Cover Image: The Truants

The Truants

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Untrustworthy cast of characters, This is a contemporary novel set on a college campus.. This is a slow-moving, atmospheric, introspective read that gripped me from the beginning

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This was a good read; well-written although slightly predictable at times. It dragged a little at points. Would recommend, although the ending was a tad disappointing.

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Jess Walker enrols at university in Norwich (rather than the Oxbridge route she could have taken) in order to study under the flamboyant and mysterious Lorna Clay (who has recently mysteriously left her tenured position at Cambridge). Jess is not given a place on the module she wants to study under Clay but on her other less prestigious one about Agatha Christie's novels and life. Jess has low self esteem so when Lorna notices her and singles her out in class it looks like all Jess's dreams about Clay are coming true. Clay encourages the idolisation, inviting Jess to her home , introducing Jess to her partner and giving her her personal mobile phone number. Clay also attends students parties and holds court among her admirers (I can't say that this chimed with any of my Uni experiences, surely it would be totally frowned upon?) Jess also becomes friends with Georgia, a wealthy , beautiful, sometimes self harming party girl who has just started dating a slightly older South African journalist who is a Reader at the uni and whom Jess falls in love with. despite dating a handsome IT sudent herself. There is a claustrophobic sense in the novel and things aren't always quite what they seem. I enjoyed the references to Agatha Christie novels (although I'm not a big fan) and certainly the plot follows a Christie pattern.

I enjoyed the first half of this book but then I felt it started to lose it's way a bit. The plot became a bit too overblown and therefore unbelievable for me. I still enjoyed it over all though. It even inspired me to look up the Agatha Christie books mentioned in the plot.

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I thoroughly enjoyed The Truants, an engrossing début of mystery and intrigue.

The book was narrated by Jess, looking back with hindsight over about six years or thereabouts to when she was an eighteen-year-old first-year student at university. Studying English, she falls heavily under the influence of Lorna, an enigmatic and charismatic female lecturer and also of a wealthy, drug-dependent fellow student, Georgie and her nonconformist older boyfriend.

Kate Weinberg has a very appealing style of writing and the characters she created were very believable. giving me a great sense of apprehensiveness and foreboding. Jess’s voice was excellently done and I found The Truants very readable, with a death, other divulgences and revelations making this book very gripping. In this tale of love, desire, betrayal, lies and growing up, the plot moved along a very comfortable rate and Kate Weinberg wrapped everything up neatly, leaving no loose ends which was rather satisfying.

Literary but not ostentatiously so, this was a pleasure to read and even if the plot had been less stimulating I would have devoured these pages with equal gusto and enthusiasm.

The Truants is an extremely impressive début and I’ll certainly be looking out for Kate Weinberg’s next book.

I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel, at my own request, from Bloomsbury Publishing via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

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Jess is not the most forward girl around but when she reads a book called the truants she wants to study under the author Lorna. To this end she applies to a university in East Anglia where Lorna becomes her tutor. Jess makes a friend, a confident rich girl whose drug addiction is becoming a problem, she finds a boyfriend and falls in love with her best friend's boyfriend. As Jess' life spirals out of control she relies on Lorna, but is Lorna all that she seems?
About a third of the way through this book I was ready to give up then suddenly it burst into life and I began to understand the plot motifs. Lorna is a scholar of Agatha Christie and the author has taken lots of plot devices from Christie to create the characters in her book - the unreliable narrator, the drug addict, the fantasist, the foreign aunt etc. Once this clicked I actually began to really like the whole melodramatic story!

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I really enjoyed this debut novel of mystery and intrigue about a first year university student, Jess, and her passion for a certain lecturer, Lorna, who lectures on Agatha Christie. We get to meet Jess's friends, Nick, Georgie and Alec, as well as Lorna and her partner Stedman, another lecturer at the university.
Despite being a debut, the novel is plotted well and written in a style that is immensely engaging. I ripped through this story in two sittings and can still visualise the scenes and characters. Weinberg wraps everything up leaving no loose strings which is satisfying. She also develops the characters enough, especially Jess, that the reader can empathise rather than just relying on plot points to drive the story.

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A mysterious hearse driving through a forest while the title promises truancy? Sign me up! That was pretty much my first thought when I saw The Truants and I was absolutely drawn in by the blurb as well. This sounded like the modern version of The Secret History I had been looking for. Unfortunately, I might have set my expectations for Weinberg's novel too high. Thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Who doesn't love a story of a tight friendship group that gets bound up too tightly in itself? It is why The Secret History was such a success. We all long back, secretly, to those days in which friendships were forged instantly and strongly, where the smallest anthill was an insurmountable obstacle, but where almost everything was also quickly forgiven. It is a fascinating moment in all of our lives where we have a huge amount of freedom while still having a relative safety net as well. So we all get a bit dumb during those years. Exactly because it is such a fertile ground for novelists, it also becomes quite a tricky time period and subject matter. It has to be handled with care if one wants to avoid over-blowing it.

