An Uncommon Education

Mar 05, 2012 karen rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-claiming-to-be-just-like-secr

ugh, i don't want to write this review. because it's not that the book is bad, it just never worked for me. there is something so cheeky and earnest about this book, but it's like an amish girl going on her rumspringa. not that she's trying to be gritty or shocking at all, but it just feels wrong, somehow, tentative, like she is trying to write dramatic irony way out of her depth without realizing it.

i feel like the author is probably a really really good person. she just isn't great at writing...more ugh, i don't want to write this review. because it's not that the book is bad, it just never worked for me. there is something so cheeky and earnest about this book, but it's like an amish girl going on her rumspringa. not that she's trying to be gritty or shocking at all, but it just feels wrong, somehow, tentative, like she is trying to write dramatic irony way out of her depth without realizing it.

i feel like the author is probably a really really good person. she just isn't great at writing characters.and i feel just awful writing a bad review for this book - it feels like slapping something sincere in the face. she knows a lot about wellesley, she did go there, after all, and that part shows, but she doesn't know how to make a reader believe in her characters.

it is boring to read a character who is this emotionally cauterized, who seems to never do the things that a normal human would do in her various situations. but it doesn't seem to be a conscious choice on the part of the writer, like she is trying to explore this element of damage and retreat and decision-making as a consequence of growth or adulthood. there is no art to the writing.

for example - naomi plays laertes in her production of hamlet. fine. but, the obvious choice would have been to make her hamlet, and to have her offstage life mirror that character's own difficulties with confrontation and inaction,blah blah blah. and it is totally creative writing 101 amateur hour stuff, but it would have at least given some substance to the novel. but percer never makes that potentially more rewarding comparison. naomi is not quite a hamlet who wrestles with her choices, she simply drifts into making the laziest choices possible. she has no agency at all (view spoiler) and it would be one thing if the point was that the life of the mind has profoundly negative impact on one's emotional life, but i really just don't buy her as some great genius. having a photographic memory is a fine tool, but she never has the drive a true scholar has. she is a dilettante with a wasted gift. she settles time and time again because she lacks the motivation to do anything. she
comes across as wooden and unfeeling and robotic.

nothing in this book meshes, nothing has any purpose, nothing seems to have consequence enough to engage the reader. nothing ties this novel together.

for me.

you might like it.

i am putting this on my "books that claim to be just like secret history shelf, because although this book does not overtly make that claim, on the back cover it is compared to several things that are frequently compared to secret history so - transitive property, and that is why i read this book. but that is not the reason i didn't like it. i just... didn't.(less)

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Jul 07, 2012 Sheila rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: college-or-boarding-school, read-in-2012

A jumbled mess. I was really excited to read this book because of one descriptive sentence: The event marks Naomi's introduction to Wellesley's oldest honor society, the mysterious Shakespeare Society, defined by secret rituals and filled with unconventional, passionate students. I was disappointed to discover that this book wasn't about a secret society at all (those books are like catnip to me), but rather a dull coming-of-age novel with no real plot, uneven pacing, an unsatisfying conclusion,...more

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Aug 18, 2012 Alicen rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is a wonderfully written book about what it means to grow up and find yourself, despite how hard and non-linear and unexpected that process can be. This book is also the first one I've ever read about a place and time that I actually experienced as the author is a fellow Shakespeare Society member from Wellesley College who overlapped for one year with me. This made the book even more enjoyable for me to read as it instantly brought me back to that time in my life which - much like the book...more

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Jan 23, 2013 Sandy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

AN UNCOMMON EDUCATION by Elizabeth Percer

ABOUT THE BOOK: Released January 8, 2013

For fans of "Prep," "Dead Poets Society," and "Special Topics in Calamity Physics "comes an elegant and remarkably insightful coming-of-age debut, in which a young woman's serendipitous discovery of her college's underground Shakespeare Society leads to an unforgettable series of transformations. When Naomi finds herself among "the Shakes" at Wellesley, she finally lets herself embrace the passionate inner self she'...more AN UNCOMMON EDUCATION by Elizabeth Percer

ABOUT THE BOOK: Released January 8, 2013

For fans of "Prep," "Dead Poets Society," and "Special Topics in Calamity Physics "comes an elegant and remarkably insightful coming-of-age debut, in which a young woman's serendipitous discovery of her college's underground Shakespeare Society leads to an unforgettable series of transformations. When Naomi finds herself among "the Shakes" at Wellesley, she finally lets herself embrace the passionate inner self she's always kept locked away. But when a sudden scandal unfolds, she will be forced to learn the limits of the relationships that have sustained her. An intimate and enthralling narrative, Elizabeth Percer's debut novel An Uncommon Education marks the emergence of a stunning new literary talent.

REVIEW: An Uncommon Education is a storyline about a young woman-Naomi Feinstein- and her struggles to find herself. The storyline is centered in and around the Boston area where the brilliant and eccentric Naomi discovers she has a special ability that both hinders and furthers her eccentricities.

As a child –adored by her father, ignored by her mother, and rejected by the kids at school, Naomi must become self-sufficient and relies on her own abilities to absorb everything from the world around her. Making friends was beyond difficult and when she finally finds the one friend who can make everything right, he is ripped from her life in more ways than one.

