Studies at the School by the Sea by Jenny Colgan

I enjoyed this book somewhat but not as much as previous Colgan books.
As an American reader there were several things that could be explained better
The most obvious
1. invigilator is not a term used or known in American - maybe use proctor, or explain the term
2. GCSE - Americans are not familiar with this, what is the importance/significance of them- what is a good/bad mark or a usual mark.
3. Because of the GCSE issue the last chapter made no sense to me at all- I didn't understand what that all meant or signified for the characters.

It would have been more satisfying to have a paragraph about each character instead:
ie. Fliss aced her exams with an average score of 8 (of 10) and continued at Downey Girls for the next 2 years.
all those numbers mean absolutely nothing to me

The relationship between the two MC, Maggie and David was very tedious in moments. How is it possible these 2 had a relationship and were completely unable to discuss their fellings or where the relationship was headed.
I also felt it was unrealistic that Maggie would have canceled her whole summer vacation with her newly blooming love for an ex. Even if she wanted to go home and see if he was OK, no need to hang around- maybe join David partway through.

I also felt like they made such a big deal about moving to England from Scotland and how far away it was- get real- a short flight or a lovely train ride- not like moving to Australia which was how they made it sound.

All in all I really enjoyed the relationships between all the students- I felt Colgan captured that emotional era in a life well.

Sweet and uplifting, though it was hard on me to see the people impacted by her troubles deciding between two different possibilities of life. Always enjoy reading Jenny Colgan, though this was not one of my favorites.

Thank you to @netgalley and @AvonBooks for this ARC. Maggie, a literature teacher at a posh school and Danny, an English teacher at an underprivileged school start dating. They have the brilliant idea to bring the two classes together for different activities. I mean, what could go wrong with the privileged and not so? Can their relationship make it through? This book isn't the usual Jenny Colgan and not my favorite but was a quick read. #StudiesattheSchoolbytheSea #SchoolbytheSeaSeries #JennyColgan #March2024