REVIEW: The Last Academy by Anne Applegate

Jen's Review

The Last Academy
by Anne Applegate
April 30, 2013
Point
320 pages, Hardcover

Honestly, I just don't even know.

The only way that I can describe this book, is weird. HOLY. Like, I can't even describe. To be honest, after reading the last word in this book, my only thought was, "I'm glad that's over." The Last Academy by Anne Applegate is a book that I was highly anticipating for 2013, and all I got was a bunch of uncomfortable weirdness. Y'all might be thinking: is that the only way Jen can describe this book? And the answer is yes! Throughout the entire novel I was constantly thinking how strange and utterly freaky this book was, and not necessarily in the good way. So many things went wrong for me in this book, and I have to admit, it was frustrating. The Last Academy is a curious book with its odd characteristics here and there (and everywhere).

One of my main problems (among many..) in this book is the plot. There's not much going for it, which makes it really confusing. At first, I kind of just went along with it, but by the midway point, I was completely befuddled as to where the story was going. I wasn't even sure if the genre of this book was contemporary, thriller, mystery, or supernatural? It's all over the place. It's not until 90% that the reader finds out the answers in this book. Ninety percent. That's a long time; usually, it's the halfway point or a little after that, not right before the very end. Sadly, only the last ten percent of this novel was redeemable and actually slightly enjoyable. So that's how the plot went. As you can tell, not very well…

I also had issues with the characters in The Last Academy. The main character, Camden, is one of those characters that's just kind of there. I have no feelings for her, none at all. I felt no connection during my time with this book whatsoever. She is flat, and a bit boring at that. Camden goes through a lot of problems, and not one of them made me empathize with her. And the other characters in the book? Nawwwt much better. I have to mention the staff in The Last Academy. UUUMM, creepers! They are all totally pedos and spine-tinglingly uncomfortable!

So, clearly, this book didn't work out for me. However, it did make me curious enough to read the whole thing, and not DNF it. It's like those things that are so gross but you just can't look away, you know? It's a weird feeling. I honestly expected so much more out of this book because I love boarding school books (lately, I've noticed that boarding school books haven't been working out for me..), but The Last Academy was not my cup of tea. Hopefully some readers out there will enjoy this novel, but I can't really recommend it, unless you want to be completely weirded out!

2 teacups for The Last Academy!

*Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for providing me with a copy to review!*

REVIEW: Nobody But Us by Kristin Halbrook

Name: Nobody But Us

Author: Kristin Halbrook

Publisher: HarperTeen

Release Date: January 29th 2013

Pages: 304, e-ARC

Source: For review (for blog tour)

Rating: 2 stars

Bonnie and Clyde meets IF I STAY in this addictively heart-wrenching story of two desperate teenagers on the run from their pasts.

They’re young. They’re in love. They’re on the run.

Zoe wants to save Will as much as Will wants to save Zoe. When Will turns eighteen, they decide to run away together. But they never expected their escape to be so fraught with danger....

When the whole world is after you, sometimes it seems like you can’t run fast enough.

Nobody But Us, told in alternating perspectives from Will and Zoe, is an unflinching novel, in turns heartbreaking and hopeful, about survival, choices, and love...and how having love doesn’t always mean that you get a happy ending. Described as “beautiful, heartbreaking, and exhilarating” by Kody Keplinger, author of The DUFF, Nobody But Us will prove irresistible to fans of Nina Lacour, Jenny Han, and Sara Zarr.

[summary taken from Goodreads]

Beverley's Review

I saw this book on other blogs.  I fell in love with the synopsis.  I decided I NEEDED this book.  I jumped at the chance to read it.  I began the book, expectations at a high for this promising contemporary romance.  Few chapters in, my hopes fell flat.

I'm going to be honest: I was really disappointed by Kristin Halbrook's debut.  Considering I was eagerly anticipating it, it just didn't deliver on so many aspects.  The only thing I can gladly say for sure was that the dual POVs were handled brilliantly.  Halbrook created two very distinct voices and you could always differentiate between Zoe and Will.

Before I go on to comment on the characters, I must mention the whole 'romance' that's going on.  Zoe and Will claim to be 'in love' with each other and practically every page was dripping with how much they adore the other etc. etc.  Let's just say, there reached a point where it just got annoying.  I was constantly told how much they loved each other, but was shown nothing to see how they did.  Their relationship didn't even seem solid at all - I mean, they'd only been dating for two months, for goodness' sake, before deciding to run away together.  Does two months give you enough time to really get to know the other person?  Can you decide if you want to spend the rest of your life with someone you've only been with for two months?  To me, it wasn't a proper romance - which conflicts with the idea that this is a 'love story'.  Tell me something's a love story and I expect something strong and beautiful, the romance in Nobody But Us was flimsy and just wrong.

Because of this supposed romance, which to me wasn't really a romance, I couldn't connect with the characters.  Zoe was too weak and naive, maybe due to her age of fifteen.  Oh yes... I forgot to mention: Zoe is 15 and Will is 18.  At eighteen years of age, Will is a responsible adult.  He should be using his common sense and realise that running away with a girl three years his junior is not going to end well.  I could forgive Zoe for being innocent and wanting to be loved after such a traumatic childhood but I couldn't STAND Will's impulsiveness and anger.  That guy really needed to control his temper and stop putting his girlfriend in danger.  If he truly loved her, he wouldn't have dragged her further and further until there was no way of going back.  True love is when you genuinely care for the other person and want the best for them.  This wasn't the case in Nobody But Us.

The story had so much potential to be something with emotional depth but it was put aside in favour of the 'romance.'  Zoe's mother died when she was young and for years, she has had to put up with an abusive father while Will was abandoned by his young mother and put in care.  Both of their pasts could have been reached into to give these characters real depth but it was only touched upon at times and I could never really realise the full extent of their terrible pasts, making it more of an inevitably hopeless love story to roll your eyes over than a story about two people mending each others' broken heart.

The ending, I must admit, came as a shock.  It took me a few seconds to get a grasp on things, but when I put the book down, I realised it was a reasonable way to conclude despite the surprise factor.  It was out of the blue and I did not expect it at all but to be really honest, I didn't care about what happened to our 'lovestruck' pair because I had stopped caring long before.

Overall, Nobody But Us was a somewhat disappointing read with a lacklustre romance.  Despite being let down by the relationship between the two lead characters, the book was actually strangely addictive and I wanted to hurry up and get to the end to see what the outcome was for the couple (either that, or I just wanted to finish the book and get away from it all!).  Even though I didn't enjoy it as much as I would've liked, I suggest you pick it up if you're interested in it because it may be the book for you!

2 Teacups for Nobody But Us