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65th out of 254 books
—
997 voters
The Starboard Sea
by
Amber Dermont (Goodreads Author)
Set against the backdrop of the 1987 stock market collapse, The Starboard Sea is an examination of the abuses of class privilege, the mutability of sexual desire, the thrill and risk of competitive sailing and the adult cost of teenage recklessness. It is a powerful and compelling novel about a young man navigating the depths of his emotional life, finding his moral center...more
Hardcover, 320 pages
Published
February 28th 2012
by St. Martin's Press
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Rules of conduct are flexible for rich kids, and never more so than at Bellingham, a co-ed prep school for misbehaving teens who have been booted out of more prestigious academies. In her debut novel, Amber Dermont revisits the zeitgeist of the Reagan era through the eyes of Jason Prosper, a senior who lands at Bellingham in 1987 following the suicide of Cal, his best friend and sailing partner.
When Jason arrives at Bellingham, he is full of secrets and emotional baggage involving Cal's death, h...more
When Jason arrives at Bellingham, he is full of secrets and emotional baggage involving Cal's death, h...more
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It was a melancholy but engrossing story of a boy in a prep school for misfits. Plagued with regret, he befriends a troubled girl as they navigate the social pitfalls of the rich. The main character, Jason Prosper, even though from a wealthy family, struggles with his wealth and his role as he searches for himself and to solve a mystery that slowly develops. The book is well written and you feel like you know the main character, but his melancholy does weigh on the book. I loved the nautical ele...more
I mentioned once before that my personal experience with New England boarding schools is not something I would wish on my worst enemy. That was in a review for The Twisted Thread, a young adult novel about a murder on one of these campuses. I liked it; didn’t love it. This book, The Starboard Sea, is light years beyond that one. I don’t think it’s promoted as YA, and although sophisticated teens might love it, the depth and breadth of this one is so far beyond the Pretty Little Liars genre that...more
One of the themes of this novel is bullying. It starts on page 4, as our narrator, Jason Kilian Prosper, describes playing tag with his older brother, Riegel. (I have never met a Riegel and I can't say that I want to.) Here Jason is speaking with his mother at their summer home in Maine as they drink champagne mixed with grapefruit juice:
"'We used to play tag. Chasing each other, then forcing the loser into the wig.' Riegel had made up this game as a way of torturing me. A brittle net material c...more
"'We used to play tag. Chasing each other, then forcing the loser into the wig.' Riegel had made up this game as a way of torturing me. A brittle net material c...more
I'd been looking forward to this, and it mostly met expectations. It's about a boy at a new boarding school for his senior year in 1987-88. The sense of privilege that permeates the place is outrageous; there's a ton of casual cruelty that just made me shiver. The author makes some interesting choices with her protagonist -- he's like Holden Caulfield, but actually with more reason to be messed up. There's a lot about sailing, and my main criticism of the book is that the boats and the winds and...more
An excellent read. Vividly written, and evocative. The Starboard Sea tells the story of Prosper, removed from one exclusive prep school for another - renowned for its acceptance of spoilt little rich kids, who won't be accepted anywhere else. Set in 1987, on the eve of the stockmarket crash, it tells the story of Prosper's acceptance of himself after a terrible tragedy, his forgiveness of himself for his no small part in it, and his attempts, sometimes misguided, to make good choices. With an em...more
Though unable to relate to the overindulgent upbringing of the cast of characters, what I could relate to is the feelings they experienced. Feelings of invincibility, self-loathing, pride, indecision. Jason wears these like a banner waving in the wind. He internalizes them also, but bears them vibrantly for the reader to evaluate their own feelings against his story. To become so entwined with him that they are not two separate yet equal beings, but the reader and Jason become joined, their emot...more
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From Jane Eyre to The Chocolate War to The Outsiders fiction has explored the hurts and the conceits of that most vulnerable and brutal of humans beings: the teenager. And from A Separate Peace to Never Let Me Go to the Harry Potter series, readers flock to the romance of that exclusive teenage club to which most of us never belonged: prep school. One of American literature's most iconic characters, Holden Caulfield - newly-expelled from Pencey Prep as The Catcher in the Rye opens - has been th...more
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What I liked the most about this book was the setting at a New England boarding school for wealthy, privileged teenagers. Just reading about the advantages these students had due to wealth and their family name was pretty fascinating reading. However, we soon learn that no amount of money can protect you from dangers.
