American public high school is likely the most dangerous place on earth. It's been that place for generations as writers and filmmakers have attempted to show us all of its pain and glory. Perhaps it is its universality coupled with the most awkward years of our lives. Honestly, its hard to know now which was more confusing, the place or the person; there was a lot going on. The author of this book does an admirable and engaging job of taking a peer group and moving through it over the course of five years. We inhabit the students as they try and come to terms with changing friendships and families, all while ostensibly pursuing their education. 'Stuff' gets broken and without guidance it is rarely addressed. It's so hard to remember how little it helped to speak in high school. Again, the author is right there, on point. This is a really good book but a painful one. Just like high school even if you tried to forget about it.

I liked the beginning a bit more than the rest of it, but still worth reading. 3.5/5 stars.

I found The Most Dangerous Place on Earth to be a quick yet compelling read. The story is told from the perspectives of a range of characters as they experience their 'world' through the lens of school - both as students and teachers - from 8th through 12th grade.

Johnson deftly creates characters that are both vivid and multidimensional; you want to hate the nasty kid, but you can't because you also feel for him/her... I really liked all the characterizations, but found some to speak to me particularly. As a former high school teacher, the framing of the story within the 8th-12th grade years offered many 'memories' of student stories.

This is not a 'happy' book. As a former student it might make you remember... as a parent, it makes me sad to think of my children going through some of those situations. In any case, I will be thinking about this book and its characters for some time to come - it's a very powerful story.

(I received an ARC from the publisher - the book was published for the public 10 January 2017)

There are few times in life more difficult than high school. To some, it can be The Most Dangerous Place on Earth, hence this new book from debut novelist Lindsey Lee Johnson.

The story of a group of kids in a wealthy suburb of San Francisco, this story looks at the individuals behind the stereotypes. What makes the pretty girl who seems stuck-up so quiet and isolated? Why does the wild alpha male student become a drug dealer? Why does a student become romantically involved with a teacher? Why does a smart kid cheat in order to get into a better college than he could get in on his own? Why does a girl drop out of her college track and take up drugs and a new set of friends? These students are more than a label, more than a prototype of The Smart Kid or The Slutty Girl or the Rowdy Boy. They are three-dimensional characters with real motivations, goals, and wounds.

Running simultaneously through this story is that of the new, still inexperienced, optimistic, young teacher. Miss Nicoll is hired in the middle of the semester to replace a teacher who has left. She loves literature and wants to share her love of words with her students. She feels like she has so much to offer then, despite being only a few years older. But she faces not only her students' apathy toward her class but also helicopter parents, experienced teachers who dislike her ways, and school administrators. As she gets closer to her students, and trades cell phone numbers for homework questions or accepts friend requests on Facebook, how far is too far for that relationship to go? As the boundaries slowly get erased between teacher and student, how does that affect the education? How much of high school is about the information we learn, and how much is about the relationships?

Revisiting high school through the eyes of these characters makes you see these years in a completely different way. You see the layers of meaning and subtext, the subtle causes and effects of the choices made during these years, the friendships and the romances, the successes and the failures, the tests and the parties. Everyone has stories about high school, and everyone can relate to at least one of these characters.

I am not a big fan of high school novels, but this one is interesting and intriguing in a way that makes you think. It's not just about the drama. It's about what's under the drama, and about where the drama leads. Revisit your teenage years--read this book.



Galleys provided by the publisher through NetGalley.com.

I know this book has had rave reviews but the content is not relevant to me.

So much of the publicity for this title compared it to Sittenfeld's "Prep" so I was quite excited to read this title. I must admit that I became a bit dismayed when the opening chapters seemed overly formulaic and predictable. But then the story, especially the introduction of the character Molly really helped this entire story take flight. Hearing the same story from the varying viewpoints of the students and teachers made the stories richer and the characters fuller. I would definitely recommend this title and believe this is going to be a big hit at our libraries!

