Editorial Review
An honest, intimate look at the lives of today's teens—told through the true experiences of friends at a New England prep school
Established in 1798, Milton Academy has a proud history of achievement. It has educated artists and CEOs; it has produced a long line of distinguished scholars and dignitaries; and it has shepherded students through the world of high-pressure academics for generations. Since its founding, the public face of Milton had always been one of integrity and pride . . . until a sex scandal rocked the campus and made headlines in the spring of 2005. The offense? Teenagers doing no more than what others had done before them—except this time they got caught.
Restless Virgins is the riveting real-life story of a group of seniors who were there as the "incident" (as it came to be called) unfolded: Whitney, the athletic and sensual beauty every girl wants to be; Annie, who craves acceptance but is torn between the desire for peer approval and musical success; Jillian, the smart one who is sick of high school drama and desperate to go to college; and Reed, a "hockey god" who has it all but whose charisma masks a secret insecurity.
From "friends with benefits" to STDs, today's teens face a wider array of social and sexual opportunities—and pressures—than ever before. Through its eye-opening yet sensitive depiction of a group of normal kids with normal struggles, Restless Virgins offers an important look at contemporary adolescence no teen, parent, or educator can afford to miss. And it is written by two recent Milton graduates who know this world—and these students—like no others.
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Customer Reviews
DON'T KISS A GIRL FROM MILTON 
2007-12-23
iT'S NOT JUST THAT THIS BOOK IS POORLY WRITTEN, OR THAT FOR SOME UNKNOWN REASON THE AUTHORS HAVE GOTTEN SO MUCH MEDIA ATTENTION, BUT THAT IT LEAVES ME WITH THE SAD FEELING THAT ADOLESCENT GIRLS TODAY HAVE NO PRIDE, NO POSITIVE SENSE OF SELF, NO CARE ABOUT THEIR REPUTATIONS, NOT TO MENTION THEIR HEALTH. AND I HAVE TO BELIEVE THIS ISN'T THE CASE WITH THE MAJORITY OF OUR YOUNG GIRLS. BUT AFTER READING THIS BOOK (BECAUSE MY SON ONCE TAUGHT AT MILTON) I FELT SADDENED AND FRANKLY DISGUSTED AT THE LEVEL TO WHICH SOME YOUNG GIRLS AT MILTON ALLOWED THEMSELVES TO BE USED AND DEGRADED BY THE "POPULAR JOCKS". WHERE DOES THE PRESSURE COME FROM FOR THESE GIRLS TO FEEL THE NEED TO BE SO POPULAR THAT THEY PUT LITERALLY ANYTHING INTO THEIR MOUTHS? I BOUGHT THIS BOOK THINKING MY SON MIGHT FIND IT INTERESTING. BUT I CANNOT GIVE IT TO HIM WITHOUT FEELING EMBARRASSED BY THE SLEAZINESS OF THESE WRITERS AND THE STUDENTS THEY DEPICT.
This book is a total disappointment 2007-11-18
When this book first came out, it was hyped as being an important and insightful look at the pressures experienced by today's high school students. The book is anything but. Instead of a thoughtful examination of high school and its social and academic pressures, the book is a vapid narrative of seven incredibly self-absorbed, boring young people written by equally boring, vapid, self-absorbed young people. I learned nothing other than apparently the very rich young people of Milton Academy are empty-headed and rather pathetic. The seniors at Milton who participated in this book appear incapable of having any thought not related to themselves and their tiny world.
To me, the only thing this book did was make me question the value of prep schools and Ivy League educations. If the lame, cartoonish writing of Abigail Jones and Marissa Miley exemplifies in-depth journalism and critical analysis, it speaks poorly of the institutions these two young women attended. They appear incapable of critical thought and write as if the book were a cheap romance novel.
Bad writing, misleading premise 2007-11-11
As a non too-distant prep school grad and former high-school teacher, I though this book would shed insight into the minds of high-schoolers. Though the book starts out well, after I while I was bored reading about high school jocks having crazy sex and the titular "virgins" (a brainy trio nicknamed "The Hysterics" by classmates) doing pretty much nothing. The characters do not at all come to life in this drawn-out, repetitive waste of a book...why should I care what they think, feel or desire? In addition, the books is sold as a story of seniors who were at Milton when "the incident" happened (the incident involving one 15 yr old girl and five male sophomores and juniors, all apparently consentual). But the seniors are at best distantly related to the 5 guys in question: two of about 6 main characters know the accused boys, and the scandel hardly rocks the boat of any of the students we follow.
As an expose of teen sexual beliefs and practices, it is equally bland. Kids give eachother oral sex as young teens; who didn't know this? Some may be shocked and appalled, but come on. Many girls their same age (14-16) bear children across the world (including my former students). Since I was in high school nine years ago, not much has changed, it's just more known in the media that teens like sex. But even though the books sells sex, we see no aftermath of sexual activity, save the briefly mentioned incident. What about the emotions, reputations, repercussions? We get none of that.
All in all, this book is a waste of time. I can't even give it to my friends becasue I'm unable to not say, "But it's really, really bad." Sucks for the poor shopper who will buy it at Goodwill after I donate it.
Find another book to read 2007-10-30
Non-fiction initially got my attention. Wondering what the scandal was.
Ultimately this book is one of the worst I've ever read, and finished.
It is not about much more than all the different sexual "hook ups" that occurred at this New England Prep School. Much of the description rests on the guycentric sexual practices in this high school, which apparently are widespread these days. It's a sad statement, sure, about the world teenagers live in, and although I bought it with the idea of sharing it with my 16 year old daughter, after reading it I'll send it off to Half Price Books or maybe throw it away. I don't want her to waste her time with it, as I did. All you really need to know is that oral sex is happening casually all across the country and that teenagers are basically going to be teenagers. Most will make it through adolescence alive and hopefully whole. Parents - we know what we need to do. Keep those communication lines open.