The author takes us on a roller coaster ride through Naomi’s childhood, teen years and eventually delves into her struggles to fit into an institution where she never quite fit the mold-Wellesley College. At times the storyline dragged, especially in the early years, but much of what made Naomi the woman she became was built upon the foundation laid out in the early part of the story. As a young girl, raised by a Jewish father and a converted from Catholic mother, Naomi’s early years are a study in psychology-with her mothers’ questionable parenting and emotional health as well as her father’s never ending love, Naomi reaches out to the only person she knows and in doing so, will eventually lose the person she was trying to become.

We are witness to Naomi’s struggles and internal battles as she wages war with herself-never quite sure enough whether to take the next step and in some cases screwing up along the way. At one point, Naomi is a young girl in love with the boy who could one day make her happy, but the reality of the situation is a hard lesson learned in bigotry and religious prejudice-and in the long run, probably the best case scenario for Naomi.

Naomi Feinstein is a young woman who struggles with the realities of the world. We watch as the family dynamics affects a young girl to the point she becomes the parent to a mother who is battling demons of her own. There are heartbreaking moments of lost love, death and memories that can no longer be recovered. Her struggles through college are not unlike those of many others, but we are witness to an unhappy time in her life that would have been better spent elsewhere or in other pursuits. Naomi never quite fits in. She is a young woman lost and yet she is trying to save the people that she loves.

AN UNCOMMON EDUCATION is a coming of age story, told from the heroine’s POV, that some people will have a difficult time enjoying but it was a storyline that I found a nice change to the usual paranormal romance and erotic tales. The storyline bounces back and forth between present and past, we well as skipping ahead several years at a time. But to cover close to 20 odd years in the life of Naomi Feinstein, would have taken longer to write than for the heroine to discover what it was she truly wanted in life.

Copy supplied by the publisher.

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Jan 20, 2013 Susan rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: amazon-vine-book

I can't remember now why I thought I would like this book. I started it 3 times before I could even get into it. Then I just skipped though it until I was finally finished with it. I loaned it to a friend who is an English teacher and she found it only mediocre. I never could figure out what the thing was about her father taking her to the Kennedy house was all about. Especially about the papers.

I felt sorry for Naomi as she was different and lonely (at least introverted) and worried too much as...more

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Jan 09, 2013 Oh! Paper Pages rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Also reviewed at Oh! Paper Pages

At ALA Annual last year, I saw people with copies of An Uncommon Education, and I was saddened that I missed out on meeting Elizabeth Percer. My disappointment has vanished now that I am able to help celebrate the paperback release of this wonderful book. An Uncommon Education tracks the life of Naomi, a girl who experiences loneliness and loss so profound that she carries the mark throughout her life. When Naomi’s best friend is suddenly ripped from her life, she...more Also reviewed at Oh! Paper Pages

At ALA Annual last year, I saw people with copies of An Uncommon Education, and I was saddened that I missed out on meeting Elizabeth Percer. My disappointment has vanished now that I am able to help celebrate the paperback release of this wonderful book. An Uncommon Education tracks the life of Naomi, a girl who experiences loneliness and loss so profound that she carries the mark throughout her life. When Naomi’s best friend is suddenly ripped from her life, she is unable to cope and her unresolved feelings follow her to university.

Naomi is a wonderful narrator. She is consistent, believable, and real. I could hear her voice so strong and so loudly. As the story progressed, I could hear how her childhood nervousness transformed into careful observations. Her mature handling of situations marks Naomi’s development from childhood to adulthood, and I was astonished at certain points of the story at how she dealt with surprising revelations. The one character that held my attention was Teddy. Though we spend quite a bit of time with him at the beginning of the story, he hangs on every page like a reluctant cloud. His relationship with Naomi is extraordinary, and their love for each other is so meaningful that it has become one of the love stories that I will treasure the most. They spun around each other like twin flames. Too seldom are people fortunate enough to find someone who loves unconditionally and deeply. What Elizabeth did with Teddy and Naomi is incredible. She did not trivialize young love. She gave it power and meaning.

Elizabeth Percer held my heart in her hands and gently squeezed it throughout the story. I am the type of reader who will experience events right alongside the characters. They become my friends, and I love and cherish them. With Teddy, I felt so dreadfully sad. His story unfolds slowly – like a child unwrapping a treasured present – and it is so beautifully written that I felt hopeless and lost. How amazing that a writer can convey a story so exquisitely while simultaneously evaporating cheerfulness in the world. It is apparent that Elizabeth has a talent of tenderly describing events and unpacking them to show readers how her characters end up. I was riveted, and I will automatically buy any book that Elizabeth writes. She is a talented writer, and I am certain that she will receive great admiration for her work.

I highly recommend An Uncommon Education by Elizabeth Percer. It is a lovely story and the writing is perfect. Simply perfect.(less)

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Jan 08, 2013 Kris rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-reviewed

Interview with Elizabeth Percer on Uncommon Education at my blog Imaginary Reads

Review:
An Uncommon Education is a coming-of-age story that follows Naomi from early childhood to her adult years. Over the years, Naomi learns things about her family that she wonder might have been better left alone, she finds love in different people and in different forms, and she comes to terms with who she is and what she wants to do with her life.

Naomi is a gifted child with a photographic memory. An ambitious...more Interview with Elizabeth Percer on Uncommon Education at my blog Imaginary Reads

Review:
An Uncommon Education is a coming-of-age story that follows Naomi from early childhood to her adult years. Over the years, Naomi learns things about her family that she wonder might have been better left alone, she finds love in different people and in different forms, and she comes to terms with who she is and what she wants to do with her life.