I am so incredibly impressed with Lindsay Lee Johnson’s debut novel, “The Most Dangerous Place on Earth.” The novel takes place in a California town not far from San Francisco, following students from middle school until their Senior year. Characters are Cally (or Calista), Abigail, Emma, Ryan, Nick, Tristan, Dave, and several other adolescents with a variety of issues and very little consideration of right and wrong. There is also a brand new teacher, Molly, and her creepy inappropriate colleague, Doug. Not far into the novel, the reader is faced with cringe-worthy humiliation and bullying of a student that ends in tragedy during their middle school years, but then fast forwards to high school where each chapter focuses on different characters and their circumstances. It covers sex, drinking, drugs, gossip, inappropriate relationships, cheating, and so on. There’s very little that isn’t presented in this novel about these teenagers and their lives.

Johnson takes us on a journey of friendships that end, new acquaintances, trying things for the first time, and ultimately, pushing the limits. If I had to choose a word to describe most of the characters in this novel, the word that comes to mind is naive. First of all, the students obviously think they are invincible, indestructible, and able to get away with anything and everything they do. Secondly, the new teacher, Molly seriously skews the lines thinking that these kids want to be her friends, and thus, she tries treating them as such. Thirdly, what few parents are even mentioned in the novel apparently do not believe in supervising their children at all and basically float along in their privileged lives refusing to see what is going on with their children.

After finishing and digesting this novel I also realized that none of these characters honestly knew the first thing about one another. Sure, they knew the crap they deemed worth gossiping about, but they never took the time to get to know one another or themselves. I would like to say that Cally made the most “progress” in surviving adolescence and trying to make sense of it, but in reality, she was high as a kite for several years so I’m not sure I can classify that as “progress.” Stealing a word from creepy Doug the pedophile teacher’s SAT study sessions, no one in this novel – adults included – ever considered the ramifications of their words and/or actions. These spoiled kids did as they pleased and if the end results were negative, they simply shrugged it off and moved on. Some of the teachers were so detached and cynical regarding their students, as to where Molly, the young, newbie teacher, honestly felt that the students cared about her, what she said, and what she did.

Being that I was a teacher for 13 years, I particularly enjoyed Johnson’s portrayal of the teachers and the dynamics between each other and the students. Some of the teachers were so detached and cynical regarding their students, as to where Molly, the young newbie, honestly felt that the students cared about her, what she said, and what she did. Although Molly initially attempted to blend and mesh with her colleagues, she quickly secluded herself and alienated herself by spending all of her time with Doug. After the “incident” with Doug, she continued to bury herself professionally by trying to befriend her students – especially with her pathetic Facebook postings. Her personal flashbacks of being socially awkward, unpopular, etc. turned her teacher-student relationships into one of wanting their acceptance and approval, which is obviously not the most logical way to approach one’s students.

Moving on from the plot and characters, I was truly mesmerized by Lindsay Lee Johnson’s writing. “The Most Dangerous Place on Earth” reads and flows with incredible ease, in spite of the suspense and troubling moments in the novel. Whether it was the thoughts or dialogue of a student, parent, teacher, medical professional, and so on – her writing was spot on with perfect slang, inner-dialogue, reactions, and reflections. Johnson writes with the ability to be whoever she needs to be at that moment, making it difficult to remember that you are reading a work of fiction and that these people are not actually real. Bravo to this extraordinary author and her debut novel. I hope to read more of her incredible work in the future!

LEARN MORE ABOUT LINDSAY LEE JOHNSON BY VISITING HER WEB PAGE.

PURCHASE “THE MOST DANGEROUS PLACE ON EARTH” ON AMAZON.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

In Lindsey Lee Johnson’s debut novel The Most Dangerous Place on Earth, readers are launched into the lives of privileged, seemingly perfect teenagers in a wealthy suburb of California. Their new, 23-year-old teacher Molly Nicoll becomes intrigued with their lives, sensing the mystery and pain behind their wild and reckless ways. What she doesn’t know is that a major trauma from middle school affected each and every one of them in a different way, shaping the people they have become and haunting their everyday lives. There’s the flower child, the party girl, the druggie, the delinquent, the outsider… a Breakfast Club myriad of sorts.

