The Crazy School (Madeline Dare Series #2)

Crazy indeed!

Cornelia Read has created such a fun interesting character in Madeline Dare. Her voice is really unique and the setting being the 80s add to her personality as well. In this sequel to Field Of Darkness, the only thing that relates to that book is Madeline and her mostly off page husband. That's something that I didn't love here. This book could be almost completely comprehended without any knowledge of the previous book. While that is great for new readers I wanted a little more a connection. Also, this book's crux didn't really come to be until well into the book. It seemed to tread water for quite some time but luckily Madeline is intriguing enough to not make that a terrible thing. Overall, this a really good book but I enjoyed the first book more.

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The Crazy School

From the first pages of The Crazy School, the reader is picked up and dropped into a world far from what most would consider the norm. The story begins at Santangelo Academy in the Berkshire Mountains of Massachusetts. The Academy is modeled after a real life school, that existed from 1978 though 2004, called DeSisto at Stockbridge School. The Protagonist is Madeline Dare, who recently began a teaching job at the school. At a glance the campus may appear pristine, but appearances can be deceiving. One quickly finds that life at this school is very different from a regular educational facility. Teachers are referred to by their first names, cursing is common place, and the majority of students are heavily medicated and suffer from severe mental problems. As the plot builds, more and more is revealed about the estranged founder, David Santangelo, and his bizarre polices. Because the majority of the students at the academy suffer from mental disorders, many of the school¿s activities are centered around so called therapeutic practices. However, few would consider this school to be professionally sound in its techniques. The therapists violate doctor-patient confidentiality. David Santangelo forces all students and teachers to sit in a circle for days at a time, waiting for confessions of wrongdoings. These practices are considered therapeutic. As Madeline begins to see the extent of insanity at this school, she befriends Wiesner, Forchetti, Mooney and Fay, students at the school. Her determination to save them and others from the destructive forces at work at the schools continues to grow. After it becomes clear to Madeline that a terrible tragedy isn¿t what it seems, she pushes harder to get answers, answers that could easily cost her life. The Crazy School will have readers tearing through every page, as they join Madeline in her search for closure, and revenge.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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READ EMERGES A STORYTELLER

THE CRAZY SCHOOL
Cornelia Read
Grand Central Publishing
ISBN: 078-0-446-19820-2
$13.99 - Paperback
352 pages
Reviewer: Annie Slessman

Wondering how she is to survive the daily madness at Santangelo Academy, Madeline Dare's only saving grace is her mentally disturbed students. Main character of Cornelia Read's latest, THE CRAZY SCHOOL, Madeline finds it hard to trust her co-workers.

When Madeline finds that she trusts her students more than her co-workers she finds herself immersed in their lives to the extent of being their confidant and keeper of secrets. When two of her students die questionable deaths, it is Madeline the police turn to as their murderer.

In the first half of this book, Read builds her characterizations to perfection. A reader actually feels they are participating in Madeline's classroom and will have the same distaste for the school's food as their hero, Madeline.

The second half of the book builds an intriguing plot that takes a reader to a satisfying end. Rounding out the story, Read uses one of the most ghastly cult events in history to support and round out her story.

Read holds her own as a storyteller. She takes hold of a reader at the get-go and doesn't let go until the last word.

A reviewer

I was fortunate enough to attend The DeSisto School in West Stockbridge, MA, next to Tanglewood, in the late 1970s and early 1980s before it truly became The Crazy School. Cornelia Read's detailed account of how it was for a teacher was not privy to most students there, and thus fascinating to learn about. Accurate down to the minutiae, Read satisfies us all--alums as well as educators-- curious to reminisce with out-loud laughter, and probably some tears as well. The lingo, the rituals, and the worship have been craftily woven into another Dare-ing mystery. Every chapter's end leads to unexpected winding turns, much like Route 183 itself. And Read's hipster voice lends a breezy coolness and vivid color--crisp as the air in the Fall and Winter of the Berkshires Mountains.

interesting amateur sleuth

In 1989 in the Berkshires in western Massachusetts, twenty-six year old Madeline Dare obtains a position as a history teacher at Santangelo Academy ¿therapeutic boarding school¿. The former Long Island debutante and married Syracuse fluff reporter knows she will have problems adjusting to her new environs, but is unaware how much. Headmaster David Santangelo runs the academy with an iron fist allowing no room for mistakes offenders are sent to ¿the farm¿ for punishment. Madeline¿s distressed student Mooney LeChance informs her that he believes his girlfriend, Fay Perry is pregnant. Although she knows she is expected to report this to Mr. Santangelo, Madeline agrees to keep the couple¿s revelation secret for now especially as the teen duo is serving time at the Farm. However, Mooney and Fay die after drinking party punch. The police arrest Dare as she allegedly prepared the poisoned drink. --- THE CRAZY SCHOOL is an interesting amateur sleuth tale that reads like two novels in one. The first part of the book provides insight into those at the Santangelo Academy as if the story line is an exposé character study of the negative elements of a private school. Somewhere towards the middle of the novel, the plot veers into a murder mystery. Although distinct, the parts ultimately blend together as Dare dares to prove her innocence while exposing A FIELD OF DARKNESS that engulfs the school. --- Harriet Klausner

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