Something consistently irked me about our main character, Jess Walker. Although many things happen in the novel, she felt consistently passive to me. She hopes for things to happen, and when they do she happily goes along with it, until the inevitable consequences arrive and she then meekly accepts those to. Things happen to her, but each of her reactions feels coached or caused by someone else. Hardly ever did I truly feel like she was making choices herself, leaving me to wonder about the blurb's last lines.
'What is the true cost of an extraordinary life?'
I think this is the question The Truants wants to ask, yet it doesn't seem to have made it's mind up about what an extraordinary life is or who is supposed to be living it. Outrageous lives? Sure! Irresponsible lives? Absolutely! But extraordinary? I don't know. There should be an element of inspiration there and instead each of the characters felt incredibly sleazy. Sure, it was fascinating and fun to read. But I don't think I liked it.

Kate Weinberg captures the intoxication of that first year at university perfectly. Suddenly there is this newfound freedom you didn't even know you craved and Weinberg lets her characters experience those heights. However, they are driven to rather extreme heights. What worked in The Secret History, the boozing, the trips, the murder, it all works because of the remove Tartt puts in place between her reader and her plot. Her characters aren't people you recognize among your friends; they're also not people you're supposed to like very much. Alongside Donna Tartt, Agatha Christie is also a major influence on this novel. Weinberg's 'maverick teacher', Lorna Clay teaches a course on her and this brings in the mystery element. Again, much of Christie's plot work because of our slight remove from the people it depicts: the wealthy and landed. The Truants feels too grounded in our modern reality, which means that the excesses of the book feel outlandish. The plot twists always felt just one step too far for me. Again, I can't say I didn't enjoy reading The Truants but there were just too many moments where I felt like scratching my head.

The Truants is an engaging read that however doesn't entirely satisfy. It's all there, the drama and mystery and suspense, and yet it didn't really work for me. I'd recommend this novel to those looking for a dramatic university novel with some mystery and suspense added to the mix.

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https://lynns-books.com/2019/08/15/the-truants-by-kate-weinberg/
Wow. I absolutely loved this book and couldn’t put it down. I want more. I was hooked. HOOKED. Yes, I’m shouting.

I realise that I have a certain type of book that automatically appeals to me and all sense of reason flies out the window when I see that ‘type’. Well, two types, fairytale retellings, particularly if they’re about Beauty and the Beast, and campus style books that involve obsession, cliques and mysteries. So, when I read the description for The Truants I simply had to have it and boy did it knock my socks off.

I can imagine that this will be likened to Donna Tartt’s Secret History and in certain respects that wouldn’t be an unfair comparison but I felt that this stood on it’s own two feet and tells a different style of story completely. There is an underlying mystery to this that involves the main character turning detective when the object of her obsession dies.

Jess Walker is about to embark on a new path. She’s attending University and signed up for a course run by someone she idolises. A woman who is something of an enigma, a master storyteller and such a strong personality that she seems to hypnotise everyone simply by walking into a room – Lorna, beautiful, beguiling, bewitching. Jess is thrilled to be signed up to Lorna’s course, this is ‘it’, the thing that will change her life for the better. Jess has always been something of a wallflower, she blends in, never the centre of attention and rarely the eye catching outgoing one. University is a fresh start for her, a chance to turn over a new leaf and when she makes friends with Georgia, beautiful, bubbly, slightly wicked and something of a force of nature she sets foot on a path that will inevitably lead to upset.

I’m not going to go into too much detail about the plot, this doesn’t solely focus on life on campus although that does play a large part, we also travel further afield when the mystery elements of the story become more prominent. Instead I’m going to go into full tilt gushing about what really worked well for me.

Firstly, the writing. It’s difficult to believe that this is a debut novel for Kate Weinberg. The writing is beautiful. It’s reminiscent of DuMaurier’s elegance and ability to conjure a scene with remarkable clarity. Simply put, this was a pleasure to read and even if the plot had been less stimulating I think I still would have devoured these pages with relish.

Secondly, I loved that part of the story uses Agatha Christie as a focus, not just her books but also her own story and in particular the period in her own life that has always been something of a mystery. I really enjoyed this element to the tale and in fact it’s given me a nudge to go and read some more of Christie’s books. Much like Christie there are elements to the story that feel a little fantastical but I would say that you have to just go for it and enjoy the story for what it is.

