The Academie, Part 1: Commencement (2024)

The idea behind this story is a good one - how do you control an increasingly uncontrollable population? When it comes to young adult violence in this book, mandatory boarding school with no vacations or breaks for everyone under the age of 22 is the answer. What starts out as an interesting concept is dealt with only superficially. Without giving spoilers of the ending, all I can say is the plot was a bit simplistic for my tastes and the hows and whys go unanswered, which is very dissatisfying for me - it was almost as though the book cut off mid-plot rather than coming to an ending. Even a book proposed to be part of a series (as indicated by the "#1" following the title) should still be able to stand on it's own, and this one unfortunately does not. The writing style was decent (though typos throughout the book show a lack of proofreading expertise on the part of the editorial staff) and a couple of characters well developed, but I would have liked to see more than a superficial treatment of the concept and more of the characters. Not the worst YA fic I've read, but neither is it the best.

i loved it. i found it really hard to put down. The Academie is sooooo one of my all time favorites now. The only issue i found in the book was a few grammar errors which can easily be overlooked. The concept of the book is one i have never seen before and Amy Joy did a wonderful job writing it. Amazing book!

Review originally posted at on books!

Picture this: You’re done with high school. But after a series of violent acts by teens throughout the country, the government decides that boarding school is now for everyone under twenty two. It’s not regular public school but has been restructured and called The Academie. It’s extremely strict; almost militaristic where everything is not what it seems. Can you imagine having to go back to high school, a place you thought you’d got past and were done with?

For me, the concept of The Academie alone had been hooked. It was so unexpectedly scary! It is compulsory for everyone under twenty two to attend, even if they have a kid to look after or just cannot stand going back to school. For Allie, it is a nightmare and she comes determined to hate the place. The Academie turned her younger brother into a super focused and heartless zombie. And she can’t stop thinking about her boyfriend Bryan who she hasn’t heard from in a while.

I LOVED this book. It wasn’t perfect. But it got a lot of crucial aspects right. It’s always nice to read a book with a concept that stands out. The Academie had that! And while the writing wasn’t fantastic, it did suck me in. The Academie felt very real. It didn’t take long for me to get a feel of the place and the atmosphere of dodginess. Allie’s journey was one I felt truly a part of. It was also great that The Academie wasn’t automatically this stereotyped hell house. There were advantages to the system, very minute advantages that got cancelled out by all the horrors, that weren’t left out.

I liked the characters well enough. Allie was a little shallow and whiny at times but aren’t we all? The relationship between Bryan and Allie drew me in. As a whole, they seemed more than the sum of the parts. I could believe that they would be together for a long time! Some parts of the book took my breath away and the twist at the end had me shell shocked.

As for how I felt about the unexpected twist, I’m not sure. I wasn’t sure after reading the book and I’m still not sure. But it definitely left me open mouthed! Could the book have been about more and in general, been so much more than it ended up being about? I think that in a formulaic way, yes. But it wasn’t a total letdown. In its own way, it was a good turnaround of events!

But here’s what I’m sure about: The Academie has an AMAZING concept and it’s a quick read. You will either LOVE the climax or not like it at all. But you will definitely miss out on something if you don’t pick this book up! The book felt like a standalone novel, but I just found out that there’s a sequel that will be out soon called The Academie II: The Silent School. I’m not sure which direction the series will take but I’ll be super psyched to read it!

Yeah, I'm mad right now.
That ending was ridiculous. Ridiculous!

Times are getting crazy. Everyone is scared for their lives so The Academie is created. Everyone under the age of 23 has to attend.
The Academie will provide them with an education, feed them, clothe them, and give them shelter.

Alathea (Allie) Thompson wants nothing to do with The Academie. She doesn't want to leave her family, or Bryan, behind. Her younger brother, Matt, is already at The Academie and she doesn't like the way he's changed. She suspects The Academie isn't what everyone thinks it is. There must be more to it than meets the eye.

