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Privilege

A Novel

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

From the beloved author of When You Read This, a smart, sharply observed novel about gender and class on a contemporary Southern college campus in the spirit of The Female Persuasion and Prep.
Carter University: "The Harvard of the South."

Annie Stoddard was the smartest girl in her small public high school in Georgia, but now that she's at Carter, it feels like she's got "Scholarship Student" written on her forehead.

Bea Powers put aside misgivings about attending college in the South as a biracial student to take part in Carter's Justice Scholars program. But even within that rarefied circle of people trying to change the world, it seems everyone has a different idea of what justice is.

Stayja York goes to Carter every day, too, but she isn't a student. She works at the Coffee Bean, doling out almond milk lattes to entitled co-eds, while trying to put out fires on the home front and save for her own education.

Their three lives intersect unexpectedly when Annie accuses fourth-year student Tyler Brand of sexual assault. Once Bea is assigned as Tyler's student advocate, the girls find themselves on opposite sides as battle lines are drawn across the picture-perfect campus—and Stayja finds herself invested in the case's outcome, too.

Told through the viewpoints of Annie, Bea, and Stayja, Privilege is a bracingly clear-eyed look at today's campus politics, and a riveting story of three young women making their way in a world not built for them.

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    • Kirkus

      January 1, 2020
      The lives of three women are irreparably changed after a sexual assault accusation rocks their college campus. Adkins' (When You Read This, 2019) sophomore novel follows Annie, Bea, and Stayja as they navigate the complexities of Carter University. When Annie, a self-conscious white scholarship student, accuses Tyler--a fourth-year student and the son of Carter mega-donors--of sexual assault, all their lives begin to collide. Bea, a biracial student enrolled in the Justice Scholars Program, is assigned as Tyler's student advocate--a job she finds complicated and unsettling as a feminist. Stayja, who's white, works at an on-campus coffee shop to help support her family and save money for nursing school. Over a series of deep conversations, Stayja and Tyler fall into a romantic relationship of sorts. After the accusation goes public, Stayja chooses to believe Tyler even when her friends and family express their concerns. Adkins' writing provides a multifaceted portrayal of campus life and politics in the #MeToo era. One moment in particular shows how deftly and honestly this novel treats trauma. Annie cycles through confusion, rage, and every emotion in between. When she thinks back to confronting Tyler about the assault (which he vehemently denies), she tries to diagnose her reaction: "I recall hope so vicious that it sliced through me, disguising itself as belief. Because while I don't think I did believe him, I wanted to believe more than I'd ever wanted anything." The diverse cast of characters helps portray the way race, class, and gender affect power dynamics and inform our worldviews. Following a traumatic climax, the novel races too quickly to its ending, though it's both satisfying and realistic. In the wake of their suffering, Annie, Bea, and Stayja find ways to heal with hope and disillusionment in equal measure. A timely and resonant novel.

      COPYRIGHT(2020) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

    • Booklist

      January 1, 2020
      Adkins follows her recent debut, When You Read This (2019), with this gripping novel about a rape on a college campus, as told by three central characters: the victim, Annie; Stayja, who's in love with Tyler (the accused); and Bea, Tyler's student advocate. The story begins when Annie meets Tyler, who invites her to a frat party during which she is raped after passing out from too much alcohol. From smalltown Georgia, scholarship student Annie finds within herself a strength she didn't know she had. Stayja, meanwhile, who comes from humble means and works at a coffee shop on campus, meets Tyler shortly before the incident and stands by him, proclaiming his innocence. An intelligent, creative student in the Justice Scholars Program, advocate Bea is biracial while Annie, Stayja, and Tyler, whose parents donate to the school, are all white. Adkins allows readers to take in all sides and perspectives, provoking much thought, and explores the university's failure to protect students from privilege of many forms.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)

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