Naomi is a gifted child with a photographic memory. An ambitious child, she isn't satisfied with passing the days in blissful ignorance. She asks questions, hard questions for adults to answer given her young age. At the same time that her talent allows her to read and remember texts beyond her level, however, it isolates her from those around her, beliving her cursed or possessed. From childhood through college, she makes few true friends, and even then they all have their own secrets and she must watch those she care about leave her. She runs to leave her problems behind her, and she even finds some comfort in studying during her first year at Wellesley. Life moves on though, and she must learn to confront her deepest fears.

The story is told in five parts, which I found interesting because of the significant role that the Shakespeare Society has on Naomi's life. There, she is able to free herself of the many burdens that she's placed on herself, giving her the freedom and space necessary to explore who she is as an individual and not who she thinks she must be. She makes friends that stay around through her college years and even into her adult life, she learns how to love and move on, and she learns about betrayal.

I always wondered, growing up, about my mom's words that the college years would be the best years of my life. Was she right or wrong? I know believe that it is worth the experience. Even more than during the adolescent years, the college years are about discovering what we truly want in life, and it is when we really find our self identity. Away from her parents, Naomi is alone and cannot continue to let anyone else other than herself define her if she wants to survive. And it is at Wellesley that she breaks free of her limitations and finds her own form of happiness. I love this book and recommend it for readers looking for New Adult books, especially readers that lean towards more literary works.

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For more of my reviews, visit my blog Imaginary Reads.(less)

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Dec 19, 2012 Sarah rated it 2 of 5 stars

I almost never give a book so few stars, because I'm pretty good at anticipating what I'll like, and ditching anything I don't after 50 or so pages. But An Uncommon Education was a tricky little thing. I *should* have liked it, maybe even loved it. There's a tiny picture of Shakespeare on the front cover, for crying out loud, and the heroine was weird, compelling, unexpected. The story began with a fascinating and heartbreaking friendship between two outsiders and continued at a Northeastern Lib...more

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Aug 17, 2012 Kirk rated it 4 of 5 stars

A review I wrote for Austen in Boston: A Jane Austen Bookclub: "An Uncommon Education" by Elizabeth Percer...4.25 out of 5 teacups! From the jacket cover...."A young woman tries to save three people she loves in this elegant and remarkably insightful coming-of-age debut". Confession time...2/3 of the book takes place at Wellesley College(the author went to Wellesley). For that alone, I would have given the book at least three teacups(I worked at the bookstore some summers, both parents worked th...more

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Aug 03, 2012 Kathleen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Liked:

References to the Kennedy family and specifically Rosemary. I'm rather interested in what really went on with Rosemary (which I guess we'll never really know).

A very imperfect protagonist. She's smart, but makes mistakes, and doesn't always end up doing what she thought she would. And she's not driven to succeed in any sort of mainstream sense.

A number of good, emotional, heartbreaker moments.

A focus on relationships.

Depictions of life at Wellesley College. Much of the book was slightly r...more

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Jun 16, 2012 Kristin rated it 3 of 5 stars

Okay...again, I was completely predisposed to like this book. Wellesley heroine, Wellesley alum, this one even set at Wellesley. ya, ya, I am a sucker.

But here's the problem. There's no there there for me. Completely unlikeable heroine. A Wellesley I don't recognize (unfriendly, mean students). I found it falling into stereotypes of the college (okay no one but an alum would see this) about lesbians everywhere especially in the arts groups, competitive to the hilt females, and daughters who cann...more

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Jun 03, 2012 Angela Risner rated it 2 of 5 stars

First off, I think that this writer has a lot of talent. The language that she uses and the sentence structure are all great. I just didn't like the story or the characters.

We start off with Naomi Feinstein as a child, who is the apple of her father's eye. He makes an extra effort with her, as her mother suffers from depression. Her mother spends most of her time alone, as she doesn't want her moods to affect her daughter. Of course, the removal of her mother from most situations affects Naomi.

N...more

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Jun 02, 2012 Vivek Tejuja rated it 4 of 5 stars

I love coming-of-age novels. They somehow manage to comfort me and make me believe in the goodness of the world. Yes they tend to do that. It has may be got to do with the fact that the protagonists are more human than the adults and have a perspective like no other. So it could be Holden Caulfield struggling with trying to make sense of the world or it could be Scout Finch who is trying very hard to hang on to the old life, as her world is falling apart.

And with this I begin the review of yet...more I love coming-of-age novels. They somehow manage to comfort me and make me believe in the goodness of the world. Yes they tend to do that. It has may be got to do with the fact that the protagonists are more human than the adults and have a perspective like no other. So it could be Holden Caulfield struggling with trying to make sense of the world or it could be Scout Finch who is trying very hard to hang on to the old life, as her world is falling apart.

And with this I begin the review of yet another beautifully told coming-of-age novel, “An Uncommon Education” by Elizabeth Percer. Naomi Feinstein is a young woman troubled by life. She is surrounded by a father with a weak heart (and so she decides to become a doctor), a mother who is depressed and is not interested in her and her best friend Teddy (and also her first love so to speak) suddenly departs from her life, making it more so miserable.

She tries dealing with the loneliness by running away from it. She is admitted to the college of her dreams – Wellesley College and hopes that life will change. But things do not. Naomi realizes that it will take some time for things to fall into place, but she is determined not to let others define her or her choices. She learns to save herself first through various means (the Shakespeare Club) and some of them actually work. Naomi’s happiness is soon compromised as she gets involved in a scandal and that is when she realizes the true meaning of life.

