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Foster Dade Explores the Cosmos Hardcover – May 16, 2023

by Nash Jenkins (Author)
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 174 ratings
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Prep meets The Secret History in Nash Jenkins’s Foster Dade Explores the Cosmos, a searing debut novel about a tragic scandal at an American prep school, told in the form of a literary investigation through a distinctly millennial lens.

“[A] striking debut . . . funny, heartbreaking, and real.” ––Sam Lansky, author of Broken People

When Foster Dade arrives at Kennedy, an elite boarding school in New Jersey, the year is 2008. Barack Obama begins his first term as president; Vampire Weekend and Passion Pit bump from the newly debuted iPhone; teenagers share confidences and rumors over BlackBerry Messenger and iChat; and the internet as we know it is slowly emerging from its cocoon. So, too, is Foster emerging—a transfer student and anxious young man, Foster is stumbling through adolescence in the wake of his parents’ scandalous divorce. But Foster soon finds himself in the company of Annabeth Whittaker and Jack Albright, the twin centers of Kennedy’s social gravity, who take him under their wing to navigate the cliques and politics of the carelessly entitled.

Eighteen months later, Foster will be expelled, following a tragic scandal that leaves Kennedy and its students irreparably changed. When our nameless narrator inherits Foster’s old dorm room, he begins an epic yearslong investigation into what exactly happened. Through interviews with former classmates, Foster’s blog posts, playlists, and text archives, and the narrator’s own obsessive imagination, a story unfurls—Foster’s, yes, but also one that asks us who owns our personal narratives, and how we shape ourselves to be the heroes or villains of our own stories.

Foster Dade Explores the Cosmos is about privilege and power, the pitfalls of masculinity and its expectations, and, most distinctly, how we create the mythologies that give meaning to our lives. With his debut novel, Nash Jenkins brilliantly captures the emotional intensities of adolescence in the dizzying early years of the 21st century.
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  1. Print length
    544 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Harry N. Abrams
  4. Publication date
    May 16, 2023
  5. Dimensions
    6.5 x 1.9 x 9.3 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1419764764
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1419764769
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Juicy . . . Jenkins [is a] huge new literary talent.” ―CURTIS SITTENFELD, The Guardian

“A New England boarding school whodunit set in the early aughts, Foster Dade unfolds in an unlikely way, including through blog posts and playlists that capture the teen angst of the early internet era, before we were all so intertwined with each other.”―THE BOSTON GLOBE, Best New Books for Summer 2023

"If Holden Caulfield had been dropped into the Obama era, he might be Foster Dade, the protagonist of Jenkins’ exhilarating debut novel . . . [Full] of wit, enriched by social insights about class, masculinity, and adolescence. . . An enduring story of adolescents struggling to find the narratives they wish to tell."

―THE NATIONAL BOOK REVIEW

“Stylistic flourishes in the form of playlists, legal papers, and entries from Foster’s blog provide a convincing...panorama of the school’s microcosm . . . Jenkins proves to be a keen world builder and a mostly engaging raconteur.”
―PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

“Ambitious . . . [A] finely observed account of teen angst and awkward sex in an academically demanding environment marked by privilege and cliques and the cruelty they breed.”
―KIRKUS REVIEWS

“A compelling mystery that uncovers the harmful reaches of privilege, power, and toxic masculinity . . . Jenkins’s writing is a joy to read, with plenty of humor and intense emotional reckonings that come with growing up in the early years of the twenty-first century.”―CHICAGO REVIEW OF BOOKS, a must-read book selection

“A transfer to a New Jersey boarding school falls in with two social heavy hitters and gets expelled. The student who moves into his old dorm room tries to figure out why. This debut novel . . . is a late-aughts period piece —  think BlackBerrys and Vampire Weekend — with prep-school-scandal bones.”
―CHICAGO MAGAZINE, summer reading recommendation

"Dade’s hormone-fueled relationships with classmates and exploration of the pitfalls of masculinity create an engrossing coming of age sequel of sorts to Donna Tartt’s The Secret History."―CNN STYLE

