In her latest book, Susan Choi—who’s skilled at exploring sex and alienation in academic settings—turns her attention to a performing-arts high school in 1980s Texas, where two aspiring actors get stoned on summer romance, then come down, hard, under the influence of their manipulative drama teacher. This story is as steamy and psychologically rich as we’ve come to expect from Choi, but it’s only the beginning. Midway through Trust Exercise, a jarring shift in perspective calls into question every word that preceded it. The result is an unputdownable work of stealth literary criticism that’s likely to forever change the way you think about autobiographical writing.
Buy now: Trust Exercise