The Beauty of Us

Nahla is excited to accept her first teaching position - French instructor at Thornton College, an elite Canadian boarding school. Originally from Beirut, Nahla must quickly learn the basics of preparing lessons, dealing with her students in class and acting as 'housemother' and sometime
confidante for the boarders. On top of this, she discovers an old notebook left behind when the former French teacher passed away, and the mysterious jottings are both intriguing and upsetting.

Leesa is a 17-year-old student who has been at the school for several years thanks to her parents' difficult divorce. She is wealthy and very concerned about her place in the hierarchy of the dorm. Leesa is popular with some, particularly those who wish to be part of her clique. But she is
manipulative and bossy with others and, readers find, has a huge secret which she can't share with anyone around her.

New to the school is 15-year-old Zahabiya, a Canadian of Indian origin who is only too happy to get away from her dad and his new wife and find a new family at boarding school. She is often unsure of herself and is aware that she has very little money compared to the others. Zahabiya isn't confident in reading other people, whether her female friends or the boy with whom she
would like a romantic relationship.

These three are the main characters of the novel, with many other female and male students as well as various teachers and school officials rounding out the cast. Farzana Doctor tells the story from three points of view, therefore, and this enables readers to better understand not only their
actions but also the rationale behind their thinking.

Doctor sets her story in a boarding school, and the flavour of this unique world comes through in many details throughout the plot. She also chooses 1984-85 as the time period, and readers are thrust into the music and culture of the era, a time when, for example, every school dance ended with Led Zeppelin's hit “Stairway to Heaven”.

This is a coming-of-age story, particularly for the teens in the novel but also for Nahla who is only in her twenties. The women learn about dealing with peers and fitting in with the crowd while maintaining and growing their own self-esteem and self-confidence. They also learn the importance of standing up for themselves and finding the courage to deal with difficult people and situations. The title is an oblique reference to their burgeoning self-acceptance. On page 286, Zahabiya remarks, "You're all so gorgeous" ... I beamed at my friends, taking in the beauty of us.

The Beauty of Us deals with some typical young adult themes such as becoming independent after leaving home, dealing with family and friends, coping with school issues, enjoying the excitement of one's first romance. However, Doctor has underlying themes which are darker and which really are the substance of the story. She includes bullying and racism in the novel as well as abuse, grooming and gender-based violence. How the women find the courage to deal with these more difficult issues is what makes this novel such a good read and shows that Doctor has real insight into the culture and young people of today.