“In this striking debut, Nash Jenkins captures the rarefied world of an East Coast boarding school with uncanny specificity. But in mining this privileged milieu, Jenkins unearths something universal: An exploration of the teenage tendency to self-mythologize that’s funny, heartbreaking, and real.”―SAM LANSKY, author of Broken People

“Nash Jenkins’s preternatural understanding of America’s upper class lets us see what’s really going on beneath all those layers of Ralph Lauren and Yves St. Laurent. Full of teenaged yearning and the myths we make long into adulthood, Foster Dade Explores the Cosmos delivers on its ambition—and then some.”―RAFAEL FRUMKIN, author of Confidence and The Comedown

“A fresh and acutely observed portrait of a modern young man. Foster Dade Explores the Cosmos throbs with candor and longing.”―JULIA MAY JONAS, author of Vladimir

Review

“Nash Jenkins’s preternatural understanding of America’s upper class lets us see what’s really going on beneath all those layers of Ralph Lauren and Yves St. Laurent. Full of teenaged yearning and the myths we make long into adulthood, Foster Dade Explores the Cosmos delivers on its ambition—and then some.” -- Rafael Frumkin, author of Confidence and The Comedown

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harry N. Abrams (May 16, 2023)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 544 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1419764764
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1419764769
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.41 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.5 x 1.9 x 9.3 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 174 ratings

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Nash Jenkins

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Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
174 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

AJW
5.0 out of 5 stars couldn't put it down
Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 2023
Verified Purchase
The author has an incredible voice - I love how he describes things, people, feelings, etc. The story drew me in to the extent that I finished the book within 24 hours (and it's not short). I really felt the pain, the nostalgia, and the poignancy of what the main characters were going through. Just a remarkable book.
4 people found this helpful
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Jonathan A.
4.0 out of 5 stars a page turner for sure. great read
Reviewed in the United States on July 9, 2023
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I was not a boarding school or even private school kid myself, but knew many back in my day. It’s hard being a teenager for a lot of people. Even those who seem to have it all. But you never really know.

I’m so grateful that there was no social media or internet back then (late 80s) to magnify and document everything.

And the drugs were basic. Still harmful. But basic.

This book shows me a side of my former students (and my children and their friends) that I always knew was there but could not readily access or empathize with. This novel does a wonderful job of telling that story.

The only reason I don’t give it 5 stars is that I think there are thousands of readers out there who would enjoy this book a more if it were a little less heady. For lack of a better word.

Perhaps the author is , as my father used to say about my brother, “intoxicated with the exuberance of his own verbosity “. It Didn’t bother me that much, because I’m kind of the same way (but Jenkins verbosity far outshines mine) and his articulate descriptions really bring the story to life.

Either way, I think it’s a damn good book, and it really illuminates a uniquely American societal element that I don’t think any other book has tackled.

Well done, Mr. Jenkins.

