I received the recently published novel A Dangerous Education by acclaimed author Megan Chance as a digital, advanced readers copy. Ms. Chance is the award-winning author of more than twenty novels, including A Splendid Ruin, Bone River, and An Inconvenient Wife. Although I’d never read any of her previous works, the fact that she is a critically acclaimed and award-winning author, as well as the intriguingly different story arc and structure, made me highly interested in reading this new novel. I’m grateful to Ms. Chance, NetGalley, and Lake Union Publishing for providing me this opportunity.

The story follows female protagonist Rosemary in a duel timeline, alternating between her life as a rebellious teenager caught up in pre-WWII socialist activities and her life fifteen years later as a progressive teacher in a conservative boarding school for the troubled daughters of wealthy, well connected families. Because she felt denied an appropriate education regarding sex and sexuality when she was their age, she is compelled to provide the truth about these topics when asked pointed questions by the trio of girls who constitute the school’s senior class. This trio is considered a menacing, treacherous clique by everyone at the school, except Rosemary. The girls variously are described as wayward, troubled, unruly, and dangerous. In opposition to numerous warnings not to deviate from the school’s prescribed curriculum and not to become personally involved with these girls, Rosemary does both.

I enjoyed the interesting structure of the book, with its dual timeline, and did not find it confusing. However, aside from the book’s promising premise and the author’s beautiful writing style, I found it to be lacking in several respects: I found much of what occurs in the story predictable, and I also found that several aspects of the plot strain credulity. Additionally, all of the characters, Rosemary, her father, and Assistant Vice Principal Bobby notwithstanding, are unlikable and unsympathetic. Despite Rosemary’s “rose colored” opinion of the girls, they don’t appear to have any redeeming qualities. My overall impression is that while I enjoyed reading the book and was compelled to read its entirely, it’s not a memorable book nor one that I would tell people they have to read it. Considering this and my knowledge that other of Ms. Chance’s work have won accolades and awards, I would like to read one of her other published books.

The vibes of this were right up my alley. I loved the writing and the atmosphere it created, especially how eerie and off the school felt continuously.

I really enjoyed this book! The unhinged girly clique vibes were to die for and the overall dark academia tone of the book was right up my alley.

The story follows Rosemary Chivers, a home economics teacher who begins working at a reform school for ‘troubled’ girls, she finds herself in the attentions of the senior girls, one of which is the daughter she gave up many years ago.

Exploring the struggles of being a woman in this time period was something in which I found super interesting, especially since I am not usually a big historical fiction fan. Each twist and turn continued to put me on the edge of my seat, and kept me second guessing my judgements throughout the whole story.

The characters were excellent, the story was superb, and I am really glad to have read this story.
(Also if anyone has any recommendations of stories like this, I would be glad to hear them)

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I first became a fan of your work with your unusual and dark romances written in the 1990s. Since you’ve transitioned to historical fiction, I have read a couple of your books, and appreciated the different settings and subject matter in each one. You certainly don’t write the same book twice!

I was drawn to the blurb for A Dangerous Education right away:

A reformist teacher. A dangerous student clique. A powerful novel about secrets and redemption set in the shadows of McCarthy-era America.

Rosemary Chivers is haunted by the choices she made as a teenager?and by those made for her by a controlling mother. Now, in the Cold War era of conformity and suspicion, Rosemary is a modern new teacher at a school for troubled girls, where she challenges the narrow curriculum meant to tame restless young minds. She also keeps a devastating secret. She knows one of the students is the child she gave up. But which one?

Ignoring warnings, Rosemary forms an impenetrable bond with the three girls who are the right age: shrewd runaway Maisie, alcohol-indulging Sandra, and overly flirtatious Jean. But these are no ordinary girls, and what begins as an effort to bring closure to her own rebellious youth soon spirals dangerously out of control.

Rosemary is prepared to do anything to find her daughter. What she isn’t prepared for are the deadly consequences that come with discovery?or just how wicked wayward girls can be.

When we first meet Rosemary, it’s 1954, and she is stumbling out of a hotel one morning after a one-night stand with a traveling salesman. It doesn’t appear that this is an unusual situation for Rosemary. She then goes to work at the Yakima, Washington high school where she teaches, but leaves when she can’t reach her mother on the phone – she has a premonition that something is wrong. Rosemary has already been told that she’s not being invited back to teach the following year (her reputation has gotten around town) and since it’s late in the school year, she decides to just walk away. Rosemary is 34 years old, but the rebellious streak from her youth is still strong.

