Reviews - The Academy | The StoryGraph

23 reviews for:

The Academy

Elin Hilderbrand, Shelby Cunningham

3.92 AVERAGE

greerwilliams's review against another edition

4.5

emotional funny inspiring lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

nikki_ruz's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

katechiodini's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious relaxing fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

alixgmartin's review against another edition

5.0

medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Yuuuup I loved this! I knew Elin Hilderbrand was leaving her Nantucket books behind, but I was delighted to find out she was working with her daughter on a new book in a different part of Massachusetts: an elite private boarding school. And listen, am I a staunch supporter of the public school system? Obviously. But do I love the intrigue of a wild boarding school? Of course! It sounds like Hilderbrand and I have some of the same favorites (which she cites as inspiration): The Secret History, A Separate Peace, I Have Some Questions for You -- plus her daughter went to boarding school before heading off to college -- so this gets some real life Gen Z intel.

Hilderbrand is an author at the top of her game. Her characters are so well realized and I never have trouble keeping track of who's who and what they're up to, the settings come to life so vividly, and the plotting is always perfectly paced. Hilderbrand and Cunningham use one of my favorite plot devices here: things start out great and then the authors lament that if only the characters had known X, maybe they wouldn't have done Y. So what happened? How does it all go wrong? It's very John Irving and nothing makes me want to read a book more quickly.

We have a delightful cast of characters here: Audre, the headmaster; Davi, the popular girl; East, the hot bad boy whose dad is a huge donor; Charley, the weird new girl obsessed with reading; Simone, the new too-young Canadian teacher who is struggling to teach American History; and a variety of other faculty, staff, and students. The main plot lines that carry the book are the mystery of the boarding school's surprising jump to the #2 spot on the list of best boarding schools in the country, East's plan to build a speakeasy in the basement, and a new anonymous gossip app that is revealing everyone's (and I mean everyone's) secrets.

This book includes everything you already love about Hilderbrand, from the delicious food descriptions to the nods to local brands (someone is wearing Nantucket Reds of course, and someone else has a ChappyWrap blanket -- sorry not sorry so do I), and plunks us in a new setting with references to Mean Girls, The Crucible, Gossip Girl, and more. And listen I'm not *asking* for anything, but this book sets up plenty of material for a sequel and honestly would make a great TV series too (I'm just saying)!

Content Warnings