Book Review: The Last Academy

The Last Academy
by  Anne Applegate
Date Read:  4/7/2013
Rating:  ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 

I received this through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I surprisingly LOVED this book. It first started with the cover. It's hauntingly beautiful. And then I read the description and I was very excited when I got approved for it through Netgalley. However, I was disappointed that the version they sent me didn't have the awesome cover!

Ok, well, it is hard for me to review this book because I enjoyed it so much. I was so engrossed in the story, it's hard for me to pinpoint what I loved so much. It just all worked really well.

It's also hard for me to write up a summary of this story without plot spoilers. Basically, it is about Camden, a freshman heading off to a new boarding school. She makes some new friends there and then one goes missing. She has to find out what happened.

First, I really enjoyed the main character, Camden. Though she was younger than I thought (at 14 years old and a freshman), her voice was a lot of fun. She was sweet, but didn't take crap, and she had a little sarcasm and said some pretty funny things.

The book was a little bit slow at the beginning. It took a little while to establish some things. But about 25% in it started picking up. I was always a little confused one what was going on though. There were some scenes that seemed a little strange, but it all came together in the end.

I liked trying to solve the mystery of what was going on. It's very different than the types of books that are really popular lately. No paranormal stuff - no vampires, werewolves, witches, etc. It kept me guessing what was really going on.

Though I had a suspicion toward the beginning of the book, it did a great job of keeping me guessing until the end. I think that's what I really enjoyed.

But I absolutely appreciated that this book had a beginning, middle, and end. I am pretty sure this will be a stand alone book, which is actually kind of refreshing lately. Everything nowadays seems to be a series. It's refreshing to have a story that can be told in one book. And this book had so much closure at the end. I actually teared up at the very end and I loved that we got everyone's story.

I really loved this book. I wish I could say more, but it's hard for me to put my finger on just what I loved. I think everything worked together to tell a great story. I think this is a great debut novel by Anne Appelgate - and I look forward to reading more novels from her in the future.