Set in the 1980's, this is the story of Jason Prosper. He transfers to Bellingham Academy after the suicide of his close friend and sailing partner, Cal. Blaming himself for his de...more
Set in the 1980's, this is the story of Jason Prosper. He transfers to Bellingham Academy after the suicide of his close friend and sailing partner, Cal. Blaming himself for his de...more
Set in the late 1980's "The Starboard Sea" delicately balances the heartbreaking tale of Jason's senior year at prep school against tongue in cheek references to the over the top 80's social scene.
Jason stoically deals with bi-sexuality, suicide, racism, divorce, classism and even a murder as he navigates his way through his "second chance" prep school senior year. His parents, are non-entities in his upbringing and seem to think that there is no problem too big that they can't throw enough mon...more
Jason stoically deals with bi-sexuality, suicide, racism, divorce, classism and even a murder as he navigates his way through his "second chance" prep school senior year. His parents, are non-entities in his upbringing and seem to think that there is no problem too big that they can't throw enough mon...more
Dermont writes about privileged life in the late '80s and doesn't shy away from the cruelty, snobbery, and heartless nature of entitled youth. For those of you who love sailing, there are pages and pages devoted to knots, regattas, and all things nautical. Having read it on the heels of The Tragedy Paper, it didn't seem as meaningful nor as interesting. Although Dermont had a lot of dialogue that was plausible, I knocked her down a star just because the dialogue was almost exclusively teenage bo...more
I started this book with high hopes, as it had received great reviews and was about sailing and boarding school, two things that have had a big impact in my life. I even spent a summer sailing at Tabor Academy, which is where the author went to school and appears to be the inspiration for some aspects of the book's fictional "Bellingham Academy." However, while the characters aren't supposed to be likable, they also aren't believable at all. Sure, there are cold and callous people in the world,...more
This book pissed me off. The author was pretentious, and, among other things, loved waffling on about sailing and how much she knew about rich kids in boarding school. I went to boarding school around the same time this book takes place, and I think she's pretty much full of crap. The only two things she got right were 1) all dorm rooms blast Bob Marley, and 2) boarding school is call just that because it is boring.
In addition, this book was one in which you can predict exactly what will occur o...more
In addition, this book was one in which you can predict exactly what will occur o...more
The Starboard Sea fits firmly in the tradition of the "prep school" sub-genre of coming-of-age stories. As such, it doesn't rise above just OK. The finest story of this type, and the novel that began the trend, is A Separate Peace, by John Knowles, published in 1959. Other stories, including the movie Dead Poet's Society, also show the angst of the teenage boy and the secrets kept, and the tragedies suffered.
The story is bout Jason Prosper (a little heavy on the symbolism here; too Swiftian), w...more
The story is bout Jason Prosper (a little heavy on the symbolism here; too Swiftian), w...more
Wow, this book wasn't good. Loved the premise of some secret between prep school kids, but the execution of the story was weak. The jacket says "set against the backdrop of the 1987 stock market collapse," but aside from mentioning how a few characters' fathers fared, it doesn't play a role at all. The author continually forces musical references into the story. An example of which is "Even with the music blaring, with Robert Smith imploring 'Oh, why can I, I, I, be you?' I heard Chester hit the...more
I received this book as an advance copy, read the cover blurb (thought "Separate Peace"? or "Catcher in the Rye"?) and then placed it with my TBRs, where it disappeared beneath the growing pile. One night, searching for a short book, a quick read that I could pick up and put down,I pulled it out. Bad decision, as I was up all night finishing it. I was captured.