Told from different perspective in each chapter, the book is divided into three time-based parts: Eighth Grade, Junior Year, and Senior Year. We watch these children grow and evolve as they prepare for the rest of their lives in the adult world once high school ends.

This story hit close to home for me, as I’m sure it will for many. The oftentimes unspoken tribulations of high school are spoken about open and honestly– something most authors shy away from– which was truly captivating, although it lingered on the line of over-the-top at times. It was a story that speaks truth for teenagers, something I wish I had growing up in a privileged suburb of Connecticut.

Pros:
The writing style was mesmerizing and poetic. It made me feel as though I was right in the story and I wound up highlighting so many passages based off of their beautiful composition.
The character development was truly phenomenal– I’ve never seen it done so well in a Young Adult book with so many different characters. Each go through a profound transformation, whether positive or negative. It’s a realistic cycle of growth and development into adulthood.
The ending wasn’t neatly tied up with a pretty bow. No spoilers, don’t worry! But I loved that the ending was true to life– messy and sometimes not exactly ideal. Raw, honest, no holds barred.
The plot was incredibly intense and captivating. Fun fact: I stayed up until 4 in the morning just to finish this book once I got into it! The groggy day that followed was 100% worth it.

Cons:
The book started and ended focusing on the narration of one character, Callie/Calista. But there wasn’t much of her point of view in the center of the book– this kind of confused me and left me wanting a little more at the ending. Some sort of a deeper connection to her character throughout the course of the story’s entirety would have made it a bit more meaningful.
While I loved the riveting plot, it fluttered on the line of over-the-top at points. I’m not saying that any of these portrayals are inaccurate, I just think that it was hard for me as a reader to consume a story with so many traumatic events that are not necessarily the norm of adolescence.

4 STARS

Mill Valley High — a place where you would not want to be, and yet if given the opportunity — guiltily eavesdrop, quietly observe the students, the way they communicate, carry themselves and welcome the world, the juvenile angst and naivety. With one exception — there’s no naivety at all. Those teenagers, granted still kids, are very much aware of their actions and very much detached from the consequences in their own way.

Mill Valley is the place where Abigail Cress, Calista Broderick, Nick Brickston, Dave Chau, Emma Fleed, Damon Flintov, Ryan Herberger and Elisabeth Averine reside. It is the place where they live, go to school, eat expensive lunches, throw heavy parties, tenaciously revolt, make their first attempts to love and shield from pain.

The writing is superb — a beautiful arrangement of sentences, formed by real words that blend with each narrative. To be frank, I’ve never been a cheerleader for descriptions as not every book has this finesse to make them a cardinal part rather than just a background to the story. Well, Lindsey Lee Johnson certainly has the smooth skill to turn every scene, every line of description into an artistry and I admire her for that. 

The novel not only has great writing and real characters, but also a plot (I know, it’s rare). But it does, a plot that keeps you guessing what’s coming next at every turn of a page. It makes you worry if Dave will find the courage to assert himself, it plants a concern about Damon Flintov, will he be ever understood? You grow fond of them as they were real, as you actually knew them. There are no happy or sad endings here. There are choices, developments, sequence of events. It might be time to leave the most dangerous place on Earth (where here I think this holds an individual meaning to the characters, it’s more than the universal high school and its thousand hidden mines waiting to be stepped on, or the dread of the perfect small town), but their ride to themselves, finding what sparks an interest and how happiness feels like, will continue.