Life there is boring. They follow the same schedule every day and are rarely allowed to go out. Add to that the fact that she bombed her initial tests, which resulted in her being placed in low-level classes and it basically feels like a prison.

Allie starts noticing some inconsistencies and she starts sharing her findings with her friends and her brother, Matt. When people start disappearing without explanation, Allie's suspicions are confirmed. They are hiding something from them.

This book was fast-paced and the chapters were really short. I love short chapters. It makes me feel like I read a lot more than I actually have.

This might be a spoiler, but it reminded me of The Annihilation of Neverland and The Maze Runner (which are basically the same basic story kinda).

It was good until I read that ending. Okay, allow me to vent about it for a while.
Alathea, the main characters name, means "truth". How ironic.
Allie figures out the truth about The Academie in the end and instead of telling the TRUTH to everyone she makes up a whole other story.
OKAY, NO!
Who cares if they end up with "emotional damage"?! She should have just told them the truth. It's the LEAST they deserve after everything they've been through. And who's to say it won't happen to them again. I mean, they have NO IDEA what they were going through and she had an opportunity to tell them, which would have resulted in every facility like that being SHUT DOWN, but, no!
She just had to lie about the whole thing.
UGHHH! IF you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem. Have you ever hear that, Allie?!
Truth, my ass! This is unacceptable. I demand that you CHANGE YOUR NAME this minute. You liar, you. Oh, god, those poor teens. I bet the same thing is gonna happen to them AGAIN all cause this chick decided she wanted to keep the truth to herself.

Mess.

(5 BIG ONES!!)

WOW...this was AMAZING!

Imagine your life...you go to school, finish high school and start college. Only to be told by the government that you now have to go back to school...high school...The Academie...an education system that holds their students until the age of 22; stuck in this facility, with weird military-like teachers and guards. So at 19, our main character Allie, is forced to go live and learn at The Academie for the next three years, after already experiencing her freedom at college and away from her parents...and she hates it.

OMG...this book was so good. It was a page-turner and held my attention the whole way. When I was at work, I was dying to get back to reading because it had such a strong hold on me. The supporting characters were also great...I loved Bryan, Stevie, Ruby and Shara...and even Tina after a while! There was a twist in this book that I DID NOT see coming. I don't want to give it away, because then the surprise would be spoiled. Let's just say, it was a surprise, a pleasant surprise and something I haven't read about before. WOW...that's all I have left to say. Amy Joy is a great writer and I really felt like I was going through the day-to-day of living at The Academie. Do yourelf a favor and pick this up. It's the first in a series; I am HIGHLY looking forward to the next book in the series!

The Academie has an interesting plot. I've never read one like it before. Though I wish more time was spent on this plot. A large part of the story is spent in flashbacks of Allie's family and internet chats. I found this part boring.

I couldn't get into the main character. She's mean. She focuses too much on other females looks and makes judgments from it. The typical ugly = bad, pretty = good. I know this is how most people are in real life, but I don't want to read about it or be in a characters head while they're doing it. I guess I'm just used to authors leaving this aspect of human nature out of their books. She also called her classmates morons for being in basic classes and thought it was sad that her new friend didn't go to college and instead got a job.

I think Shara was my favorite character. I wish we found out what happened to her. She probably got arrested since she didn't show back up, but it was never confirmed, so I don't know for sure.

FTC disclaimer: I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

When Allie Thompson graduated, she thought she'd put high school behind her. But when a series of violent outbreaks by teens sends panic surging through the nation, high school is right where Allie finds herself again. Now remolded into what the government calls The Academie, what was once the public school system is now the permanent home of everyone 22 and under.
After a year of college and a lifetime as a model student, Allie doesn't take well to The Academie's militaristic nature or its 16 foot perimeter fences.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, it was beautifully written and well thought out. I found The Academie to be a bit like Delirium and Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver as well as Variant by Robison Wells, I would definitely recommend this book! My favourite character was Ruby because of her determination to be at home with her daughter and her caring nature. Allie was also one of my favourite characters because of her rebellious nature and her tenacity. I like the cover, it really compliments the story within.