Señor Allen
4 people found this helpful
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Jane Hight McMurry, author Navigating the Lipstick Jungle
5.0 out of 5 stars Masterful roller-Coaster ride through Prep Ville
Reviewed in the United States on May 26, 2023
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An ah-hah coming-of-age mystery that reveals the influences that shape lives. Vivid, well-developed characters enrolled in an elite prep school experience perils, pleasures, and not-so-easy life lessons to make you consider not only what shaped Foster Dade's life but your own. - Jane Hight, author Navigating the Lipstick Jungle
2 people found this helpful
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Amanda
4.0 out of 5 stars worth the read
Reviewed in the United States on November 25, 2023
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I’m at a loss for words on this read. I love and hate this all at the same time, I felt lost at times then fully sucked unable to put this book down. I lost myself, I’m a good way, on this story. I look back to my youth and felt this story hit home at times. It was fresh and new, sometimes too believable and too close to reality.
One person found this helpful
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DC Carrie
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, poetic, absorbing novel
Reviewed in the United States on July 17, 2023
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Engrossing read...beautiful, tragic, with richly layered characters who draw you in. Despite its length, I didn't want it to end. One of my favorite books of the year.
3 people found this helpful
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Evan Glover
5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Read!
Reviewed in the United States on March 9, 2024
"Foster Dade Explores the Cosmos" is a literary gem, seamlessly blending beautiful prose, complex characters, and a nostalgic trip through a late 2000's American boarding school. The author's skillful writing paints vivid narrative woven in with playlists of the era. Highly recommend.
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Michael
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book!
Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2023
"Foster Dade Explores the Cosmos" is a compelling coming-of-age story set in the backdrop of an elite private high school. The author skillfully delves into the challenges and growth of the protagonist, offering an insightful and relatable narrative that keeps readers engrossed from start to finish. This book offers a unique perspective on the complexities of adolescence in a privileged setting, making it a highly recommended read for fans of the genre.
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FurryBearFlyGuy
2.0 out of 5 stars 2 stars is generous!
Reviewed in the United States on September 22, 2023
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I can't believe so many people think this is well written! I have a hard time believing that Nash graduated from a top prep school and then attended the creative writing program at Hopkins - not that Hopkins is known for creative writing, but still.
The most obvious weakness of the writing is Nash's extraneous use of rare, unnecessary vocabulary words (if I were Nash, I'd probably use aberrant or anomalous to describe his diction). Honestly, I thought his word choices were a joke, and that he was inserting all the frivolous SAT vocabulary words as a comment on how ridiculous the prep school / college admissions scene really is. This doesn't read like an intellectual, well-educated, thoughtful writer. Rather, It reads like an ignorant yet arrogant student who was able to fool bad teachers at a bad school into giving him A's because he wrote more than required and threw in some high-level words.
If you can get past his poor use of vocabulary, then you might be able to appreciate an interesting tale. However, it reads like he's still trying to figure out the story as he writes it. This is probably because he wasn't even there, he really doesn’t know what happened, and he didn't know any of the characters. Instead of using creative license and filling in the gaps with creative writing, he essentially apologizes throughout the book (not sure I can call it a novel) for having to piece together events based on the different facts he’d gathered. Instead of taking time to develop the scenes and characters and to use effective imagery, he chooses to provide lengthy yet superficial reports of parents and other minor characters, places, and events, including his pathetic investigation and desire to know what happened, which really disrupts the flow and style and plot.
What is the author’s purpose with this? He could’ve used what he knew about this experience and written a very touching fictional memoir from Dade’s perspective, which would have been a good choice as the events and the author’s investigation of the events just aren’t too exciting or dramatic enough to stand on their own in this long-winded journalistic style. He could have conveyed the same themes only much more effectively with a 1st person narrative.
But, it seems like Nash’s purpose is expose these people and their dark secrets about some very personal issues. I really don’t see any reason why he’s even trying to tell the true story. I guess since the author can’t engage the reader with good writing, he has to appeal to readers’ petty desire to be “in the know” regarding actual people’s dirty secrets, especially rich people. I literally felt like a worse person having read this, thinking why is he telling me this stuff about these people? Why does he feel the need to try to tell true story when he doesn’t even know it? Why does he need to drag this private school and these private people down with these very private incidents?
I live in Baltimore and attended a NJ boarding school, so I was interested in reading this. But, I found his depiction of the school and its social, political, academic and athletic dynamics to be unrealistic. A few scenes just are not believable to me. I'm not talking about the drugs and sex. In fact, I bet there were worse / more exciting things going on at the very same time at the very same school.
The real story just isn't that exciting or interesting - mild sexual experimentation and very mild drug abuse (for the most part). And, Nash's long-winded, superficial account doesn't help.
Either write a journalistic news report or a novel but this is weak, very weak. If you're not in a position to really write the story and make it come alive and to do these characters justice, then don't write it! This clearly wasn't your true tale to tell.
Using high-level vocab and playing around with plot line doesn't make you a good writer, good writing makes you a good writer!
5 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Gabriela Guevara Gutiérrez
5.0 out of 5 stars Entretdnido.
Reviewed in Mexico on August 12, 2023
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El formato en que está escrito no aburre pues hay cartas, playlists, reportes, etc
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