Finally, the characters. Jess is so well written, as is Georgia. Both very different, in looks, in background and in personality. Their friendship is tested to the limits. In a way they both become victims to the two very strong personalities who are pulling their strings behind the scenes. This is a story with ever increasing tension, a story where you think you know where everything is going and to some extents that’s true but it’s also quite cleverly deceptive. There’s a nod to the murder mystery, red herrings and false trails amongst all the student drama and more than that a search for the perfect crime hidden in between the passion and betrayals.

In terms of criticisms. Nothing really jumps to mind, other than, as already mentioned, there are a few moments where belief needs to be suspended slightly, I’m not entirely sure that all of this would withstand close scrutiny but I was having too good a time reading to stop and pay really close attention.

Overall, in case you were in any doubt, I thoroughly enjoyed this. It absolutely lived up to the promise and in fact was even better than I’d hoped for. The Truants is my new catnip and Kate Weinberg is an author I will be watching out for.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

Rating 5*

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I liked this book - I felt very engaged with the character of Jess and her relationships with her friend Georgia and the older charactersof Lorna and Alec. The story is very mysterious and dramatic with the central idea, I think, of hiding in plain sight. It's not a neat and tidy ending but leaves you wondering (in a good way). Very enjoyable.

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The Truants sounded right up my street with a cast of non-conforming rebel students, but I must admit that I was astounded to find this is Weinberg's debut novel as it's such an accomplished, original book. It revolves around main protagonist, Jess, and her current feelings of being the centre of attention when she has only ever blended into crowds seamlessly to become anonymous. Campus novels don't usually work out well for me as I'm not such a big fan but this had everything associated with the subgenre but with more tension and the suspenseful atmosphere Weinberg creates is clearly a rare and raw talent.

The intentional ambiguousness of the cast of characters will not float everyone's boat, however, I thought it made the story more mysterious and intriguing for me. Ultimately, The Truants is a coming-of-age novel that follows a group of youngsters as they navigate their way around their worlds. The characterisation is superb, the plot well constructed and the observations of the author are on point. This is a difficult book to categorise as it has elements of literary fiction, romance, young adult and thriller/mystery, but above all, it's a book that charts the growth of a group of university students who are trying to find themselves in a world where everything seems endlessly chaotic. Many thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing for an ARC.

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Many thanks to Netgalley and Bloomsbury Publishing Plc for an electronic copy of this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
"People disappear when they most want to be seen"
Disappearance is a constant theme throughout this novel, the disappearance of people, of objects of thoughts and feelings. However just as important is the reappearance of these things and the circumstances of that. The novel constantly challenges the statement it makes. Disappearances in this story are often in contrast to people wanting to be seen, or perhaps they are wanting to be seen but not by everyone. I would like to focus on this theme more and explore it in an essay, which I will probably do on my blog but for the purposes of this review what I want to say now is just how much I loved reading this. It was everything I look for in a novel, well written, good characterisation, natural flow of dialogue, mysterious goings on, a focus on relationships and how these change and morph.
I am going to be recommending this book to anyone who will listen to me from now on, I am the nominated book picker for October for an online book club I am part of and this is going to be my choice as long as it fits in the guidelines.

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I’m sure this tale of young university students will have many fans but I’m afraid it dragged for me.

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Although I felt the pacing was slightly uneven at times, the characters were extremely well drawn and it was an atmospheric and compelling read that had me turning 'just one more page' long after I should have gone to sleep! An impressive debut, I'll be keen to read what Weinberg writes next ....

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Jess Walker enrols at university in Norwich to study under the flamboyant and mysterious Lorna Clay who specialises in Agatha Christie- her novels and her life. Jess sees herself as nothing special so when Lorna notices her and singles her out in class Jess becomes even more fixated on her approval. She becomes friends with Georgia, a wealthy and popular party girl, and is drawn into Lorna’s inner circle of admirers. Things are not quite as they first seem however and unfortunate events begin to occur.
I enjoyed this novel, especially the Agatha Christie references, but there were too many unanswered questions for me and I found there were too many characters without enough depth. I liked the style of writing and will look out for Kate Weinberg’s next book.

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Jess walker is middle class and about to start university. She chose the university due to her obsession with the academic Lorna Clay, whose book "The Truants" is about writers having to push themselves to reach their goals. The Truants is about a clever group of misfits who yearn to break the rules.

The concept sounded just right. Young people trying to find themselves in each other. The book is told from Jess's point of view. There is the usual mix of campus stuff going on but some of it was not what I expected. The book is well written. The characters are messy. I did like this book but I also found myself wanting more. I will read more from the author in future.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc (UK & ANZ) and the author Kate Weinberg for my ARC in exchange for an review.

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There were probably campus-set mysteries that focussed on groups of students before Donna Tartt’s The Secret History but this seems to benchmark for this type of book. Kate Weinberg’s debut novel The Truants has broader influences than this, including the life and works of Agatha Christie, but the shadow of the campus novel still hovers in the background.