The Academie by Amy Joy, put simply, is a delightful read. The characters are unforgettable, and relationship between Allie and Bryan is some of the best stuff I’ve read in a while. However,unlike similar books, Allie isn’t some helpless girl, she is a strong character doing all she can to help expose the sinister secret of The Academie. Overall, I’d highly recommend this book!

Very good read. I could not imagine having to go back to high school again. Once was enough for me. The concept for this story was so original. I can't wait for the second book to come out and find out what happens next, especially with Allie and Bryan. I've read this book twice now and I enjoyed it even more the second time. It was so enjoyable. Would definitely recommend this book!

I loved ths book. I usually dont take this long to read a book but i took my time with this one because i wanted to savor every last second of it. This is a book i will surely read again and again.

I had this whole diatribe planned about how this book is the perfect text with which to illustrate what is wrong with a) Kindle editions, b) publishing, and c) Americans' grasp of the English language.

Then I found out that this book was self-published, which made me go a little GAH! because I don't read self-published books. I make a point of it. So points to the author for making it seem like it was just a regular ol' book, cause I had no idea.

That said, I can still use it to tell you about my three points above, because it still shows how both self-published books and regular books fail on those three accounts.

a) Kindle editions are generally made from drafts of books, not final copies, so they are rife with errors. This book certainly is, but given that it's a Createspace title, I'm not so shocked anymore.

b) This book was decent for the first 75%, and then it took a turn for pseudo metaphysics and got bad. Fast. While it was actually well structured (something I appreciate in today's derivative-of-derivative YA dystopia fest) for the most part, it, like many good books out of mainstream publishers, suffers from being part of a series instead of being a compact, concise novel. The end especially read like something I would have written in third grade. I don't know what it is these days, but nobody but nobody is good at writing an ending anymore. Are there really no options between ambiguous-fake-literary and lemme-give-it-to-you-straight-with-a-lengthy-explanation? There was a HUGE character change literally overnight that made me want to throw my Kindle across the room--which, I guess, since Amazon would just replace it free, is not saying much, but still. Even though I was reeling from the major, major bad writing and errors, I was so hooked into this book until that point, and then I was like, "uhh, thank you for having a lobotomy and thinking that I haven't actually been paying attention to this story and now you can do whatever you like, literary convention and good storytelling be damned?"

c) The more I read these days, and the faster books come out after their sales, the more I am sad about how today's book editors and copyeditors clearly don't give much of a sh*t about proper grammar, sentence construction, or anything relating to technical writing skills. Now that I know that this book was self-published, it's somewhat understandable, but not acceptable, because I don't think you should be allowed to publish if you think that sentences and phrases like the following are okay:

-"They dropped Matt and I off."
-"He laid down on the bed."
-"I was laying down."
-Making anything plural by using an apostrophe.
-Thinking that something that belongs to you is "you'res."

Also: when you are speaking directly to the person and it is their "name," you CAPITALIZE the M and D in "Mom" and "Dad." Seriously. Usually I have to correct people who don't know the difference between "my mom says" and "Mom says," but this took the cake.

Also: I thought we writers were in a club where we were the only people who still understood that when you are addressing a person in a sentence and also say their name, you use a comma. e.g. "Hi, Allie." Or "You don't know that, Allie." But apparently not everyone has membership.

I could go on and on.

I hate to be a bitch, because I know how hard writing is, but I really, really hate when good concepts (and this is a REALLY GOOD CONCEPT in a tried and true package--boarding school story!) go bad because of shoddy writing and adherence to bad trends in the marketplace.

I think I need to quit YA dystopia for awhile before my blood pressure gets too high.

