"Schooled"

Until 2006, Anisha Lakhani taught English at the Dalton School on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Soon after she started teaching, she was named chair of the Middle School English Department. Lakhani received both her B.A. and M.A. degrees from Columbia University.

She applied the Page 69 Test to her new novel, Schooled, and reported the following:

Excerpt from page 69:

"Ms. Taggert. That was me. I was a teacher at Langdon Hall. This was my dream job and I was not going to suck."

I am providing the last line on page 69 as it concludes chapter 7 of Schooled. In many ways this line is indicative of several plot points / themes in my book. The need for my character to constantly re-affirm her role and position as a teacher conveys an insecurity she feels for much of the novel -- does she fit in? Do the students like her? Is she a capable teacher? A student has just told her that while her class did "suck," the Frost poem that was read did not. Anna's usage of the word "suck" hints at the future mistakes she will make in the novel, especially when trying too hard to fit in with her students -- dressing like them, using their "lingo" and trying to please their every whim. It's one line, the last one on page 69, but an interesting experiment indeed because yes, the line on many levels does capture the heart of Schooled. But you'd only know that if you wrote the book, or kept reading...

Learn more about Schooled and its author at Anisha Lakhani's website.

Visit the complete list of books in the Page 69 Test Series.

--Marshal Zeringue