3.5⭐️ I couldn’t stop thinking about this book after I read the description. I had to wait a few days, but it was definitely worth it. In the book you follow multiple characters through multiple periods of time in history. The one thing that connects them is Dumonde College for boys. The main characters are three boys who lost their fathers in a car accident. They all get sent to Dumonde.

The book has a little bit of a slow start, making it a little bit harder to get into straight away. The reason for this might be that, for a good half of the book, you learn about quite a few people. This makes it feel more like short stories. However, I didn’t mind that, as I thought it added to the writing style.
Another thing that took a little getting used to, is the time jumps. There are a lot of them, which makes it a little confusing where in time you are.

I did find that in some parts it could use a few more scenes between certain characters to give a more sturdy foundation for the ending.
The ending itself was both very good and sad. You really start to care about all the characters when you get to the end.

Overall I quite liked the book, including way you slowly learn about all the different characters and about the story as a whole. It was an interesting historical read with interesting characters.

This Way Out is an intense, emotional novel from Ron de Christoforo. The setting is Philadelphia in the turbulent 1960’s, a time of radical change characterized by political upheaval, civil rights struggles, and the emergence of youth culture. The story centres on three friends, bound by misfortune and tragedy. They are placed in the Dumonde College for Boys after losing their irresponsible fathers in a foolhardy car accident. The Dumonde College is a centuries old institution, home to sixteen hundred White, fatherless or orphaned boys. No child within the College is safe from the sadistic and brutal masters and educators who wreak merciless and atrocious punishments on their charges. The boys live in constant fear; they develop intense friendships with their cohorts to foster courage.

The tone of the book is grim. The author delves into each character's family secrets, which engages the reader. That interest is maintained as the story unfolds. The way the character’s lives intersect is cleverly woven and skillfully handled.

There are some negatives to mention that impacted my enjoyment of the book. Firstly, the book is written without a strict timeline. Although each chapter is headed with a year when the events occurred allowing the reader to piece the story together, it did create some confusion in my mind about the timeframe of events. Secondly, the events that are documented are disjointed, some events within the same chapter appear unrelated, but the described incidents crop up again later in the book with further detail. For me, this reduced the impact of the harrowing story. Finally, the three main characters in the story are a surprisingly well-adjusted and intelligent trio, despite the hardship and deprivations they have endured, rendering the story a little less credible.

This is not a book for the faint-hearted; it embodies sexual abuse, sadistic violence, suffering and torment. Overall, I consider the book to be a significant offering from this author, who clearly has drawn on his own experiences within a similar institution to portray everyday life for the boys. The book will appeal to readers interested in a narrative based on institutional life during the mid-20th century.

3.5 ⭐
It took me a little while to get into this one, I can't put my finger on why.
But when I did, it was so worth it.
It has moments that made me smile, and moments that almost made me cry.
Characters you can care about.
Left me a little emotional by the end.