I won this through First Reads and to be honest, I probably would have picked it up on my own. The story is interesting, especially as someone who extremely disliked high school every second I was there. The idea of returning makes me shudder.
Allie is a wonderful protagonist with an amazingly strong sense of right and wrong. She is strong and because of that a joy to read about. Her relationship with Bryan is refreshing and delightful. It is nice to read about a female teenage protagonist whose life does not necessarily revolve around her boyfriend or getting one.
The twist was one that I didn't see coming and I actually enjoyed when the veil was lifted and everything was brought to life.
My only criticism is that I would have liked more background. More information on how the government came to be the way it was and the way The Academie was brought into existence. I just wanted to know more than just that some teenage violence expedited the process. Even then, I am sure that it will be discussed and explained more thoroughly in subsequent novels.

This was a very interesting read. I really enjoyed the action and the concept. I did have a problem with some of the editing, though. To me, it seemed that Matt's character (Allie's brother) was underdeveloped in the beginning. Allie kept saying how they used to be close, but I never saw a concrete example of that close bond they had. There were spelling mistakes as well, and the formating of the dialogue on one page was slightly confusing; The italics were, I believe, Allie's thoughts, but suddenly on that one page, the dialogue was in italics as well... There was also some unecessary repetition within a same page.
I think this novel would have been amazing (and rated higher) had it been edited more closely. Other than that, the plot, the ideas, some of the description and images in this novel were incredible. This novel definitely shows promise and I'll be on the lookout for its sequel.

I am at the beginning of the book and I already hate it. There are so many mistakes that I don't even know how old she is. Every time it would be different number. She is mean... This wont be easy :(
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Now that I finished I can say that I liked the plot but it did remind me little bit of Matrix. The first half had mistakes and I couldn't figure out how old Allie is [18 or 19] because she had to stay there till she was 25 then it changed to 23 and after that it said that she is 19 and that she had to stay there 4 years. I did skip pages till the end of the book where I couldn't put it down. The best part of the book was the end and it made me want to read the next one.

I just finished reading the Academie and I loved it! It was a really fast read for me - I read it on my Kobo, a birthday present to myself. The story was fast, engaging and gripping. I loved all of the characters, but especially Allie and Bryan's relationship. It was really sweet.

Other reviewers have mentioned typos, etc. and I didn't find many of those in my edition, so perhaps the Amy Joy has made some corrections since it was originally published.

My only complaint might be the abrupt ending, but I think there is a sequel in the works, which will pick up where book one ends.

I won this via Goodreads. On the surface, this is basically "The Matrix" as a socially-conscious teen novel. There were some rather large inconsistencies so I was unable to suspend my disbelief in several places, but in spite that I did enjoy the book. It was very readable: good writing and interesting characters.

The book was alright, I liked the concept of the story. My main problem with the book was how about 3/4 of the book was just about the flashbacks and it got a little obnoxious. I felt like all the good stuff was left till the very end of the story and then it was a little rushed, I wish the author would have spaced out all those good ideas throughout the story more.

More like 3.5 stars. The typos and grammar mistakes bothered me. The concept of the story was interesting; I definitely did not see the ending coming, so I was impressed with that fact alone. But everything just felt so rushed.

Very good read. Some noticeable typos, but that's easily fixed. The idea of fearing teens and young adults reminds me somewhat of Unwind, but the story is completely different. Will be on the lookout for the next book.

Really enjoyed this one. Light-hearted read with a good level of suspense.

Weak plot/writing structure. Although it's a fast/easy read which made it a bit addictive. I hate when that happens.

What an interesting story and very well written. There where parts that I could've done without and things that I questioned, but overall it was fantastic! Can't wait to see what happens next!!

I *wanted* to love this book. The concept seemed really intriguing. How would I have felt after a year away at uni to be dragged back to school, but not only that… to live there, to be cut off from *everyone* I know and love?
To be honest I think I’d freak out a f*ck tonne more than Allie did. I’d want answers. I’d certainly not accept being put in classes which are basically remedial classes just because I was tired when I was meant to take the tests.
Another thing that is not addressed *at all* is the fact that Allie went to that school for *how* many years, and yet she only knows ONE person in the ENTIRE school and that’s her BROTHER?!? Seriously!! If everyone was sent back to my secondary school ranging from 2 or 3 years older than me to about 4 years younger I’d at least know one person I’m sure!!!

