from his St. James experience.

At its core, The Expectations is about two teenagers from different worlds, who are both trying to navigate adolescence, but from under the weight of their parent’s enormous expectations. The pacing is a little slow and it took me over a week to read The Expectations, however the beauty in the book is it has so many layers. It’s a great novel for book groups and classroom discussions. Tilney has crafted a strong social commentary, with memorable and relatable characters.

Thank you LIttle Brown and Company, Netgalley and Alexander Tilney for this e-ARC in return of my honest review.

I loved this book. I honestly did and I had hard time to put it down as the narration was beautiful. I was there among the students in that closed up school with its ridiculous "rules" (the ones that students invent for themselves to follow). I was emphasizing with Ben in his search of what to do. He was so lost in right and wrong and was so afraid to be different. He wanted to be accepted so much, and be that legendary Weeksy as his brother was. But he ended up being roommates with Ahmed, international student who didn't know school 'rules' and wasn't that easy to be persuaded to blend it. I felt that internal conflict within Ben and that desire to be as everyone else. He blames Ahmed for his personality but he has nothing of his own and he did not understand that till the very end.

I give it only 4 stars as I was a bit disappointed with the ending. I thought it would be more grandiose but at the same time I can see why the author choose it to end it the way he did. It was more on a real side of life rather than my expected one.

Anyway, there a few flaws here and there character wise, but overall very well done for a debut novel. Cannot wait for other work s by Alexander Tilney.

Tilney manages the difficult task of finding new stories and fresh perspectives to explore within the subject of class and privilege in the school setting. The characters were what made this book stand out- the plot was good but not groundbreaking, but attempting a shocking new plot in this genre rarely makes for a successful work of fiction. Tilney’s focus on how these individuals perceive and react to events that we have all read about before is a better choice and makes for a compelling novel.

Sadly and unfortunately, I could not get into this book. I tried, I skimmed forward, but it wasn't grabbing me as I had hoped. I'm not sure if it was the style of writing, its simplicity or its straight telling, straight-forwardness or what, but I was struggling too much to read. Sorry! :-)

3.5 stars.

"Price turned toward Ben now as they walked. 'Your opponent is always going to want to avoid pain, but you run toward it, you go looking for that pain. Then you're not afraid, and you win.' He turned to look ahead again."

This story takes place in a Prep School on the East Coast and it has some of the themes of "Prep" and "Old School" and other similar novels around the quiet richness, the entitlement, the "properness." But at its core this novel is about growing up and finding your own identity, your ability to navigate peer pressure, struggling between fitting in and standing out. It's about what's said and what's not said. It's about the lives of quiet desperation many live. It's about the things we don't share especially during teenage years.

'"When I was thinking about people to photograph, I just thought that you seem pretty self-conscious a lot of the time, as though you aren't sure" - snap - "how you come off to other people, and that difference between how you suspect you might come off" - snap - "and how you actually come off is interesting. It gives you" - snap - "a sort of vivid look, and I wondered f I could get that" - snap - "on film." Snap.'

What I loved most about this story is that nothing gets resolved. There are many threads in the story and the author could have easily been tempted to follow them. But many of them are left unsaid. We don't know what will happen and that makes this book so much more real to me. I usually like my plot lined buttoned up but I loved that it wasn't so here.

The urge to belong, the yearning to understand, the struggle to be cool vs being kind, and the angst of having some freedom and yet not quite being an adult are all portrayed beautifully in this story.

Thank you to netgalley and Little, Brown and Company for an early copy in return for an honest review.

I wanted to LOVE this book. From the description and early praise, i really wanted to love this one. Unfortunately, i just don't think it was the book for me. I think a lot of people can and will love it, but I'm exhausted by the male voice and male authors. I'm very sorry for feeling this way, but this one was a struggle for me to finish!

There were things I loved about this book, and things that kind of annoyed me, but overall I enjoyed it. I thought it did a much better job than a lot of books of evoking the teen boarding school experience, and the voice of the main character rang really true to me. However, I sort of hated the way it was mostly written from Ben's POV but then would suddenly randomly pop into someone else's POV for a few lines. It was jarring and disorienting. I could also see folks reading the book and saying "but nothing happens!" If you are a reader who likes books with lots of action and a clear problem-resolution story arc, this is not going to be the book for you. It's much more of a slow, subtle burn. I was OK with that because I really liked the world it evoked.

There is something about the tone of the narrative that feels like we are being told this story many years in the future, after it has had time to age. It is beautiful and compelling.

This story feels a little bit like an indie film in that the ending is real. We have more questions than answers, and nothing is tied up in a neat little bow.

I enjoyed Ben’s growth and following him as he found his way into himself, but something about this story left me wanting more

Expectations are high for Ben Weeks as he enters the elite boarding school of his ancestors, as a nationally-ranked squash player. Undercurrents in his family and student life threaten to derail his glorious destiny, and force him into a world of complex adult issues.

Prep school angst novel. Legacy student and roommate who both feel like misfits attempt to make a place for themselves in the macho culture of male-only private academy. Much drama but characters were not interesting or developed enough to care much about the outcome of their various predicaments.

The Expectations, the debut novel by Alexander Tilney brings you into to the elite world of a New England prep school. Tilney builds characters that are layered and presents the fascinating challenges of a group of teenage boys who are all wanting to fit in and have individual challenges they are facing as they navigate this new frontier.

From social status to family expectations, this book brings you into this secret world of traditions, hazing, and fitting into this very specific social landscape. Readers will connect with the main character's plight as he maneuvers this new path. He fumbles and follows along with others sometimes hurtful actions while silently wishing he could be more self-assured like some of his peers. I think anyone that has been a teenager can relate to that feeling and often the people who hurt others are the ones who feel the most alone.

This novel shares a compassionate look at a young man who is in the place between adolescence and adulthood and the struggles he faces in order to come to terms with himself, his family of origin and the world around him.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company for an advanced copy of this book.

This is a great read and I highly recommend it. The book is very absorbing. The main character, Ben, is a 14 year old boy who grew up in a privileged (but not showy) home and is going away to boarding school for the first time. He is an empathetic character in part because he cares so much what other people think and feels like he can't be his true self. He really doesn't know who his true self is and struggling to find our who he is. My favorite character is Ahmed, who is an open and kind person very comfortable with who he is and the target of other boys because of it. I also found the story interesting because of the discussion of history of squash, which was a lot more interesting than I expected.

As someone who went to a prestigious boarding school in the mid-nineties, this novel absolutely brought me right back to that experience. However, it is not just for those who want to relive their glory days (ha!). Readers will connect deeply with the way the main character navigates life with the anxiety of no longer being a kid and nowhere near being an adult. I enjoyed this read and only a few times felt weighted down by some of the excessive language (“he went back to his room and ate half a Powerbar). I loom forward to future titles by this debut author.

I was given an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Net Galley for the free ARC. This book reminded me a little bit of Cormier's "The Chocolate Wars" because of it setting at a boy's boarding school and some of the conflicts between the students and fitting in to established rules especially when you are a legacy with brothers and more who attended before you. Fast read and well written.