Uncertain if it was a creative move from the author, but somehow each one of the characters’ parents seem to be, if not the decisive, then the salient factor driving and predicting their children’s behaviour. A question I asked myself — is it about perception? Adolescents’ sometimes deceiving perception that parents are always on the wrong side of the fence? Because if at the end, it all comes inevitably to nurture and upbringing, then where’s left the choice? How can they break the cycle? And could we really assign all the responsibility to the ignorant, selfish or demanding parents?

A story worth of reading, not only because I liked it, but mainly because it’s depth invites reflection and leaves a room for discussion. 

I have kindly received a copy of this book from NetGalley and Random House.

A well written novel that follows a group of privileged high school students in the moneyed town of Mill Valley, California The Most Dangerous Place on Earth spends most of its time in dark places. From cyber bullying to drug use to academic cheating scandals there isn't much illicit activity that isn't happening at this small town high school and even the teachers get involved whether they're young and trying to fit in with the kids or are seeking out inappropriate and illegal romantic relationships, it's all there.

The main problem I had with the novel was probably a personal one, simply that it's hard to identify with or develop empathy for uber privileged kids and their often self-imposed struggles. It's difficult to shake the thought that these kids have so much handed to them and still manage to have more problems collectively than any high school I've ever heard of. Add to that the fact that the novel dwells almost solely on the negative and it's hard not to feel somewhat manipulated. Another issue I had was that this novel continued a 2016 trend of featuring a sexual relationship between an underaged girl and a grown man in a position of power. Johnson's novel, through no fault of her own, was the fifth I read in 2016 with such a plot point and I have simply grown tired of it. Why am I mentioning this? Perhaps to let the reader know that it may have unfairly affected my reaction.

Johnson's debut was often compared to Ng's Everything I never Told You in the build up to its release and while the comparison is fair, I don't think it does her any favors. Ng's novel felt far more plausible while Johnson's tends more toward the dramatic, cramming ten years worth of scandals into the experience of a few classes of high schoolers. The Most Dangerous Place on Earth definitely has its moments, but overall tended toward the improbable with characters who were too often unlikeable.

The story is told through different perspectives of different people. These are people you are most likely to walk into at a school. The prom queen, the bully, the outcast, and the teacher. You walk through all the different footsteps and take a look through the different pairs of eyes but it tells one story. At first it looks as if it is just short stories taken from each character but as you continue you realise how all the different walks leads to one path.

This book starts with 8th graders bullying Tristan, a "weird" kid that needs special academic accommodations who, in an effort to connect to his peers and make friends, writes a love note to one of the popular girls at school. The girl gives it to her boyfriend and then he and his friends and classmates begin cyber bullying Tristan on Facebook. This eventually leads to Tristan jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge. The rest of the book focuses on the aftermath of Tristan's suicide on his classmates and teachers in their junior and senior years of high school. It was troubling to see how much social sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter is involved in the making and breaking of people in the social hierarchy of high school. Parts of it were heartbreaking like teachers being encouraged not to care/ get emotionally invested in students, that their main focus should be to educate them. Or learning after life tragedy that popular party girl has no real friends. Obviously the most dangerous place on Earth for the young, vulnerable, and unafraid is junior high and high school according to this book and the story can make you glad you are not in high school any more.

I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars on Goodreads.

I received a free advanced copy of this book from NetGalley for review consideration.

I gave it 2 stars due to lack of depth and connection of characters. This book is separated by time and by character. The story itself was easy to follow but there was no connection to anyone. There wasn't one likable character. If there were fewer characters involved and more time dedicated to the a few it would have been an excellent book I think.

Occasionally, during my middle and high school years, adults would say, "these are the best years of your life". I'm still baffled by this. For me, and most people I know, the teenage years were extraordinarily difficult and confusing times. Why tell struggling teens that things will only get worse?!
The story follows a group of friends through middle school and high school as they face the challenges of growing up. These teens live in privileged luxury but barely recognize it, much less appreciate it. The plot revolves around a traumatic event that occurred during middle school, which affects each of them differently.
Some of the challenges portrayed would be familiar to adults of all ages, but there are new dangers out there for today's teenagers, such as cyber bullying and dubious internet alliances. The internet makes privacy nearly impossible and cruelty much easier.
Reading this increased my empathy towards today's teenagers. I recommend it to anyone who has teens in their lives, and would like to understand their daily struggles more fully.

