A story of two boys from very different upbringings, who meet at Berkley boarding schhol in Massachusetts for their senior year. One worldly, confident, seemingly sure of himself; the other shy, introverted, wanting to belong.
As the boys become friends and interact in each others lives they learn their own truths of who and what they are and will grow to become.
I enjoyed the story and found it an engaging read. My big problem was including this as a 'gay interest' novel. While the boys stories startb out equally Ethan's story quickly overtakes Todd's soon becoming the sole point of view in the book. Now I did enjoy Ethan's story, but I felt Todd got the short end of the bargain. Ethan's tale goes into quite some detail about what is happening and what Ethan feels about his new life exoperiences. Todd kisses Ethan early on in the tale and realizes his feelins are unrequited. What happens next? Todd becomes a person seen through Ethan's story. What does he do to help his friend. How does he see the situation. But precious little as his story is mired in self doubt, fear of being found out, and finally some hastily concieved action at the end where he meets a person who might be of some interest, earlier revealed to be the only openly gay student character, who gets physically assaulted several times during the story and basically remains alone throughout.
When does Todd explore his desires? Once in a quick tryst with the gay friend of Hannah (Ethan's love interest) and once later on at the antique shop of one of his Mom's gay friends partners in a non sexual encounter). That's it.
Ethan goes through some major life experiences and starts to realize what his adult life might become. Todd? Much less time is spent developing that story. I felt cheated as the story marched along and Todd became an afterthought. I don't know why that happened. Could the author not have developed Todd's storyline ang bring his character into some form of equitabile plot line(s). Guess not.
All that being said, I really enjoyed the book. I deducted a star in rating due to the inequity of the storylines. Not a book I'd reccommend to YA gay or questioning readers. ( )

Perhaps, coming-of-age-stories should only be read by 17-year-old kids. This novel was just a tedious and predictable read. Two guys meet at Berkley and while one of them comes from a strange rich family, the other one has a deadly sick mother. Of course, why should people live in a stable environment? While Todd just blows and discovers his sexuality with mediocre characters so that his own character remains far too shallow to be interesting, Ethan gets deeply involved with a twisted teacher twice his age. Actually, problems and burdens enough, but none of them is truly convincing due to the fact that T Dolby doesn't really go into them. Neither the poor gay, nor the odd straight stories are convincing and they are just so predictable so that the reader always knows in advance what is going to happen.
If you have to read books about this age, pick another one. This is just a shame because Dolby truly is a good writer and proves that on a couple of pages (that's why this book gets one star). ( )

This book really took me by surprise.

Four years ago, I read Dolby's first novel, THE TROUBLE BOY, and while I enjoyed it, felt that it hewed so closely to much of what's already out there in gay literature that it failed to leave a lasting impression. But with THE SIXTH FORM Dolby makes a quantum leap forward.

The story centers on the tangled relationships of three people over the course of one term at a posh New England prep school - Todd, the gay son of a wealthy New York author (in the vein of Danielle Steele or Jackie Collins), Ethan, the brainy [and straight] son of two middle class California intellectuals and Hannah, the unorthodox bohemian teacher who lures them into her orbit with her seemingly freewheeling attitude and her homebaked goodies. Most people might roll their eyes when they see that this is a "gay" novel that takes place in a private boarding school. And certaintly, the opportunity for cliches abound, but these are no stereotypes; they're complicated, down-to-earth characters with believable problems.

Dolby give the reader access to both Todd and Ethan's points of view, but lets Hannah's motives remain opaque. And because of this, I found myself drawn to her character in the same way the boys are - hungrily snatching at clues to her mysterious and tragic past. I'll admit to being impressed that a gay male writer took the time to create a three dimensional female character - even if she is clinging, deluded and predatory. It totally worked for me!

There's a lot of really good stuff here. Even the most minor secondary characters seem leap off the page - recognizable and fully formed. Todd's MILF-y mom and n'er-do-well dad, Ethan's saintly mother being devoured by disease, even the semi-closeted lesbian couple who teach at the school. The dialogue is very naturalistic. The interractions between characters are always revealing and enjoyable to read. Each scene moves along at a leisurely pace, but as a whole the book still reads quickly. And the story itself is a unique combination of love triangle (of sorts), mild suspense and coming of age.

Well done. ( )

I enjoyed this book immensely. I thought that it was an interesting character twist that the popular guy is actually gay and the shy guy is straight. This dynamic makes for a very convincing, unusual, and powerful story about two friends. Tom Dolby's second novel is even better than his first. And is this author a dollface, or what? ( )

An exceptional coming of age novel, The Sixth Form presents a year in the life of two boys who discover themselves. They learn both from each other and their experiences over the course of their senior year in a New England prep school. The author, Tom Dolby, succeeds by rejecting the typical roles for the boys with young Todd, the jock, in the budding gay persona and Ethan, the artist from California, as a young man discovering his own decidedly hetero sexuality with a crazed teacher. The development of the characters and the vivid characterization of their family life contribute to the deft exploration of the world of these two teenage boys. The combination of insight into their world and the suspense that develops through the plot make this a good read. ( )