I’m really sorry as well, but the twist? I got as far as page 20. I turned to the person I was sat with and said ‘oh ffs… it’s the matrix. They’re injecting them and drugging them up, wiring them up to machines and putting them into an alternate reality where they think they are in school.

Anyone who got as far as p140 and Shara disappearing after Allie had had the ‘waking’ experience and *didn’t* realise that they were all in an alternate reality… I’m surprised and can only say you must not have watched the matrix, inception and others of that ilk.

Mind you I guess it *is* a YA book so maybe I’m just too old and have read/watched too much that I’m able to guess the plot?

I was hopeful about the ending… but then yeah. I mean I thought well maybe even though it says Part 1 that’s just kinda there but the book is a standalone… which to be kinda brutal if all you care about is that they got out of the academie (and maybe not even for good…just in the immediate sense) then yeah it could be a stand alone. I’ll just imagine she goes and kidnaps her little brother and her her two bros and whoever else escapes with her to Canada and find Bryan who exposes the academie and they put things back to rights huzzah!
It’s been what 7 years since this was published and the only place I’ve found *any* reference to the sequel is a paragraph on a page at the end of part 1. So do I assume it’s just never coming because surely the preorder should be up on Amazon even if it is a TBA release date?
And do I *want* to read a sequel when it’s called ‘silent school’?! Surely that implies they are back in school again??

There is also a point to be made I’ve seen in my brief scour to see if anyone else had ever read this since I can’t find a single review on YouTube -and that is the grammar, spelling mistakes and in some places typos. I can’t give examples because I didn’t note down them happening, but other reviewers have if you check them out.

Sorry. #longreviewislong #didntmeantorant

I really wanted to love this book. But the way it is right now? I can’t make myself push it past 3 stars.

“The Academie”
Written by Amy Joy
Review written by Diana Iozzia

“The Academie” is a science fiction and dystopian YA novel about a dystopian United States that has created a high school and college school system of boarding schools that requires students to live on campus until 23 years old. Allie’s younger brother, Matt, is suspiciously different after studying there for a year. Allie had made a friend, Bryan, previous to going to this school, and she longs to reconnect with him.
This school is more mysterious and suspicious. Events and occurrences are unexplained and very mysterious. This is a great young adult novel, in my favorite genre: the science fiction/dystopian genre. This intrigued me, because when I was eighteen, I had started writing a story about a corrupt and dystopian boarding school, so I was excited to read this when I received it. I only took about five hours total to read this! It was fantastic.
I had not previously heard of this novel, I had seen it in a list about Dystopian themes, so I was very interested in it. This book is very well-written, with themes similar to “The Matrix” but it felt very sweet and feminine and full of young love. I really hope for a sequel.

I received this as a complementary review copy.

I was very disappointed in this book. The MC is obsessed with a boy. He is her whole world and her complaints about being at the school stem from being separated from him. This book is full of flashbacks about their relationship.

I was not expecting this. I expected the main story to be about the MC searching for her brother. That is definitely not the case. She comes off as a love-sick puppy who neglects school because all she cares about is this boy. She does not seem to be 19, but more like 14.

I did not like this book.

The premise of this book sounded so interesting, I couldn’t wait to read it; it’s been on my to read list forever but I must admit a bit disappointed. I felt there was too much confusion with character building, no one stood out in personality. It was a quick read, I thought great for teens interested in Harry Potter storylines but as an adult I wouldn’t attempt to read any sequel.

welcome to the academie

This book transported me to a time and place where young adults and teens were subject to basically a prison. Being left in this place by their parents and being forced to conform… I could never conform to anything a governmental agency wanted of me.

This was a great book, I highly recommend reading it!

I found this book to very entertaining, and a very much eagerly waiting for the next installment.

I loved it!!!! I love the genre of dystopian so this is right up my street. I loved the idea of them being in a simulation. It is definitely one of my favourite books.