Skip to main content

The Hadley Academy for the Improbably Gifted by Conor Grennan Review

 Hello Everyone :)

I pray today finds you all doing well, and I want to thank you all for joining me for another book review here on The Preppy Book Princess.

Back in my early days of book blogging, I was all about young adult dystopians. I read so many of them over the years, and while some of them I still consider favorites, I've also had experiences with quite a few of them that weren't great, and honestly, a lot of them started to mesh together after reading so many.

However, I recently stumbled upon one that sounded amazing, and that was actually published by a Christian publisher which I was hoping would mean it would be a clean read.

Keep reading below to find out if this one ended up living up to my expectations.


The Hadley Academy for the Improbably Gifted by Connor Grennan:



Source: Library

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Publication Date: October 8th, 2019

Genre: Young Adult Fiction/Dystopian


Synopsis:


Jack Carlson is dreading a class presentation when he suddenly finds himself transported to the Hadley Academy, a secret institution that tracks teens with unlikely gifts and trains them to protect the world from an unseen squad of killers. But Jack isn't the only one who doesn't know what he's doing at Hadley. Despite indications that he is the one prophesied to end the ancient Reaper War, Jack appears to have no extraordinary abilities.

So when dark, mysterious forces grow, Hadley is in a confused panic. Much to everyone's dismay, humanity seems to depend on Jack and his new teammates. Can Hadley's rawest recruits push past personal struggles and enormous doubts, develop their dormant powers, and stop the spreading evil? And are they willing to commit to Hadley's motto, "One Life for Many," and make the ultimate sacrifice? The Hadley Academy for the Improbably Gifted might be just the place for Jack after all.

(synopsis from goodreads)


My Review:

I have to be honest that I had pretty high expectations for this one. The synopsis sounded amazing, and it had been such a long time since I last read a really great dystopian. However, while there were certain elements I did end up enjoying, it definitely wasn't what I was either expecting or hoping for, and it did end up leaving me a tad disappointed.

I did enjoy the setting, and the "magic system", I loved how it was a type of boarding school situation, and also, the idea that technically everyone has a gift, just most of us don't ever figure out how to use it. I thought that was kind of a unique approach to the set up for everything, and it kept me engaged.

I also did enjoy the friend group, and how they come to work together, and learn to put each other above their own wants and ideals. While I didn't really warm to any of the characters individually, I did like how they all came together as a group, putting their differences aside to do all they could to save humanity.

However, the last quarter or so of this book really threw me for a loop, and I was left feeling extremely confused by how everything ended up going down. This maybe wouldn't have been such a big deal if the book had ended up having a sequel, but it kind of felt incomplete as a stand alone, and I thought everything was rushed too much to fit within the word count.

Overall, I enjoyed it for what it was, but it's not what I was expecting from the amazing premise, and it's not one I'd either reread or recommend.

Final Rating: 3/5.

Thanks so much for reading guys! Have a great rest of your day :)

This is not a sponsored post. All thoughts and opinions are my own. The photo does not belong to me, and all rights to the respective owners. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

First Line Friday: Carolina Breeze

Happy Friday Everyone :) I hope you're all having a great week! Mine has actually been pretty good. We've had some really nice days, and my husband and I were finally able to put our garden in, and various flowers and the like. We've also had a couple of lovely, rainy days as well, and I love how green everything is looking in our yard right now. For today's post, I'm excited to once again be linking up with the lovely Hoarding Books  for another edition of First Line Friday. This fun weekly meme simply consists of sharing the first line of the book you're currently reading. For this week's first line, I'm going to be sharing from Denise Hunter's recently released title that I ended up absolutely loving. Carolina Breeze by Denise Hunter: About The Book: A jilted bride. A struggling innkeeper. And a romantic mountain getaway that changes everything. Rising Hollywood star Mia Emerson is looking for a safe place to land in the wake of a public breakup a

First Line Friday: Just As I Am

Happy Friday Everyone :) I hope you're all having a great week, and looking forward to the weekend. Since it is Friday, it's time once again for First Line Friday, which is hosted over at Hoarding Books. For today's first line, I'm going to be featuring a recent debut novel that I had the opportunity to read and review. About The Book: Adeline Rhodes has spent years locked away in a New Orleans apartment controlled by her criminal boyfriend. After a daring escape, she realizes just how far she has grown from the things in which she once believed. Declan King has lived a life of solitude and duty for the U.S. Army. When the deaths of his grandparents bring him home to his family farm, he is forced into contact with people who know too much about his past to simply leave him alone. When Adeline’s past catches up to her, the two strangers find themselves thrust into a fake relationship to protect Adeline from her vengeful ex. As their chance meeting begin

First Line Friday: Courting Mr. Emerson

Happy Friday Everyone :) Since it is Friday, I'll once again be participating in First Line Friday which is hosted by Hoarding Books .  For this week, I'm going to be sharing the first line from Melody Carlson's newest book, Courting Mr. Emerson. About The Book: When the fun-loving and spontaneous artist Willow West meets buttoned-up, retired English teacher George Emerson, it's not exactly love at first sight. Though she does find the obsessive-compulsive man intriguing. Making it her mission to get him to loosen up and embrace life, she embarks on what seems like a lost cause--and finds herself falling for him in the process. A confirmed bachelor, George vacillates between irritation and attraction whenever Willow is around--which to him seems like all too often. He's not interested in expanding his horizons or making new friends; it just hurts too much when you lose them. But as the summer progresses, George feels his defenses crumbling. The quest