As a private school graduate and the niece of a cancer survivor, I was drawn to Christine Schutt’s All Souls to see if she could do anything new with the genre. At the center of the story is Astra Dell, a New York prep school student hospitalized for cancer treatment. The novel chronicles her battle with the disease amid the rapid changes and learning experiences of adolescence.
Schutt, a National Book Award nominated author uniquely structures the book: The story actually revolves around Astra instead of just following her. Each large section of the book is broken into smaller segments that each focus on a different character. Some directly interact with Astra – hospital visits from friends, parents’ coping processes – while others experience more latent effects of her illness. Schoolmate Car sends letters to her hospitalized friend, verbalizing what others keep secret: Fear of death, words of encouragement as well as defeat, and the reflection, "People make the most impact on the lives of others by being absent." That line stayed with me throughout the rest of the book. When my aunt was sick I really did notice most when little things changed or disappeared, whether it was hair, regular clothing, weight, or laughter. All Souls revolves around that idea, and Car even realizes that her differences with her mother are nothing compared to Astra's fight to live. Through Astra’s classmates and relatives, Schutt touches on the issues of attending a high-pressure prep school, or just high school, for that matter: Eating disorders, privilege, conflict with parents and classmates, and romance. This makes for a more well-rounded story, a world bigger than one girl, and a feeling for how an individual impacts those around her.
Overall, All Souls avoids being just another sappy young adult novel about illness or private school. The story has more going on than grief and blood tests; Schutt’s interesting writing helps it avoid melodrama. But the drawback is the same as the novel’s biggest strength: There’s a lot going on! While All Souls evades predictability in its handling of high school life, Schutt doesn’t do much to set the Miss Siddons School apart from a set of Gossip Girl. The book focused mostly on characters, so I didn't get a good feel for the school's specific environment. Similarly, at times All Souls seems more appropriate for a series instead of a single novel, with Schutt trying to do too much with 200 pages, not to mention that the expansive cast of characters makes some specifics of the story a little hard to follow. I did, however, identify with some of the students' close relationships with teachers; at my small high school, teachers knew me even though they never taught me, and I more or less grew to see the "grown-ups" as people too.
Readers who love language and appreciate description will find All Souls worth reading. Schutt's writing ranges from realistic dialogue ("I don't care," and "I hate essays") to poetic description (Astra suffers the "hivey heat and hurt of chemo;" and backpack-wearing students are "little walking packages"). And of course, the story compels the reader to see how Astra’s health fares throughout the book, how various crushes resolve, and if torn friendships find repair. All Souls takes some focus to read, but moves quickly. Anyone who wants to read a high school story that's about more than just life as a model/fashionista/mean girl will enjoy this book.—Andy Wass
Let us know what you thought about All Souls in the comments section, and enter for a chance to win all of the ELLEgirl book club picks for April and May. Last, but not least, don’t forget to start reading these upcoming ELLEgirl Book Club picks:
April 30: Confessions of a Triple Shot Betty by Jody Gehrman
May 7: The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson
May 14: The Interns: Fashionistas by Chloe Walsh
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