3.75 starts rounded up to 4

This book takes you back. Back to 8th Grade in Junior High. Back to first crushes and insecurities, back to new friendships and trying to fit in. Back to a single tragic event that shapes the lives of the teenagers at TAM High in an affluent suburb in California.

The story jumps to Junior and Senior Year in High School. (Molly) Miss Nicoll is a new teacher trying to get through to her students, without knowing their past. The same teenagers are living dramatically different lives, yet somehow all connected. How did the tragedy in middle school shape who they became? Best friends in 8th Grade barely talk now. Social media makes once private experiences become public. Nothing is safe and nothing is sacred.

I felt drawn into this book about halfway through and couldn't put it down. When the students are Juniors they all attend the same party with disastrous results. I felt for each and every character in the story. They all had their hardships and struggles and were entirely relatable. I remembered what it was like back in Junior High and High School. The kids who wanted to be well liked, the kids who felt they were above everyone else, and the kids who floated amongst both groups. This story was both heartbreaking and heartwarming. There were characters who cared so deeply it almost cost them their lives, and characters who didn't care enough. I would recommend this story and thank the publisher for the advanced copy.

This book is not for me and I am not going to give it a positive review, so therefor I am not going to review it on any of my sites. Just because I do not like it, does not mean another will not like it and I do not want to prejudice anyone from reading it. I was not expecting the stories to be unconnected the way they were. I was not expecting to dislike so many of the characters, but after the first chapter/story - I had trouble enjoying the book for what it was a story.

As noted in an earlier post, it seems that the new group of YA novels are rather dark and sad. That is certainly the case with The Most Dangerous Place on Earth by Lindsey Lee Johnson. In fact, I did not think that it was an accurate portrayal of high school life, even in a privileged setting (Mill Valley, near San Francisco) which parallels New Trier. Rather, this book seemed to be an attempt to string together vignettes – suicide, alcohol and drug use, teacher/student affair, car accident involving the family BMW, cyberbullying, cheating on the SAT, a runaway acting in gay porn films - about a group of classmates who repeatedly make poor choices and rarely face consequences.

I cared about this group and felt that each student had a distinct, if caricatured, voice. Most seemed to be looking for guidance and understanding, craving a listener, but the adults – both parents and teachers – were crafted in a very negative, stereotypical way. I will not be recommending this title and am frankly puzzled at the positive reviews from Library Journal and Publishers Weekly.

Look instead for Holding up the Universe by Jennifer Niven (best-selling author of All the Bright Places). Holding up the Universe also deals with some difficult issues of identity and self-acceptance faced by high school students. Junior Libby Strout became very obese while grieving her mother’s death and has only recently lost enough weight to return to school where she is bullied by others, including senior Jack Masselin who has prosopagnosia (face blindness). They ultimately form a bond, are not afraid to ignore peer pressure and challenge authority. Aspirational and inspirational with starred reviews from School Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, and Voya.

Dark, heavy, heartbreaking. This book certainly brings up questions. Is school really the most dangerous place on earth? Could this much possibly be happening in high schools? Are these students truly examples of kids today? Are my teens feeling and seeing this? Are parents completely blind to the reality? How sad that the teacher who truly cared was told not to. I can't say I enjoyed this book, but it was thought provoking.
Advanced reader copy provided by the publishers at NetGalley for review.

Basically a book about a teacher, her students and their lives. Through in a few more creepy characters and that is what this book was about. Each student tells their story with the teacher's story interspersed. The writing was good, I thought the story was missing something. Thanks NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in return for my honest review.