Rosemary gets on a bus to Seattle and arrives at her parents’ house to find that they are returning from a doctor’s appointment – her mother has heart problems that her parents have kept from her. Concerned about her mother, with whom Rosemary has a very contentious relationship, and at loose ends after leaving her job so abruptly, she impulsively agrees to move back home for the summer, and to interview for a position at a small local school for girls, Mercer Rocks. Rosemary initially doesn’t understand why her mother set up the interview or why she is so insistent that Rosemary work at Mercer Rocks.

The story then shifts to 1936; Rosemary is 16 and has snuck out to a party where she meets David, an enthusiastic young man who intrigues her with his political ideas (and his good looks). David’s father is a custodian at the University of Washington, where Rosemary’s father is a professor. Rosemary and David quickly fall in young love despite (or in part because of?) the disapproval of Rosemary’s conservative parents, who dislike both David’s working class origins and his socialist leanings. Rosemary eventually runs away from home. Shortly after, events conspire to separate her from David forever.

The present day Rosemary has never really gotten over the doomed romance or the daughter she was forced to give up – she exists in a sort of stasis, making bad choices and floating along. Against her mother’s wishes, Rosemary studied Home Economics in college and now teaches it. It’s not a good fit for Rosemary; she is far from the domestic type herself. But rebellion even at the expense of self-fulfillment has been Rosemary’s way of life for a long time; she doesn’t know how to change it.

At Mercer Rocks, which turns out to be a school for “troubled” girls, Rosemary is dismayed to find the curriculum rather old-fashioned, even for 1954. She soon catches the attention of the trio mentioned in the blurb – Maisie, Sandra and Jean. The three are inseparable and vaguely menacing; Rosemary is warned to be wary of them by several other members of the staff. But they are also capable of charm, and Rosemary finds herself warming to them as she settles into Mercer Rocks. When she finds out that one of the three is the daughter she gave up for adoption. Rosemary goes from flattered by their attention to obsessed with them, an obsession that is mutual and ultimately dangerous.

I really liked the setting of A Dangerous Education – it was so rich with interesting details. The issue of abortion comes up and the reality of it at that time is starkly portrayed. There is a good deal of discussion about the perceived threat of Communism, McCarthyism and the House Un-American Activities Committee (Jean’s father is an anti-Red congressman). Rosemary fears the HUAC because of her past activities; she has to lie on her application to Mercer Rocks about whether she’s ever been involved with any socialist organizations.

Finally, the threat of the atomic bomb feels realistically portrayed – there are mentions of bomb shelters, a school practice drill with laughably inadequate instructions about how to protect oneself in the event of a real nuclear event, and the students’ very real anxiety about their futures with the threat of nuclear annihilation hanging over their heads.

There were a few aspects of the story that didn’t work as well for me. For one, the three girls (who call themselves “Rosemary’s Flowers”) become increasingly ominous in a way that was a bit too melodramatic. They were, at the end of the day, three 17-year-old girls. There were a limited number of ways they could hurt and control Rosemary. No doubt her search for her daughter made it harder for her to walk away from the situation, but Rosemary makes some very poor decisions that make things worse and that had me frustrated with her.

I also thought the HUAC/Red Scare issues were underutilized. When Rosemary is 16, she is part of that scene due to her association with David. She retains an enthusiasm for protest songs (Rosemary plays the guitar), but it’s never clear whether she really has much of a political affinity for the politics. She’s definitely not conservative, but she doesn’t seem to have much in the way of real political values (beyond a nascent feminism, at least). Which is okay, but I would have liked it to have been clearer. As it was Rosemary often felt defined by what she was against, not what she was for.

What becomes clear is that Rosemary strongly identifies with these girls because of her past, but in the end Maisie, Sandra and Jean weren’t like her. They were genuinely troubled girls (the source of their issues was rather hazy, though), and self destructive in a way that defied Rosemary’s attempts to help.

Ultimately, A Dangerous Education was one of those books that really absorbed me when I was reading it but felt slightly less compelling in retrospect. My grade for it is a straight B.

I loved this book! The story followed teacher Rosemary Chivers as she fought against the restrictive curriculum she was given while attempting to discover who her daughter is. The secrecy and danger revealed in the book were so unexpected and amazing! I would recommend this to any lover of historical fiction.

