Book Review: The Hadley Academy

If you are fan of YA sci-fi/fantasy then The Hadley Academy for the Improbably Gifted is worth a read. In the novel, Jack is a 13 year old boy from Jersey City, New Jersey who suddenly finds himself swept away onto a secret island through a portal. What’s on this island? It’s filled with kids his age and older teens who are all recruits to be operatives to fight reapers – evil creatures controlled by mega enemy, Wyeth.

In the novel, everyone has the possibility of having powers, but most humans will never realize their potential and stay “dormant”. But some people realize their gifts and become improbables. They then go to Elk Island and are trained by instructors to hone their gifts and become operatives. Powers range from super strength to creating snow and ice, creating electricity with their hands, turning organic matter into metal, etc.

Jack doesn’t seem to have any real gift, but it is believed that he is the long awaited Guardian that prophecies have foretold. He is supposed to be the one person who can take down Wyeth.

The book was a fast read and really kept my attention. To be honest though, the first half was a little slow and I didn’t know where the story was going to go, but the second half really picked up the pace to the point where so much was happening in such a short amount of time. It was like twist after twist in the second half that I didn’t know how it would all get wrapped up before the end of the book!

Overall, it was a good book and the ending leaves it open to a second book for sure.