An Uncommon Education started off as a slow read for me, however once it grew on me I could let go of it. Percer is great at setting the style, the context and the elements of the story. We follow Naomi’s life from childhood through college and experience all her ups and downs with her and that is what sticks with you at the end of the novel. The fact that Elizabeth Percer can make you feel for Naomi through her words is a marvellous feat.

Elizabeth Percer writes with a striking clarity that may be at some point allows us to relate to the book at some level. You want to sit up and reach out to Naomi and let her know that things will be fine. At the same time, Naomi is the one who finds this out by living. By going through the proverbial rite-of-passage and by growing up to the realities that surround her life. This book is one of a kind. I highly recommend this novel. I would definitely re-read it later at some point.

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May 07, 2012 Book Him Danno rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, books-sent-by-author-publisher-for

An Uncommon Education is a wonderful coming of age story.

Too often in life I will hear someone say “All my problems will be over once” something happens. The teenager thinks going to college will change them; the college kid thinks a real job with a paycheck will, the young employee thinks marriage, then children, then empty nester, retirement, and so on. The real truth about life is we never get rid of our problems, rather we just trade them in for new ones. The only constructive thing a person...more An Uncommon Education is a wonderful coming of age story.

Too often in life I will hear someone say “All my problems will be over once” something happens. The teenager thinks going to college will change them; the college kid thinks a real job with a paycheck will, the young employee thinks marriage, then children, then empty nester, retirement, and so on. The real truth about life is we never get rid of our problems, rather we just trade them in for new ones. The only constructive thing a person can do at any sage of life is to address their problems head on and befriend them. It is through this you can find some sort of peace.

Naomi Fienstein is a young woman severely troubled by life. A disinterested mother and a secretive father beset with ill health. When her father has a heart attack right in front of her she decides that she can fix this. She will dedicate her life to medicine, specifically to the heart. But her problems mount at school as she is without friends, a social outcast who is picked on. Her first love, the neighbor boy suddenly moves away and she is left alone. She deals with the loneliness by literally running away from it; taking to the streets to run. Eventually life will be better when she gets to college, her problems left behind.

When meeting her freshman roommate her father comments how she is Naomi from down the street, symbolically demonstrating that for all her running, all her planning she has yet to travel very far. Because at the end of the day her life is still with her. Her dad does not open up about his past, her mother does not magically change into a caring person, and she still spends most of her time at the library.

An Uncommon Education is a wonderful coming of age story. It shows a young woman who is forced to see herself for who she really is, and to stop letting others define her. Be that her father, her peers, or the mentors in her life. The turning point in her life is her inclusion into Wellesley’s oldest college group the Shakes. A college club (but definitely not a sorority) dedicated to the works of William Shakespeare. She is immediately pressed into playing Laertes in Hamlet. Much like her, Laertes is a child who acts against his own interests when he will not look at the whole picture, the truth of the situation. He continues down the path created by his father and King Claudius until ultimately all is lost.

Fortunately Naomi springs to life from this role, finally making true friends, making an ever so small connection with her father, and finally experiencing life on its own terms. An Uncommon Education is a fantastic look at growing up, a child breaking free of their own limitations and finding happiness in their situation. Befriending her problems and turning them into opportunities.
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Mar 21, 2012 Alisha rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: amazon-vine, arc-s, books-i-own-that-i-ve-read, contemporary-fiction

Most people who don't love An Uncommon Education say that the book was slow to start and that the first half dragged. I seemed to have the opposite reaction. I thought that An Uncommon Education was amazing and compelling at the beginning, yet seemed to meander along throughout the last half. It's just that learning about Naomi's life was great at first, but after a while, I noticed, that there wasn't much going on in her life that could have kept me engaged throughout the whole novel.

I loved re...more Most people who don't love An Uncommon Education say that the book was slow to start and that the first half dragged. I seemed to have the opposite reaction. I thought that An Uncommon Education was amazing and compelling at the beginning, yet seemed to meander along throughout the last half. It's just that learning about Naomi's life was great at first, but after a while, I noticed, that there wasn't much going on in her life that could have kept me engaged throughout the whole novel.

I loved reading about Naomi's goals and ambitions and related to her immensely. So, I loved reading about all her (and her father's) aspirations to get into Wellesley. However, once she got there, she didn't do much. At first I thought, "Okay, well once she gets into the Shakes clearly that's going to change and the book is going to get as engaging as it was in the beginning." Well, that didn't happen. Not much happened once Naomi was in the Shakes or at least nothing too interesting. There was just so very little plot in this book. Don't get me wrong, I love character development and coming-of-age novels (I'm a YA fan extraordinare). I just felt like Naomi changed, which I didn't have a problem with, people change when they go to college, that's normal. While I didn't have a problem with her change, I just felt like there was very little cause for it. One minute, she was who she was at the beginning, the next she did a bit of a 180, but there weren't enough events that happened to back that change up.

