The Last Academy by Anne Applegate

book cover of The Last Academy by Anne Applegate

Title: The Last Academy
Author: Anne Applegate
Release date: April 30, 2013
Publisher: Point
Pages: 320
Source: Netgalley/Publisher
Reading level: MG/YA
Challenge: Debut Author Challenge

What is this prep school preparing them for?

Camden Fisher arrives at boarding school haunted by a falling-out with her best friend back home. But the manicured grounds of Lethe Academy are like nothing Cam has ever known. There are gorgeous, preppy boys wielding tennis rackets, and circles of girls with secrets to spare. Only . . . something is not quite right. One of Cam’s new friends mysteriously disappears, but the teachers don’t seem too concerned. Cam wakes up to strangers in her room, who then melt into the night. She is suddenly plagued by odd memories, and senses there might be something dark and terrible brewing. But what? The answer will leave Cam–and readers–stunned and breathless, in this thrilling debut novel.

There wasn’t much I liked about The Last Academy.  I was looking for something different to read so I thought I’d give this one a shot.  I’m kind of regretting the few hours I wasted reading this one.
The Last Academy is categorized as YA but I would almost put it more in the MG category.  The characters are immature, the writing is bland, and the story is predictable.  Younger readers might not analyze this one as closely as I did and therefore might be able to enjoy it more.  
I’ll start with my issues with the characters.  Camden, for instance.  She’s whiny, insecure, and completely oblivious to everything going on around her.  Her roommate, Tamara, is the quintessential bitch.  Then there’s the pretty girl (whose name I can’t remember) who uses her looks to get everything she wants.  Nora and Jessie are the nerdy girls who befriend Cam.  And Mark Elliott, the hot guy with absolutely no substance.  I’m sorry but there just was nothing about these characters that appealed to me.

The story didn’t seem all that predictable at first but once I was about halfway through the book I had the whole thing completely figured out.  And I mean, completely.  After that I don’t even know why I bothered to keep reading.  If you know anything about mythology you will be able to put the mystery together just like I did.  I lost interest after that.

The reason I gave The Last Academy 3 stars and not less though is that it was a fun read.  It’s quick, there are some hilarious quotes, and I didn’t completely hate it.  I found myself laughing out loud quite a few times while reading and that was enough to make me enjoy it.  I was hoping for something light and fun, and while it wasn’t exactly a light read, it was funny.

Overall, some people have loved The Last Academy, I just wasn’t one of them.  If the story sounds appealing to you, give it a shot.  However, I would recommend getting this one from the library.

What others have to say about The Last Academy:

Book Brats’ review: The Last Academy is one of those books that comes out of nowhere and manages to completely take you by surprise.”

Read-A-holicZ’s review: This story surprised me in a good way.”

The White Unicorn’s review: Even though I have a feeling that this book won’t be everyone’s cup of tea I can’t say enough about it! “

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5 comments

  1. You and I had all the same issues with this one! The characters..ugh. The predictaibly plot, the immature behavior (even the teachers!). The one thing I thought saved this from being a complete dud was the ending with her best friend. It was completeley predictable, but I love the way the last scenes were executed.

    Great review, Katie!

  2. I just read an equally bad review of the book and I must say that it just sucks that the characters are so unappealing. I think I might just skip this one altogether.

  3. Oh no! To say you regret the time you read it really shows your opinion – perhaps you’re right and it was marketed to the wrong audience.

    The cover is nice though 🙂