Iranian on his mother’s side and white American on his father’s side, Darius never quite fits in. When Darius’ grandfather becomes terminally ill, Darius, along with his parents and younger sister, travels to Iran for the first time in his life. While Willie’s personal story and the school mystery don’t always mesh, the well-drawn characters and suspenseful plot should keep readers fully engaged.ĭarius Kellner suffers from depression, bullying by high school jocks, and a father who seems to always be disappointed in him. This debut presents an intriguing look at a little-known piece of American history: Opened in 1851, the Cherokee Nation’s seminaries provided superior education to youth across the socioeconomic spectrum, including girls, for half a century. Is the ghost of a dead student, a revenant, responsible? Dismissive at first, Willie is soon drawn into the mystery and to Eli Sevenstar, a handsome, charismatic student at the nearby Cherokee men’s seminary who may be involved. Lately, strange noises and violent happenings have been plaguing the school. Class and cultural differences divide the student body: Urban sophisticates, often of mixed-race, disdain the less-privileged, rural Cherokee girls and Willie herself, a white, rural Tennessean. Contrary to Willie’s expectations, the seminary is an elegant, distinguished academic institution, educating students far wealthier and more cultured than she. When her mother insists she leave boarding school and come home, Willie, 17-a teen rebel à la 1896-assumes the identity of another student who’s decided to decline a teaching position at the Cherokee Female Seminary.Īccepting the offer in her place, Willie heads to Tahlequah, Okla.

The revenant by sonia gensler