Plot Summary
Young Americans is set in the town of New Rawley at a prestigious boarding school, Rawley Academy. Will Krudski, a working class New Englander, earns a scholarship to his hometown's posh boarding school, starting with the summer session, as a means of escaping his abusive father. In a moment of carelessness he confesses to his roommate, Scout, that he cheated on the entrance exam. Their professor, Finn, overhears Will and Scout discussing what to do. Before making a final decision about expelling him, Finn has Will write an essay on who he is.
| “ | You asked me to write an essay telling you what I have to say and what I realized is that I've been ordered to listen from the moment I was born but now I know it is my time to speak. What I figured out is that I have always seen myself as others have seen me, this poor kid, this smart kid, this dreamer who doesn't have a chance. I have known the comfort of my mother's arms and the violence of my father's disappointment but everyone encounters obstacles. The trick is to discover the opportunities within them. I've learned that every day we create who we are by what we do and what we think and how we behave. So now that it is my time to speak I just hope that I have something to say and I am going to set my expectations high and one day will exceed them. | ” |
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—Will Krudski |
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Throughout the series Will continues to face moral dilemmas as he struggles to find his place at school while not alienating his friends in town. There is also the forbidden love of Scout and Bella, who may have the same father. Jacqueline, in an attempt to see if her mother notices her, enrolls at Rawley Academy and presents herself as Jake. Things get complicated when she develops feelings for Hamilton, the dean's son. Hamilton begins to wonder if he is gay as he realizes he has feelings for Jake. The story lines do not converge until the final two episodes of the show as Bella seeks the truth about her biological father.
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