[3][4] It is narrated by Bruce Bennett-Jones, who looks back on the overtly demonstrative romance between Aviva Rossner, the Jewish daughter of a wealthy physician, and Seung Jung, a Korean American with demanding parents and a penchant for drugs.

The tale, though told as fact, is very much the imaginings of the love-struck Bruce as he pieces together Aviva and Seung's relationship from his voyeuristic observations, though he himself plays a key role in the novel's tragic climax.

"[3] Margaret Wappler in the Los Angeles Times is also full of praise: "It's rare to find a book that summons the delicate emotional state of teenagers — especially when it comes to sex — without being precious or cynical, but Pamela Erens' "The Virgins" beautifully manages that feat...The world hardly needs another elite prep school novel, but this one rises to the occasion, line by lovely line...Erens has created a moody yet romantic set piece in which every gesture is loaded with meaning, every touch infused with potential ecstasy or calamity.

"[6] Lucy Scholes in The Independent concludes, "The adolescent imagination in particular is a powerful and dangerous thing; as Bruce explains, 'We beginners experienced sex as psyche more than body.'

Erens brilliantly captures the dark side of adolescence, a haunting sensuality that lingers in the 'private theatre' of Bruce's mind long into adulthood.