Jess Walker has eschewed the established English universities to come to a small, concrete campus in Britain’s Norfolk to study English. She is particularly obsessed with a teacher there called Lorna Clay, a woman famous for a book called The Truants which looks at writers who broke the rules. On arrival, Jess is quickly befriended by wealthy beauty Georgia and soon finds herself in a tight knit group of four including Georgia’s South African journalist boyfriend Alec and her own new boyfriend Nick. Together, the four become truants themselves, skipping classes to barrel around the countryside in a hearse that Alec drives, drinking and taking drugs. But nothing is that simple, Jess not only knows a secret about Alec, she is also secretly infatuated with him, and the very direct interference of lecturer Lorna in the lives of her favourite students (including Jess and Georgia) puts another angle of pressure on Jess.

Suffice to say the idyll cannot last and the second half of the book deals with the consequences of the implosion of the little group and, eventually some of the secrets that underlay some of the action. Lorna and her students are researching Agatha Christie so everything that happens to Jess is tinged with a Christie like air. It feels like there is a mystery here to be solved, although often the mystery element is purely in Jess’s imagination. But the real world is messy, and even where there is ambiguity, Weinberg deliberately refuses to provide a pat Christie-like explanation and tie everything up.

The Truants is, at its best, a coming of age story. But rather than the usual teenager to adult this is more of a young adult to experienced adult, buffeted and schooled by the actions of others. Jess narrates the action from a six year remove, highlighting her naïveté and innocence, and allowing her to filter those experiences through the lens of hindsight. There are twists here but most of them are fairly predictable. Again, possibly because the older narrating Jess has foreshadowed them, or at least foreshadowed something.

Jess’s naiveté, highlighted by her knowing six-year on narration, becomes a little wearing after a while. The reader knows it will end in tears, as do everyone around her, so when it does there is little surprise. But the shadows of Agatha Christie creates a greater depth to the material, seeding puzzles even where there may be none. So that The Truants is a solid debut, even if it does not always reach the heights that Weinberg is aiming for.

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Set at the thinly disguised University of East Anglia this novel mixes up the university/Secret History genre with some lush Agatha Christie.

The first part of the book sets the scene, this did drag a little - maybe Norfolk uni life is a little tame compared to the US's Princetown, but I could not quite believe the personal pastoral care that the student received from her tutor. Even if she was a scheming madwoman the UK's university funding and child protection laws would put pay to any home visits from the professor.

However once we got through the groundwork we are treated to the whole Agatha Christie experience - islands, storms, snakes, sinister men and dodgy deaths. Marvellous - and by this point I could suspend my disbelief, as hey, it's abroad and strange things can happen there.

A good read !

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I loved everything about this book, and from the beginning I felt myself being drawn to the characters. I liked the mysterious Lorna, and without giving too much away, although there were some unanswered questions surrounding Lorna and Alec, it didn't take away my enjoyment of the book as a whole.
Recommended debut novel.

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Overall, I enjoyed The Truants, but it did drag a bit in the middle especially.

The book is narrated by Jess, looking back six years or so to 2012 when she was an eighteen-year-old first-year student at an unnamed university bearing a strong resemblance to the University Of East Anglia. Studying English, she falls under the spell of Lorna, a charismatic female lecturer, and also of a wealthy, drug-dependent fellow student and her maverick older boyfriend. It’s a story of love, desire, betrayal, lies and growing up.

Kate Weinberg writes very well. The book is literary without ever becoming pretentious and she creates very believable characters with a fine sense of growing foreboding. Jess’s voice is excellently done and it’s very readable, with a death and important revelations making the second half of the book very gripping.

Perhaps it’s me – as a gent in his mid-60s I’m perhaps not the ideal audience for a lengthy exploration of the emotional life of a slightly withdrawn post-adolescent woman – but I almost gave up around half way. It was all well written and well done, but it began to feel a bit familiar and drawn out. I really needed something to actually happen; fortunately, I persisted and things did happen soon enough for me to enjoy the second half very much.

So, a slightly qualified recommendation but this is an impressive debut and I’ll certainly be looking out for Kate Weinberg’s next book.

(My thanks to Bloomsbury for an ARC via NetGalley.)

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This is my ideal summer/beach/switch-off reading: it's literate without being literary and has enough love, sex, desire, secrets, death, grief and obsession to keep the pages turning rapidly. Essentially this is a campus novel and a tale of growing up, and is excellent on depicting sexual chemistry and friendship.

There are lots of implausibilities most obviously the idea of a university lecturer becoming best friends with an 18 year old undergraduate so that they socialise and holiday together. But if you can swallow this, then you're in for a satisfying read that is both warm and compelling.

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