The writing was incredible. The atmosphere had an eerie vibe to it, and it was intriguing, and I felt immersed in the story.

Some characters were hard to connect with, but I loved Rosemary and Maisie. The plot was interesting and I loved the concept of the school for troubled girls. And also the reasons behind Rosemary getting a job there. It kept me absorbed in the plot and kept me reading until the end. It was one of those books that I could put down and I barely noticed how quickly I was getting through the pages as it was that absorbing.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher, for a chance to read and review this book.

Thank you, NetGalley, Megan Chance, and publishers for gifting me a copy of A Dangerous Education in return for my honest opinion.

3.5/5 stars

Rosemary Chivers is haunted by her teenage choices, add in an overbearing mother and it makes it even worse. She starts a job as a teacher at a reformatory school for troubled girls, where she challenges the curriculum meant to tame restless minds. She is also on a mission to find the daughter she gave up, who happens to be one of the girls at the school. She is prepared to do anything to find her daughter but to what lengths will she have to go?

Rosemary is a very interesting character, I can't imagine how tough it must have been living through that time period when women had limited resources and were to be seen and not heard. She was a very naive character and I found myself wanting to knock some sense into her at different points in the book. Some of her choices made it extremely hard to like her.

Dark academia is not for me, I've come to realize that the thriller/dark genres are not for me. I don't know if it was the mean girl plot or what but there was something in this one that was hard to read and get through.

I unfortunately did not finish this book. Even 62% into the book, I had no desire to keep reading and it wasn't getting any more interesting. I'm also not a historical fiction girlie which could be it.

Without giving too much away I found this to be a fast paced, absorbing and compelling read. The story flowed really well, there were lots of plot twists to keep my attention. The further I read with this book, the better it got and I enjoyed it more. I think the author has set the bar high here. Will look forward to the next book and hope it is as good as this one. Overall 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A Dangerous Education....

Are you kidding me?

Megan Chance, I do not know where you came from but I am not letting you out of my sight now that I have found you.

This is hands down my most favored book in 2023.

This book screams best seller and anyone who even considers rating this book under 5 stars would be a pompous little pork chop . (New favorite little phrase I picked up watching Australian TV) This translates to "acting like a little fool" .

Back to the book.

Wow, Just Wow. Chance did an incredible job with all of the detail. Everything was explained so vividly that I quite literally transported myself into the pages. These characters are multi-dimensional and feel incredibly real. The twist was absolutely wild and the conclusion left me speechless.

This book is a must read for all.

Five Stars

Teaser :

A reformist teacher. A dangerous student clique. A powerful novel about secrets and redemption set in the shadows of McCarthy-era America.

Rosemary Chivers is haunted by the choices she made as a teenager—and by those made for her by a controlling mother. Now, in the Cold War era of conformity and suspicion, Rosemary is a modern new teacher at a school for troubled girls, where she challenges the narrow curriculum meant to tame restless young minds. She also keeps a devastating secret. She knows one of the students is the child she gave up. But which one?

Ignoring warnings, Rosemary forms an impenetrable bond with the three girls who are the right age: shrewd runaway Maisie, alcohol-indulging Sandra, and overly flirtatious Jean. But these are no ordinary girls, and what begins as an effort to bring closure to her own rebellious youth soon spirals dangerously out of control.

Rosemary is prepared to do anything to find her daughter. What she isn’t prepared for are the deadly consequences that come with discovery—or just how wicked wayward girls can be.

📚 Book Review 📚
A Dangerous Education
By: Megan Chance

This book had me hooked from the beginning! It flipped back and forth between the 1930s and the 1950s. Rosemary made some choices as a teen, which caused her to give her daughter up for adoption. Now, as an adult teaching at a reform school, she finds out that one of the teens is the very daughter she gave up...

These teen girls are brutal, and though Rosemary is warned to stand back, she can't help but get pulled in knowing that one is her daughter.

One thing, I am so glad I did not live during this time, with the fear of bombings and keeping young women in the dark about their own bodies... it can lead to tragedy, and in this book, it does.

This book is available now and is also on KU. You can listen too! I couldn't help myself once I realized I could read and have the audio going. This book made me cry, made me sad, and it for sure made me so anxious that I kept flipping those pages. I highly recommend grabbing this one!