As Amazon describes it: "Set against the backdrop of the 1987 stock market collapse, "The Starboard Sea" is an examination of the abuses...more
As Amazon describes it: "Set against the backdrop of the 1987 stock market collapse, "The Starboard Sea" is an examination of the abuses...more
I enjoyed reading The Starboard Sea, although it's hard to pinpoint exactly what I liked about it. While there was a storyline, it meandered for a long time with nothing much really happening. Only later on, there is a dramatic event that Jason, the protagonist, starts to investigate.
The book was well-written and I happily kept going, learning about Jason, his rich (very rich) friends and their families, the boarding school he was at, the new friends he acquires. It wasn't the sort of book you h...more
The book was well-written and I happily kept going, learning about Jason, his rich (very rich) friends and their families, the boarding school he was at, the new friends he acquires. It wasn't the sort of book you h...more
Jason Prosper had lived a charmed life until the year his best friend Cal, committed suicide. Jason blames himself, and his wealthy father, wishing to hide away the shame, sends him off to Bellingham Academy; a prep school on the New England coast. Whilst he soon makes friends, Jason struggles to come to terms with his loss, walking away from the very thing he and Cal loved so much; sailing. The night the hurricane hits, brings fresh tragedy and forces Jason to re-evaluate his friendships.
One of...more
One of...more
3.5 stars, rounded up.
I picked up "The Starboard Sea" because I recognized the author - I took a writing class taught by Amber, several years ago. But I can definitely say I enjoyed the novel through its own merits.
Jason Prosper is getting his "second chance," spending his senior year of high school at Bellingham, a prep school full of over-privileged, over-indulged boys and girls, most of whom are also on their second (or third) chances. Jason is also suffering a highly unfortunate streak of po...more
I picked up "The Starboard Sea" because I recognized the author - I took a writing class taught by Amber, several years ago. But I can definitely say I enjoyed the novel through its own merits.
Jason Prosper is getting his "second chance," spending his senior year of high school at Bellingham, a prep school full of over-privileged, over-indulged boys and girls, most of whom are also on their second (or third) chances. Jason is also suffering a highly unfortunate streak of po...more
I don't know how to articulate what I think about this book.
It started very slow for me - the characters are unlikeable and over the top privileged. It's not scandalous, it is just boring and yucky. Or maybe some people are into that, I don't know. It's boarding school (which is probably why I got it from the library in the first place - love boarding school!) but it lacks the charm of other boarding school settings.
The most interesting piece of the story was the dead best friend - but we don't...more
It started very slow for me - the characters are unlikeable and over the top privileged. It's not scandalous, it is just boring and yucky. Or maybe some people are into that, I don't know. It's boarding school (which is probably why I got it from the library in the first place - love boarding school!) but it lacks the charm of other boarding school settings.
The most interesting piece of the story was the dead best friend - but we don't...more
In a world where those who have the money make the rules, Jason Prosper joins the other prep schoolers whose parents always had the money but never the time. Consequently their kids get kicked out of all the decent prep schools that have rules, and wind up at Bellingham, the last refuge, a place where money fixes problems and makes the rules. But Jason brings along enormous grief and the burden of pain that comes from the knowledge he has caused the suicide death of his best friend, who may have...more
This was a good, fast read. Nothing special and I won't revisit - but I did read it cover to cover in two days... so I liked it. If you like WASP tales, prep school tales, sailing books, The Preppy Handbook, Lacoste, Bar Harbor - you will be ok.
