Prep Summer Reading Book Review

By KAI GOWDA, KEVIN THANT, MEGAN TATE ZEE

Each year, the incoming preps start their summers with an assigned reading as a class. On June 16, Exeter’s newly accepted class of 2027 received an email from Katie Brule, Instructor in English and 9th Grade Program Coordinator, asking students to read This is My Brain in Love, by surgeon and author I. W. Gregorio, by the start of school.

“This is My Brain in Love” touches on aspects of Gregorio’s own life. The story is centered on how protagonist and Asian-American teen Jocelyn Wu navigates her junior year of high school. Wu runs her family’s restaurant, partaking in a relationship with her fellow coworker Will Domenici and discovering her own mental health issues. The book explores topics of race, mental health, and self-acceptance and also covers cross-cultural romance.

Brule shared why this book was picked as the class of 2027’s common read. “We ultimately chose this one I think for the number of sort of what, what might we call it, but like on ramps I guess from different perspectives, like the fact that there’s the discussion of mental health, but it’s also centered on teenagers, which I think is more like relatable in some way.”

“There is talk about generational differences, there’s socioeconomic differences, there’s race and ethnicity, there’s romance, which also feels important in some ways,” Brule continued.

“And thinking about ability and just different ways that whether you felt like you were struggling with mental health or not, whether you were of a certain socioeconomic status or not, you would be able to relate in some way to something that was going on.”

Prep Roxanne Debbouzi shared, “I liked reading the book, it was good at the start and the story was pretty good. And then after, it just went downhill and I didn’t like it.”

“I liked how they talked about mental health in a way that was more discreet. They didn’t really put it out there. And we saw with Jocelyn’s journey, how she realized that she had mental health problems and how sometimes it’s not always super upfront,” prep Amani Shetty said.

For prep Naomi Moskovich, “I dislike the fact that it was, it overdid the aspect of mental health in which everyone had, challenges and struggles, and I felt it wasn’t really relatable.”

“I kind of thought that the plot wasn’t that great, but it was all right ‘cause it was about mental health and that’s the really important thing to learn about,” prep Antonio Serna echoed.

Prep Daniel Ambyo-Okolo said, “I felt it really changed my understanding of how I viewed mental health, because I know some people who are in a state of depression or in a state of depression and stuff, that who are afraid to get meds, and I never really understood their perspective and, and why they thought the way they did until right now.

Many preps found the book’s kissing scene most memorable. Prep Zane Eskandar shared, “The one scene that I can’t forget is when they’re kissing in the car, it, and her dad catches them. It’s just kind of a wonky scene.”

Prep Bea Doeringer also expressed a similar thought about her most memorable scene. “Probably when they kissed. I just feel that they made it a really big deal in the book.”

Max Henry agreed. “When they made out in that hot steamy car.”

Other parts of the book were highlights for students as well. Prep Fleur Phillips said, “The most memorable part of the book was definitely the last bit, just because it almost felt as though Jocelyn just let rip and really her mental health issues completely took over her. And I think that was a really important experience to highlight because often it, the media, it’s portrayed as something that can just be solved with a quick fix, but this showed how it can’t just be solved overnight.”

When asked about their least favorite part of the book, many preps noted its lack of substance beyond its theme of mental health. “My least favorite part of the book was the ending because it felt the characters were able to resolve quite a traumatic situation almost too easily and felt they weren’t really addressing the key issues that were brought up in that final, I guess, fight scene. So I didn’t think that was a very good way to end the story,” Phillips stated.

Prep Adu Illangovan said, “Probably the cringiness, the lack of suspense made the book super cringy and some of the main characters were really annoying.”

Overall, “This is My Brain in Love” was fairly liked by the prep class. Students enjoyed the way it delved into topics of teenage mental health. However, some disliked the way it incorporated some cringy romance scenes at the same time. Moving forward in the year, preps hope to read more inclusive books that touch on topics of race and mental health.