by Ali Lowe
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton, 2024
Publisher’s blurb
How far would you go to protect your reputation?
For parents living in the beautiful coastal town of Pacific Pines, all their hopes and dreams are pinned on the outcome of the annual Gala Day hosted by St Ignatius Boys’ School. To be accepted into the prestigious institution, their sons must battle it out, facing rigorous rounds of physical and mental tests. Their parents will stop at nothing to ensure their sons succeed.
But after one boy is struck down in a hit and run, the scandals, secrets and lies that entangle three mothers threaten to unravel their seemingly perfect lives . . .
How far will the women go to, not just to save their families – but also their reputations?
Review
by Carol Woeltjes
Would you lie? Would you cheat? Would you kill?
In a leafy beachside suburb, families are preparing for Gala Day, the day when the sporting and academic skills of their sons will be tested and their attendance at the prestigious St Ignatius Boys’ School determined.
The pressure is high. Mothers are baking and cleaning, using connections to get coveted letters of introduction and offering ‘donations’ as a way of getting their foot in the door. Small and large manipulations to get what they want for their sons. But how far is too far?
Ali Lowe paints a familiar picture of privilege and ego, one many will recognise from the reoccurring media reports of behaviour that goes with old school ties and money, but she also recognises the falsity and hypocrisy. The stinging one-liners bring both delight and perspective.
Lowe uses this outward polish and entitlement to hide an underlying malice that is difficult to see with clarity at the beginning of the book, but which builds as you progress. This is done with a gentle touch — a hint here, a feeling there — that only makes the novel more suspenseful and tense. You know something is off from the start, but not the what, why or how of it.
The School Run is narrated by the mothers, Kaya, Estella and Bec. Each is desperate for their sons to be accepted at St Ignatius, and each is hiding a secret that could not only deny their sons entry but destroy their lives. It’s these secrets coupled with the unflinching need for admission to the school that is the key to the story.
But it is also the characters themselves, women that are recognisable in their desire for the best for their children and their need to protect. The lengths the women go to may not be as familiar, but who’s to say how people would react in similar circumstances. Lowe depicts the emotional complexity of everyone involved with a deft hand. Who knew a school and what it promises could be the catalyst for such upheaval and damage.
Days after I had finished reading The School Run, I was still thinking about it. So much of it is relevant and topical and it forces the reader ask a seemingly simple question over and over. What would you do? And my answer to the myriad of questions: I hope I wouldn’t, but I might.