The story of Jason, a priviledged NYC resident and New England prep school student who is also an accomplished sailor. His life is going according to the plan filed when he was born until his best friend Cal commits suicide during their junior year. Ok -...more
The story of Jason, a priviledged NYC resident and New England prep school student who is also an accomplished sailor. His life is going according to the plan filed when he was born until his best friend Cal commits suicide during their junior year. Ok -...more
another novel i got sucked into reading thanks to reviews that made the plot sound all mysterious. it's all, "rich kid gets booted out of nice prep school & transfers to prep school for misfits, where he starts up a friendship with a troubled redheaded girl. but when she turns up dead, he has to confront painful memories. also, sailing." i was all, "wait, who died? why? did someone else die too?" this is the same impulse that sends a person down an hour-long rabbit hole in the CNN crime news...more
Only boarding-school-novel completists need bother with The Starboard Sea, Amber Dermont's debut about rich kids at last-chance Bellingham Academy, located on Cape Cod, hence the nauticalish title. The plot elements are standard-issue for this sort of thing: crushes, suicides, gay-shame, bullying, that amazing feeling of finding someone who understands you, pranks, drugs and booze, bonding, wealthy spoiled self-destructive teenagers. The biggest USP of the Starboard Sea is that Bellingham is ren...more
Amber Dermont is a genuinely talented writer. I read this book with some joy at the simplicity and clearness of the writing, and its ability to still evoke poetry and personality. She is very disciplined and has imagined a full character-narrator. And she likes sailing.
These characteristics propelled me through the entire book with great pleasure.
It had to. There is a point in every book -- as in every movie -- when you know it needs to be over. I knew when I had read past that point, but the f...more
These characteristics propelled me through the entire book with great pleasure.
It had to. There is a point in every book -- as in every movie -- when you know it needs to be over. I knew when I had read past that point, but the f...more
It is 1987, and Baby Jessica was rescued from a Texas well, Robert Chambers, "The Preppy Killer," is making news for having killed a young girl during "rough" sex, and the stock market has tanked. Jason Kilian Prosper was "banished" from his exclusive prep school for cheating, and his father is transporting him to Bellingham, the school of last resort, to complete his senior year. The Prospers are the one percent -- their Manhattan apartment is bedecked with Philadelphia Chippendale, Calder mobi...more
This is a debut novel and I believe that the author is gifted in that she can write. The book abounds with sailing explanations and references which are interesting and fascinating. The setting for the novel is a classic one-a boarding school. Visions of Catcher in the Rye, Dead Poet's Society, A Separate Peace come to mind. All the good stuff ended there. About 40 pages in, the book became a rock growing heavier with every page. My natural inclination was to throw it into the sea as a fitting t...more
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Mostly smooth sailing
When you’re sailing and the angle of attack and the wind are just right, preppy Jason Prosper tells a boarding school girlfriend, what a sailboat really wants to do is fly. That’s when a sail becomes a “full-bellied” airfoil and lifted by an abetting wind “a boat can soar right out of the water.”
When “Starboard Sea,” Amber Dermont’s debut novel, is on the water its sailing scenes captivate and lift the words right off the page. Sailing has its own language and Dermont makes...more
When you’re sailing and the angle of attack and the wind are just right, preppy Jason Prosper tells a boarding school girlfriend, what a sailboat really wants to do is fly. That’s when a sail becomes a “full-bellied” airfoil and lifted by an abetting wind “a boat can soar right out of the water.”
When “Starboard Sea,” Amber Dermont’s debut novel, is on the water its sailing scenes captivate and lift the words right off the page. Sailing has its own language and Dermont makes...more
So, this is how the other half lives…
I pick up novels for all sorts of different reasons. In this case, I thought, “Students in school in the mid-80’s? I was in school then.” That was enough; who isn’t nostalgic about their teen years? I assumed I’d have an instant short-hand, a recognition of the time and place. Nothing could have been further from the truth.
The characters in Amber Dermont’s debut novel, The Starboard Sea, aren’t in high school; they’re at an exclusive New England prep school....more
I pick up novels for all sorts of different reasons. In this case, I thought, “Students in school in the mid-80’s? I was in school then.” That was enough; who isn’t nostalgic about their teen years? I assumed I’d have an instant short-hand, a recognition of the time and place. Nothing could have been further from the truth.
The characters in Amber Dermont’s debut novel, The Starboard Sea, aren’t in high school; they’re at an exclusive New England prep school....more
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“That's what Cal would tell you about me. "Jason's the nice one," he'd say. "He'd give you all his stars.”
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4 people liked it
“You know, I'm going to make it a point whenever I see you to be like the ocean. You can look to me for relief.”
—
3 people liked it
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