The Year of the Gadfly

Fresh. I opened Jennifer Miller’s debut novel, The Year of the Gadfly, with the expectation that I would quickly lose interest. Instead, I found her writing to be engaging, and the characters, setting and plot imaginative and absorbing. Set in a Massachusetts prep school named Mariana Academy, Miller alternates between the present and 1999. She uses multiple narrators to build perspective. Several of the characters don’t blend easily into the high school environment, and Miller explores the consequences of being different. Readers who like discovering a fresh fictional voice are those most likely to enjoy this novel. Rating: Three-star (Recommended) Click here to purchase The Year of the Gadfly from amazon.com.