So, I thought that An Uncommon Education was just an okay novel. The beginning was superb and engaging, but towards the end it just lost it's footing. The book as a whole was magnificently written, but I just expected...more from it. I felt a bit let down at the 'blah' ending and I wanted to know more about the Shakes, which seemed to be the only interesting thing that happened after Naomi left for college. If you want to read An Uncommon Education, I'd suggest maybe check it out from the library. (less)

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Mar 15, 2012 Bonnie Brody rated it 3 of 5 stars

Naomi is a lonely child, the daughter of a father with a heart condition and a mother with serious depression. She has no friends at school and her sole goal academically is to do well and 'win'. She has a dream of attending Wellesley College and becoming a cardiac surgeon. A boy her age, Teddy, moves in next door and Naomi and he become fast and close friends. He is the adopted son of a Hasidic family and Teddy's mother does not like Naomi. She goes to extreme lengths to get Teddy's mother to l...more

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Mar 14, 2012 Heidi rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites, coming-of-age, vine

This is a beautiful novel, sort of Leif Enger meets Willa Cather with a pinch of Donna Tartt's The Secret History thrown in. It's also not at all what I expected. I wanted to read it because much of the story takes place at my alma mater, Wellesley. I also love coming-of-age tales. I guess I expected something...less exquisite? It's hard to explain. Basically I expected something good, something solid, something that I would adore because of the Wellesley connection, but not something that I wou...more This is a beautiful novel, sort of Leif Enger meets Willa Cather with a pinch of Donna Tartt's The Secret History thrown in. It's also not at all what I expected. I wanted to read it because much of the story takes place at my alma mater, Wellesley. I also love coming-of-age tales. I guess I expected something...less exquisite? It's hard to explain. Basically I expected something good, something solid, something that I would adore because of the Wellesley connection, but not something that I would talk about endlessly to anyone who will listen (which happens maybe once every few years). In short, this lovely, evocative novel totally took me by surprise.

I really love how Naomi's coming-of-age is a long and winding road, with all sorts of wrong turns and dead ends. We all have events in our lives that define us and shape who we are, but for Naomi these events come off as infinitely more indelible and profound. There is one thing involving her family, in the very beginning of the book, and then something else involving a close friend several years later. It makes perfect sense that these events make Naomi who she is - at least until she goes off to Wellesley, and then something starts to shift. She begins to define herself not in relation to the people around her, but as her own person. Not in terms of the things that have happened to her, but in terms of the choices she makes for herself. This is a magical moment in anyone's life, I think, and Elizabeth Percer so perfectly captures this process of self-realization - in the very setting I experienced it myself - that it takes my breath away. It's murky, it's confusing, it's heartbreaking and intoxicating and scary as hell. It makes no sense and it makes all the sense in the world. I also love that this is the most important thing Naomi takes away from Wellesley. Her 'education' is about 1 part academic and 9 parts everything else - yet another thing I identify with (and suspect a lot of people do).

The actual story is compelling, too, of course, and delightfully written. I laughed, I cried, I paused at times, a finger absently marking my place, smiling to myself and staring at the wall and thinking of nothing and everything all at once. It's possible I'm biased and that the book means more to me than it will to the average reader who didn't come of age in the same place and in much the same way as the protagonist - but I'm more inclined to think that this truly is a bit of magic. (I'm also famously sentimental, so take this all with a grain of salt.)(less)

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Mar 11, 2012 Savi Malfitano rated it 4 of 5 stars

Naomi Feinstein is such a character and you learn to immediately love her somewhat quirky style and unconventional life. First of all one of the descriptions of the books says something to the effect of, "For fans of Dead Poets Society..". That alone had me hooked because I adore that movie. I couldn't wait to start reading this book and now I'm so glad I did because it was genuinely heart warming and you come to care for Naomi and her family.

We follow Naomi from childhood through college and ex...more

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May 16, 2012 Rachel rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

Just stayed up way too late finishing this novel because I'm so excited to be one of its first readers.
First, it's one of the prettiest book covers ever and I love that it gets to sit on my shelf and look beautiful.
Loved the writing. It's so smart that I had to stop every few pages just to digest what I had read and think about how I could probably write for a year and not come up with anything as good as one of her sentences. Reminded me of Curtis Sittenfeld's writing, who I then noticed menti...more

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Apr 20, 2013 Sheri rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: coming-of-age, male-female-power-sex-attractivenes

I liked this book because it was a different perspective on a fairly common coming-of-age story. I've encountered lots of boys only schools with private elite societies (and their bacchanalian parties), but I have yet to read one about girls. The writing was generally good and there were some real moments; however I was not convinced by Naomi's motivations. I found her character to be less than believable at times.

Most importantly, I did not understand Naomi's devotion to her mother. Her father...more I liked this book because it was a different perspective on a fairly common coming-of-age story. I've encountered lots of boys only schools with private elite societies (and their bacchanalian parties), but I have yet to read one about girls. The writing was generally good and there were some real moments; however I was not convinced by Naomi's motivations. I found her character to be less than believable at times.

Most importantly, I did not understand Naomi's devotion to her mother. Her father is the one who takes care of her and forms her, but she is obsessed with trying to save (and care for) her mother. The depressed woman who withholds not only emotion but all information and love is the one to whom Naomi is devoted. She decides to be a cardiologist after her father's heart attack and Teddy's father's death; but ultimately she can only find the motivation to care for and then study her mother's disease. This really felt like a stretch.

I felt like Percer just really wanted to create a parallel between the ridiculous father/son relationships that we typically see in these sorts of coming of age books (rebellious son or the son who is trying his hardest to impress the unimpressable father) and Naomi and her mother. It was just that the whole relationship felt under-developed. I did not believe that Naomi could or should care so much about her mother.

Simultaneously, Jun and her father were an almost perfect representation of the father/son roll. I liked the way that Percer developed these two and Jun's understanding of her lack of importance as an individual (she was just a cog in the machine of Oko Industries).

