Review of School of Fear by Gitty Daneshvari

This is an interesting and quirky book. I saw the trailer on the Scholastic Book Fair CD and shared it with my students. They found it very engaging. The premise is that four students with crippling phobias, including of insects, water, death, and tight places are sent by their parents to a remote, technology free school where they will be "cured." The headmistress of the school, Mrs. Wellington, is an eccentric former beauty queen. The concept of the story is cool as is the location. Daneshvari does an excellent job of setting the scene and creating rich and believable characters. However, once everything is set up, the story falls a little flat. It's to pat and easy to resolve, and a little (disappointingly) predictable. Still, a worthwhile read for the concept and characters. I really liked how each chapter begins with the definition of a phobia.