Thank you for the Ecopy I received from @katerockbooktours & @chanceauthor

I saw this book being compared to Lessons in Chemistry meets dark academia and that comparison is spot on! I enjoyed this twisty tale of a women trying to make her own way in a messed up time in society.

I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

An interesting premise with uneven writing and frustrating protagonist.

Liked/Loved:
-Historical setting I don't often see
-Dark academia
-"Troubled" girls
-The air of mystery and darkness is well written

Disliked:
-Rosemary is ridiculously naïve. Some of her bad decisions make sense (the author gives enough backstory), but at times I just wanted to slap her silly. Some of her choices were unrealistic and made me scoff.
- Rosemary is unreliable and while this can be fun, sometimes her unreliability makes it hard to enjoy the story.

Overall this is about a 3.5, but solid enough to be rounded up.

DANG! A DANGerous Education is just so enthralling from the beginning! I thought it sounded intriguing , but I had no idea just how great it would be!

Thank you, Megan Chance,  @Amazon Publishing, Browne And Kate Rock & Netgalley for my copy. All opinions are my own.

This book is such an underrated gem - I haven't seen very much of it on bookstagram, but I absolutely loved it. This dark academia with mystery kept me intrigued the entire time! And my goodness, these girls at this reform school were manipulative and scary at time - they could not be trusted . In addition, there was some historical fiction/social commentary aspects thrown in, which I found so interesting and really added to the story!

I enjoyed this book. I thought that the history of the time period was interesting. My problem was that I didn’t like the main characters. Because of that, it lowered the stakes and I didn’t feel much sympathy for them. Readers of historical fiction would most likely enjoy the book.

Rosemary Chivers is a teacher at a reform school for troubled girls, which proves to be a challenging setting for her as she seeks to reconcile her youthful mistakes at the same time her students are making poor decisions of their own.

I couldn't put this down! The story takes so many turns and Rosemary's maddeningly terrible decision making makes you want to shake her through the pages. She is a perfect example of how badly things can go when we allow ourselves to be blinded by a singular desire, in this case her desire to find the child she gave up.

This book had strong goth/dark academia vibes that will please fans of "The Maidens" or "The Daughter of Doctor Moreau".

Looking forward to reading more by this author!

A really intriguing dark academia novel set in a 1950s school for wayward girls. Turns out the woman hired to school the girls in home economics has other ideas about what a valuable education is. Things are further complicated by her quest to figure out which of the girls is the child she gave up 17 years ago.

When Rosemary cannot get in touch with her parents for her mom‘s birthday she catches a train to check on them. She learned her mom was at the hospital and has an enlarged heart but she also learn she has a new job at Mercy rock Academy for girls. What her mom doesn’t tell her is that it is a reform school for two weeks after starting her new job she goes home on a Sunday to visit and find out one of the girls in her class is actually the daughter she gave up years ago. Rosemary is 34 years old and single after an indiscretion with a boy she met while sneaking out of the house something happened that her mom would never let her live down but soon after she finds this out from her mom she passes away. It is left up to Rosemary to find out the details and what she finds out will be a life changer. There is way more to this book than the week summary I have given I was just so disgusted with this book because I love historical fiction but I love it to be historically factual. The first time she meets one of the students the student ask her if she is a lesbian, no this is a word that wasn’t even in the popular vocabulary in the 1950s it wasn’t until the early 1970s that it wasn’t classified as a metal illness. Not only that she discusses things with the girls that maybe a teacher in the 21st-century would discuss it with them but this was supposed to be the 1950s and I can grant you know girl who was well bred who is going to be discussing sex with their teacher openly like it was A-OK and Rosemary made it sound like it would be fine if they did have sex with someone as long as it was their choice. Let me just say this is a 1950s not only is it going against some kind of law it isn’t up to Rosemary or any teacher to totally negate what a child’s parents tell him especially not back in the 50s when everyone went to church I just found that so unbelievable and it totally threw me off the book although I finished it I started not even caring who Hotel walls because this all sounded so made up. Now I know historical fiction is made up but if you don’t have a great grasp on that Abra don’t write a book on it it’s just ridiculous sounded crazy to me. If historical accuracy isn’t a pet peeve of yours you may like this book because the summary did make it sound like a great book but because I’m a lover of history and historical accuracy I did not. I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher but I’m leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

A suspenseful and twisty historical fiction. I love stories that take place in multiple time lines and this one did not disappoint.