I thought the stolen historical stuff was a bit much and unnecessary. Certainly there is the a parallel between the thefts (important and life changing events for Naomi: her father's heart attack and her first night with Jun are marked by these items) and the way that each are discovered in the end by their real owners, but I thought it was way too unbelievable that the museum curator ended up having given the docs to Naomi.

I wasn't sure about the character names; I thought all the symbolism was a bit overdone and that the names were all outdated (Naomi, Ruth, Phyllis).

Overall it was an interesting point of view (and one I have not seen done from a girl's perspective), but it was not very compelling and I felt like some of the plot fell flat.

A few good quotes below:

"It can be dangerous to look forward too much, to think always of what should be instead of accepting what is."

"So much of schoolwork is designed to please both the student and the teacher, a way for lovers whose shared passion is knowledge to exchange promises. But either party will grow nervous if the other is inattentive."

"I read once that men are the only ones who ever really fall in love. That women don't. That they only love to be loved."

(less)

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Nov 26, 2012 Lindsay Heller rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, academia, we-really-want-to-be-secret-history

Picking up this book I wasn't entirely sure I would like it. Reading the description, the plot seemed entirely up my alley, but after it had been out for a few weeks and the reviews started coming in I grew a little bit skeptical. They weren't that great. Many of them expressed distaste in the lead character, the depiction of Wellesley College, and even the pacing of the story. Still, I put it on my wish list on PaperbackSwap and when it arrived in the mail I picked it up right away.

Naomi Feinst...more Picking up this book I wasn't entirely sure I would like it. Reading the description, the plot seemed entirely up my alley, but after it had been out for a few weeks and the reviews started coming in I grew a little bit skeptical. They weren't that great. Many of them expressed distaste in the lead character, the depiction of Wellesley College, and even the pacing of the story. Still, I put it on my wish list on PaperbackSwap and when it arrived in the mail I picked it up right away.

Naomi Feinstein has always lived sort of a quiet life. Growing up in Brookline, Massachusetts with exactly one short lived friend and a photographic memory Naomi has always dedicated herself to her studies and big ambitions to become a cardiac surgeon after her father suffered a heart attack when she was nine years old. But when Naomi achieves the place at Wellesley College that she's always desired and joins the somewhat rambunctious and semi-mysterious Shakespeare Society she finds herself in a whole new world. Suddenly with, not only friends but, good friends and something besides books to divert her attention her grades begin to drop and she starts being able to question what it is that she really wants in life.

I agree that the narrative did drag a bit in the beginning. Focusing on Naomi's adolescence, we get her father's relative obsession with the Kennedy Birthplace several blocks over, his heart attack and Naomi's reaction to it, her friendship with Teddy, and the beginnings of her understanding her mother's depression. All of these things were crucial to understanding Naomi as a young adult. However, they were not always the most compelling. For me it was really once Naomi entered college and joined the Shakespeare Society that I started to get fascinated. And I was. This book was filled with rich characters that seemed very real, some of which because they felt familiar but others because they were very well written. In fact, I thought this whole book was very well written, some passages leaving me down right impressed.

But let's get something straight. This is not a novel about secret societies, it's not a mystery, and it's not the sort of story where big things happen. This is a coming of age story about a girl who has always struggled with everyone else's view of her set against how she views herself. The most exciting thing that happens in this novel is a girl finding herself. For me, that's enough. But as I was scrolling through the reviews by other Goodreads users I kept seeing those who were disappointed because this book wasn't what they expected it to be. I believe that does the book a disservice and I would rather readers go into a book with their eyes open. Another thing that this book is not is Donna Tartt's 'The Secret History', though I put it on my we-really-want-to-be-secret-history shelf. The feel of this book was similar to Tartt and both novels take place on college campuses, but the similarities end there. But all the things that this book is not don't take away from what it is; a quiet pleasure to read with some really good characters.(less)

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Jul 07, 2012 Elizabeth rated it 3 of 5 stars

I began An Uncommon Education by Elizabeth Percer on July 2nd, and finally finished it today. Normally a novel of three hundred and thirty-something pages would not take me the better part of a week to read, but for all its potential, this book failed to hold my attention for long periods of time.

The premise seemed interesting enough. A young girl named Naomi growing up in the Boston area has a mother who has been chronically depressed for as long as Naomi can remember, and who is practically a...more I began An Uncommon Education by Elizabeth Percer on July 2nd, and finally finished it today. Normally a novel of three hundred and thirty-something pages would not take me the better part of a week to read, but for all its potential, this book failed to hold my attention for long periods of time.

The premise seemed interesting enough. A young girl named Naomi growing up in the Boston area has a mother who has been chronically depressed for as long as Naomi can remember, and who is practically a stranger due to her reluctance to share any information about her past or her family. Naomi barely knows her grandparents and has a mostly nonexistent relationship with her mother, leading her father to try very hard to fill the void. He pushes her toward academic pursuits and tries to foster a sense of strong ambition in her, encouraging her desire to be a doctor, which is only strengthened when he suffers a non-fatal heart attack early in the book.

Naomi tries to form a sense of identity as she grows older, without much friendship or any family ties other than her parents. From this reasonable starting point, the story loses its direction rather early on.