READ another book instead. NOT recommended.
Not for the faint of heart. 
2007-10-20
This book is a steamy, sensationalized "insider's look" at the sex scandal (and general sexual activities) of one group of students at Milton Academy. While it does contain limited discussion of other aspects of the students' lives (school work and pressures, extracurricular activities), the book's main focus remains on their romances and hook ups. It's an entertaining, sometimes-shocking read. I would not, however, recommend it for 'all parents and educators,' as the authors did on their book jacket. I think parents will be horrified rather than educated by this book.
lack of character development 2008-03-08
Don't waste your time. There was no character development and I could not distinguish one character from another. I expected to get insight into the characters' minds.... but got nothing. It is poorly written. I tried to make the best of it, but toward the middle I gave up and skipped through the rest of it.
The most complete look inside the teen psyche in ages 
2008-01-11
The fact that virtually every reviewer loved or hated this book, may be reason enough to read it. What surprised me about the negative comments were that some suggested this excellent book was "boring" while others seemed to want more discussion of the unfortunate consensual sex that turned into a public scandal, only because it became known outside the circle of teens who saw it as just one more "story." The authors (significantly, recent Milton grads)clearly spent an extraordinary amount of time with the book's subjects and won their trust as the thoughts that are shared throughout the narrative are clearly embarassing, painful,heartfelt, and most importantly,real.Most books about teens sensationalize, infantalize or condescend to the subjects. This is the first book I've read in forever that made me believe I was learning what the kids were thinking and feeling, rather than what they wanted adults to think they were thinking and feeling. For those who felt the authors were prurient, I couldn't diasgree more. They did an amazing job of conveying different teens thoughts on sex, from the guys who took as much as they could to show off, to the girls who felt obligated to engage in activities because it was expected. The toughest part was how much sex led to so little caring and surprisingly so little joy.I think every parent should read this book as their child is already growing up in a world where no actual teenager would be surprised by anything written here.
interesting though slanted look at teenagers today 2008-01-04
I think that the authors intended to lure readers to their book by appealing to prurient interests, and then to give the reader a real understanding of what senior year in a high school might be like today. The book profiles the lives of a handful of private school seniors, and does a good job of that. As a high school teacher, I feel that I have a better understanding of the lives of some of my students. As a teenager myself during the sexual revolution and women's liberation of the 60's and 70's, I was saddened to see where we have come to. It's not great for guys and even worse for girls. The epilogue, though, left me with hope for these kids. In spite of this book's flaws (coming up shortly), I think this book is an important book for teens and adults to read.
Did I enjoy reading the book? Yes, much of it was a fun read. It started out very strongly, getting me very interested in the year ahead for this group of senior girls and boys. The middle of the book got a bit repetitive: more hookups, more drinking, more (mostly oral) sex. But as springtime arrived and graduation approached, kids made changes and decisions (some good, some not) which drew me back into caring about the lives of these kids.
I believe that the authors captured the lives of these students fairly well, but the flaws are that a small and non-random group of kids were picked to be profiled. While there was a certain cross section of kids chosen, it was skewed to include only students with sex lives consistent with the book title, "Restless Virgins." Not a single student profiled had a steady, monogamous relationship. There was not even a mention of one hockey player with a girlfriend. Meanwhile, I teach at a competing school, and a good fraction of the boys on our school's team have real girlfriends. Was Milton that different, or were those other students ignored because their stories were less interesting?
The other flaw was that there was so little focus on anything outside of these kids' social and sex lives. Vague mention was made towards how important some teachers, coaches and classroom experiences were to these kids. Yet, there are almost no details in these matters. A recital in the spring was one of the few specifics of school life which was delved into. While I do understand that the focus is on sexuality, there was a lot of specific family background, which added a lot to the stories. Comparable school background would have painted a fuller picture of the lives of these kids.
Overall, in spite of the trashy feel of this, "Restless Virgins" was an interesting read and did give the reader a good look at what the social and sex lives of kids today can be like.
Don't waste your time 2008-01-03
One of the worst books I have ever read. How these young authors were able to secure a publisher is beyond me - or perhaps it was only because they worked at the Atlantic (if so, Atlantic, you've shamed yourself). Furthermore, did they HAVE an editor? The writing was particularly atrocious and makes me question what sort of guidance the authors were actually given, for clearly their Ivy degrees were not in English. What could have been an insightful look into the lives of teenagers is instead a rambling, incoherent, irrelevant waste of paper. Don't waste your time.
Not worth reading 2008-01-03
The only reason why I read this book is because I'm an alumna of Milton. I had to force myself to get through this book. It's extremely poorly written, and that is particularly disappointing since the authors are also supposedly alumnae of Milton (a school that emphasizes writing and English grammar). Plus, the book's jacket says that they both worked at the Atlantic Monthly. I find it hard to believe that they actually wrote anything that was published in the Atlantic!
There is little to no character development, so the characters are almost indistinguishable from one another. Plus, it's very poorly researched. The authors have really lowered themselves by trying to titillate the reader with something sexual on every page. They miss the point. High school is tough for a lot of kids: everyone wants to fit in. Clearly, not all of the students at Milton feel compelled to have sex. What is really unique about this group of students that gets caught up in the scandal? We never really learn that.
More questions came to mind while I was reading this... Where are the students who weren't in this clique? What were they into? What did they think of this group? Plus, how could these students have been so naive to the law? Don't they have an understanding of the world around them? These are supposed to be educated teenagers.
I don't recommend reading this, unless you happen to be connected with this story in some way. It's much too painful.
