Review: The Academy- A place where no one is what they seem...
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 06 2, 2014
Describe this book in one sentence- A coming of age story where a teenage girl impersonates her brother so they can both follow their dreams.Rating- PG-13 (This is on the cusp. It would be PG if not for the few things listed below.)Why this rating?- A little heated kissing, violence, bullying, and a mention of the topic of discrimination toward gays.For ages- 14-35Recommended to- Fans of The Selection, The Song of The Lioness series, and the movie "She's the Man".Stars- Three out of Five.Why this number of stars-The Cover~ I actually like this cover. While appealing to the eyes, it tells a little about the book. Just from the cover a reader could tell that it was about a girl who attends a boarding school.The Content~ A YA romance/adventure set in space in the future; this is what caught my eye. Seeing as I thoroughly enjoyed the Song of The Lioness series by Tamora Pierce, I thought I would enjoy The Academy. They both have the premise of a girl dressing up as a boy so that they can go to school and follow their dreams. The only differences between these two books were the setting, the characters, and the name of the boy the main character liked. I think that even though I really liked this book, it couldn't compare with the Song of the Lioness series. I think I also found Kris (The Academy) WAY more annoying than Alanna (Song of the Lioness). This may have contributed to the lower rating.Character Development~ Urgh!! The main character, Kris, was REALLY getting on my nerves. She's like America and Katniss rolled into one! While she was pretty awesome, (her fencing skills were sweet!) she spent most of her time worrying about North. At one point, I was almost ready to throw my kindle across the room because all she was saying was "North this, and North that." North, however, did see a drastic change over the course of the novel. He went from rigid and uptight to sweet and vulnerable. He was, by far, my favorite character in the book.Would I read the second book?- There is not a second book, however, I will be reading more of Ms. Andrews books as I did enjoy this one.[...]