Characters wander in and out of the book, some with fanfare and some with such subtlety that I found myself very surprised that a particular character became a larger part of the story later. There did not seem to be much logic in how the author introduced or abandoned her characters. Certain new acquaintances who seemed promising would fade out of the narrative, sometimes never to be seen again, or they would reappear after you had given up on them. Others seemed to be no more than extras, bodies to fill up a scene, and then they would resurface at an unexpected point in the story and become inexplicably integral.

The plot was similarly confused and aimless, meandering from idea to idea with such nonchalance that I was left wondering what, exactly, the whole point of the book was.

During an unrelated event, without any preamble, a young Naomi begins a tennis game with her father, and becomes dedicated to playing tennis regularly and well. Where did that come from? Then, as she prepares to go to Wellesley college (to which she applied seemingly because it was what was expected of her, and her acceptance to which is treated with little significance), there is much attention paid to a tennis audition of sorts that might earn her a coveted place on the university's team - but when the match is postponed due to weather, the author seems to lose patience with that particular storyline and allows it to fall by the wayside; thus, no further mention is made of any rescheduled match. Was there a rematch? Did Naomi lose? Did she attend at all, or completely lose interest in tennis? If she didn't go, why not? How can an author just allow her focus to wander in such a way?

The entire novel seems filled with similar ambiguities. Once I got used to the idea of Naomi moving in a different direction, the author would once again seem to forget where she had been going with that particular thought and stumble off towards something else entirely.

The various pieces of the story were enjoyable by themselves, but the book was so disorganized that I found myself frustrated and impatient for it to be over. Frankly, I am tempted to call the book a waste of time, with one exception - the Shakespeare Society. I was unaware of such an organization prior to reading the book, and reading about it made me wish I had known about it much earlier, and I even entertained thoughts of what it might have been like to attend a school like Wellesley and have experiences like Naomi's. The concept of the Shakespeare Society was very interesting to me and nearly made up for the disjointedness of the novel.

Ultimately, however, I would suggest steering clear of this particular book unless you find yourself with a great deal of time to fill and very few other options. There are plenty of worse books, but there are also many better.(less)

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Apr 24, 2012 Diane rated it 3 of 5 stars

An Uncommon Education is a coming of age novel which takes place around Boston, Massachusetts. The protagonist, Naomi Feinstein is a brilliant young girl destined for greatness, as a young girl she absorbs everything around her and all that she reads. Her teacher goes so far as to to accuse her of cheating, but that's not the case, she's just extremely bright.

"My father claims he made headway with me as a scholar during potty training. 'A captive audience for the first time in three years. What...more An Uncommon Education is a coming of age novel which takes place around Boston, Massachusetts. The protagonist, Naomi Feinstein is a brilliant young girl destined for greatness, as a young girl she absorbs everything around her and all that she reads. Her teacher goes so far as to to accuse her of cheating, but that's not the case, she's just extremely bright.

"My father claims he made headway with me as a scholar during potty training. 'A captive audience for the first time in three years. What I read to you!' When I was four he began to buy me notebooks and pencils the Tuesday after Labor Day; by the age of seven he was slipping standardized tests into my homework pile. For entertainment I was given such things as Infamous Women coloring books; Shakespeare's plays in comic book form; my own miniature Torah, the scroll which was covered in wavy black lines; historically correct figures of Clara Barton and Abigail Adams; math games made pretty with glass marbles; and a jump rope with a booklet of illustrated counting rhymes to accompany it. In addition to our regular visits to the Kennedy home, every April 19th we drove to Lexington before dawn to witness the reenactment of the Battle of Lexington and Concord; every July 4th er walked the Freedom Trail."

A somewhat lonely child, Naomi's mother, is a somewhat distant woman who seems to be clinically depressed (later on the reader learns more about that). She and her father, however, have a very special relationship, and they spend lots of quality time together. On one of their routine outings, Naomi's father suffers a heart attack, and although he survives and undergoes by-pass surgery. It is at this point that she dreams of attending Wellesley College with intentions of becoming a doctor -- hoping to save her parents in the process.

As a child, Naomi's one real friend is Teddy Rosenthal, the odd young boy from next door.

" He was a terrific distraction from everything that felt full of holes: school, my mother, my father's heart. We had invented a world; the universe has turned upside down and given us mastery over our lives. We felt bold together, invincible, capable of doing anything and everything, and the more this feeling overcame us, the more time we spent together, so that almost every waking moment of our lives was either at school or in each other's company, both of us delighting in our imaginary worlds as we spun them out beneath us."

The adopted son of Jewish Orthodox parents, Teddy's mother does not like Naomi or her family. She calls her a "shiksa" and she doesn't want her son to associate with her. When Teddy's father dies, his mother sells the house and the two of them move away to New Jersey just two weeks after. The friends miss each other terribly.

Up to this point, the story held my interest, and I was curious what else the author had in store. However, once Naomi was accepted at Wellesley, the story seemed to fall apart a bit. While at Wellesley, Naomi joins a Shakespeare Society, and develops a close relationship with a Japanese exchange student named Jun. It is here at college that Naomi really begins to come to terms with who she is and the things that are most important to her. She finds out more about her old friend Teddy as well. Yes, it's all part of maturing and figuring out one's direction in life, but as far as making for a memorable novel, it just didn't happen for me. In the end I was left disappointed.(less)

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Apr 13, 2012 cheryl rated it 3 of 5 stars

This novel, provided to me in advance reader's edition, follows Naomi Feinstein from girlhood into her young adult years. As a girl, she longs to connect with her mother but is close with her father who instills in her the desire to attend Wellesley and become a doctor. Naomi is a lonely child, with only one intense friendship that comes to a sudden end. Most of the book focuses on Naomi's years at Wellesley where she gets involved with Shakes, a group steeped in tradition and that attracts some...more

