From a young age, Naomi Feinstein believed that she could save the people she loved. Afraid of losing her parents—her father with his weak heart, her deeply depressed mother—she was determined to become a doctor. An outcast at school, Naomi loses herself in books and daydreams of Wellesley College. But when Teddy, her confidant and only friend, abruptly departs from her life, it’s the first devastating loss from which Naomi is not sure she can ever recover, even after her long-awaited acceptance letter to Wellesley arrives. Yet Wellesley isn’t the bastion of solidarity and security Naomi had imagined. Amid hundreds of other young women she is consumed by loneliness—until the day she sees a girl fall into the freezing waters of a lake. The event marks Naomi’s introduction to Wellesley’s oldest honor society, the mysterious Shakespeare Society, defined by secret rituals and filled with unconventional, passionate students. Within “Shakes,” Naomi begins to open up, reflecting a little less and living a little more. Detaching from the past, Naomi immerses herself in this exciting and liberating new world. But her happiness is soon clouded by a scandal with irrevocable consequences. Naomi has always tried to save the ones she loves, but part of growing up is learning that, sometimes, saving others is a matter of saving yourself. An Uncommon Education is a compelling portrait of a young woman’s quest for greatness. Poignant and wise, it artfully captures the complicated ties of family and friendship, and the importance of learning to let go.