Glenda's Reviews > The Lords of Discipline

All the stars! I read this for a challenge I'm doing. This fulfills the category of reading a book published the year you turned 18/graduated high school. What a fantastic find!

The Lords of Discipline tells the powerful story of Will McLean, a senior who attends the prestigious South Carolina military school, also known as the Institute. Will elaborates on the traditions at the Institute and the harsh reality of his freshman, or “plebe” year. Will quickly learns that to get through the years, he needs the help of his 3 bestfriends, who are also his roommates.

The Book is focused around Will being selected to become a “protector” of the schools first African American student named Pearce. Will goes to great lengths to provide protection and make Pearce feel safe. By doing this, Will uncovers dark, dirty secrets about the school and some of his closest friends. Will also makes himself and his friends an enemy of “The 10”, who will stop at nothing to keep their existence hidden. This requires Will to build friendships with unexpected characters, along with break bonds with people he loves.

The vulgar language used by the upper classmen along with the torture and abuse the freshman endure make this a hard book to read at times. I personally believe this was necessary to fully tell the story and emphasize just how cruel these guys were to each other. Conroy also called out social classes frequently throughout the book, especially since Will’s family named was looked down upon by many of his friends. This is crucial to the story line because of the time period the setting of the book is based off of.

Conroy's love for Charleston clearly shows through in his flowery and poetic descriptions of it and the South. It makes me want to visit someday. I also feel smarter after reading this because of Conroy's use of advanced vocabulary. That's always a plus.
This is a beautifully written and moving story of Will McLean and his transition from boy to man. It is moving to my list of all time favorites. I highly recommend it.

"My education at the Institute was finished. I knew what I had to do now and what I had to watch out for and whom I had to fear. I could write my own Blue Book now and its rules and codicils would be my own. I would think my own thoughts, not theirs."