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Jan 09, 2013 John rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

When TLC Book Tours gives me a good adult lit-fic book, they give me a good one. Maybe it's because I don't read much in the genre, but I so appreciated and needed the story that Percer presented in these pages. It wasn't too pretentious despite the high-end college setting, the very intelligent heroine who narrates starting at a young age feeling like a friend rather than an alien. Thinking of this book makes me think of good words: quiet, peaceful, meaningful, and subtle. It's the kind of stor...more

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Feb 06, 2013 Silvia Liotta rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Naomi è una bambina curiosa: vuole conoscere il mondo e soprattutto vuole sapere
perchè il cuore del suo papà si è fermato all'improvviso. Ha deciso seduta
stante che da grande farà il cardiologo e che inventerà un cuore che salverà
milioni di vite ed impedirà ad altri papà di stare male. Inizia così il
percorso di crescita di Naomi che imparerà che la vita è una grande catena di
eventi che la porteranno a scegliere il suo percorso e a plasmare il suo
cammino. "Educazione di una donna" è un romanzo di...more

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Aug 29, 2012 Mai rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: kindle-books, library

This started out so promisingly, with sweetly tender descriptions of a girl's childhood intentions (to become a doctor and make artificial hearts to help people who, like her dad, had weak ones) and first love (an adopted Jewish boy with a predilection for sketching yellow birds). But once the boy moved away and the girl went off to Wellesley, I just sortof got lost. Too many indistinguishable female characters in the Shakespearean club and a roommate who faded out of the story contributed to a...more

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Jul 30, 2012 Becky rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: book-club

Things I loathed about this book:
1. The plot ranges from nonexistent to stupid. When I finished the book, my only reaction was "what exactly was the point of that?"
2. On almost every page I wanted to yell "no one would ever do that" and/or "no one would ever talk like that (ESPECIALLY a college student)." Suspension of disbelief = not achieved.
3. The writing is cringeworthy, like when an author thinks she's saying something REALLY insightful, so it's kind of sneaky, and you're like, oh, maybe th...more

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Aug 17, 2012 Heather rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: summer-reading-2012

Given that this book is set in Brookline (partly at JFK's birthplace, no less!) and at Wellesley College, and given that it was written by a Wellesley alumna to boot, I was so excited to read it. Perhaps because of this initial excitement and investment (but perhaps not), I could not have been more disappointed by the time I finished it. The prose was clunky and overwrought, sometimes to the point of being totally meaningless. The plot was at times predictable and at times completely ludicrous -...more

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Sep 30, 2012 Danelle rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: bildungsromans

In An Uncommon Education, we watch Naomi Feinstein grow up. The daughter of a woman who suffers from depression and a father who suffers from a heart condition, Naomi is a lonely child. Her mother spends most of her time secluded, trying to protect Naomi, but really damaging her even more. Her father is semi-obsessed with Rose Kennedy and enjoys taking young Naomi on tours of the Kennedy home located in their Brookline neighborhood. When Naomi's best friend, Teddy, moves away unexpectedly after...more In An Uncommon Education, we watch Naomi Feinstein grow up. The daughter of a woman who suffers from depression and a father who suffers from a heart condition, Naomi is a lonely child. Her mother spends most of her time secluded, trying to protect Naomi, but really damaging her even more. Her father is semi-obsessed with Rose Kennedy and enjoys taking young Naomi on tours of the Kennedy home located in their Brookline neighborhood. When Naomi's best friend, Teddy, moves away unexpectedly after his father's death, Naomi finds herself alone again. She sets her sights on her future and fulfills her father's vision of her studying at Wellesley and perhaps becoming a cardiologist.

Now, I found the beginning of the book to be completely haphazard. I kept wondering what would pull it all together, and really, nothing did. Part of the book's selling point is Naomi attending Wellesley and getting into the secrective Shakespeare Society (Shakes). Surely at this point the story will get better, yes? Well, it does and it doesn't. Two-thirds of the book takes place at Wellesley with most of the story revolving around Shakes and it's no secret that the author, Elizabeth Percer, went to Wellesley and was a member of Shakes, but I'm still not sure of what I thought of it all. Part of it is that I didn't attend an uppercrust center of academia (though I have friends who are Wellesley alum), and part of it is that I did not major in English and my Shakespeare is entirely lacking. (And really, there's no excuse for this. I just *really* need to get on it). Percer paints a really dark picture of the women who attended Wellesley. There are the rich girls, the cut-throat girls, the girls who are afraid of disappointing daddy, and then a smattering of lesbians. It's hard to know how much to believe because Percer has written an author's note that states that the book is about Wellesley, but it's not really Wellesley. But it kind of is.

The writing is really beautiful. I really enjoyed the writing - just not the story. I didn't really get into the story until the last third of the book. I felt like the auther was trying too hard to make this a "poignant coming-of-age" novel. It just always felt like it was missing something. There just wasn't "enough" in some parts to pull the reader to the conclusion the author presented. There were things that were meant to be obvious, but kind of came out of nowhere.

I hope Percer writes more; she really is talented. I just think the only people who'd enjoy this story are Wellesley alums, especially those who were members of Shakes.

There's nothing worse than ceremony when it comes to enjoying the last moments of something essential, like innocence or good health. (p.8)(less)

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