Was she just messing with Tim? Was she genuine in her affection? Why wasn’t she more direct? Reader’s are left to guess. I never really figured out Vanessa and I kind of liked that ambiguity. While Tim is a sad character, he doesn’t elicit pity, which is a balance to strike in someone with his affliction.ĭuncan was more difficult to get a grasp on, but I was invested in his story and curious about his role in Tim’s tragedy. Since his story has been recorded after the fact, he’s had time to reflect on the events and is also giving us his commentary. He’s very self-conscious and a keen observer of his surroundings so his narration is interesting. Tim is a character that immediately grabbed my interest. My thoughts: An outsider going to boarding school and falling in love with the beautiful girl with the jerk boyfriend is a fairly standard set up for a young adult novel, but Elizabeth Laban’s quiet, understated prose and story within a story framework with a suspenseful plot ensure The Tragedy Paper is memorable. Jumping between viewpoints of the love-struck Tim and Duncan, a current senior about to uncover the truth of Tim and Vanessa, The Tragedy Paper is a compelling tale of forbidden love and the lengths people will go to keep their love. Tim and Vanessa begin a clandestine romance, but looming over them is the Tragedy Paper, Irving’s version of a senior year thesis, assigned by the school’s least forgiving teacher. To Tim’s surprise, Vanessa is into him, too, but she can kiss her social status goodbye if anyone ever finds out.

Yet, despite his efforts to blend into the background, he finds himself falling for the quintessential “It” girl, Vanessa Sheller, girlfriend of Irving’s most popular boy. Synopsis: Tim Macbeth, a seventeen-year-old albino and a recent transfer to the prestigious Irving School, where the motto is “Enter here to be and find a friend.” A friend is the last thing Tim expects or wants-he just hopes to get through his senior year unnoticed. Published: January 8th 2013 by Knopf Books for Young Readers/Random House

The tragedy paper book