In the 1970s, Dr. Ed Southerland was a figure of great controversy in the psychological community. He believed the mind of modern man was being stifled by conventional parenting. In the nuclear family, children lay witness to screaming, shouting, and other unproductive forms of coping and reacting to situations.

Southerland hypothesized that if a child were removed from this atmosphere and raised in a completely controlled environment, these maladaptive reactions could be eliminated, and evolution of the mind could leap forward. It is on these principles he formed The Southerland School.

Tasha Fitzpatrick was the school's first student. Given over to the school by her father just weeks after her birth, Tasha's only exposure to emotion was through psychological study of its errors in logic. She was arguing politics by eight, reading Nietzsche by twelve, and had an IQ equivalent to Einstein by seventeen. Today, Tasha is a renowned art critic, leading a secluded and brilliant life by reason and reason alone. Her mind, in a need to demystify the one thing she cannot comprehend, is inexplicably drawn to art.

Casey Kirk is an unknown painter and an extremely emotional man. Ruled by his passion, he paints violently in striking explosions of color. When he and Tasha happen to meet at an exhibit, Tasha is fascinated by the art he creates. Casey becomes the subject of her next review.

As Southerland's school gains popularity, he must fight to defend the ideology his school is founded upon, while Tasha struggles to write the most difficult review of her life--about an artist whose work she cannot deconstruct.

An intelligent coming-of-age story seeking balance and questioning today's status quo, The Southerland School is riveting and complex.

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