Young readers will find action, suspense, and a perilous battle between good and evil in The Hadley Academy for the Improbably Gifted from New York Times bestselling author Conor Grennan. For ages 10 and up, this dystopian fantasy novel follows a boy’s unlikely journey to save humanity as he unravels his true identity and the responsibility it comes with. Jack Carlson is dreading a class … 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.
This action-packed novel will captivate readers with its riveting plot, relatable characters, humorous dialogue, and dynamic illustrations. Fans of the Hunger Games, the Chronicles of Narnia, Divergent, Maze Runner, and Rick Riordan’s books will find themselves at home in the battle for good at the Hadley Academy.
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Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Children’s for the digital arc of this title.
The Hadley Academy for the Improbably Gifted was a really enjoyable Middle Grade book. The book centers around Jack Carlson, a normal everyday middle schooler who suddenly finds himself transported to The Hadley Academy for the Improbably Gifted. What follows is a fun story that reminded me a lot of the Disney movie Sky High combined with a little bit of X-men and maybe even the Power Rangers.
What really shined for me in this novel was the school. I loved learning more about how the school was organized and the powers the different students had. The world building in general was intriguing and kept me interested throughout the story. Character development was also important part of this story as we get to know Jack and other members of his team.
As for the main plot of the story, I’ll leave it vague and just state that it is a classic good vs evil with a prophecy foretelling the future.
Long story short if you are a fan of Harry Potter, Xmen, or school type films with super heroes – this is your book. I happen to love all these things so I really enjoyed the book.
The Hadley Academy for the Improbably Gifted was one of the most exceptional books I’ve read this year. It does check all the boxes of my favorite categories: Middle Grade, Christian, fantasy/science fiction. Several other reviewers wrote that this was Hunger Games, Divergent, X-Men, and Harry Potter all rolled into one. It is definitely a book for anyone who loves those, but simultaneously so different from any of them.
The intrigue began on the first page when Jack sits through his best friend’s history presentation, which sounds exactly like a conspiracy theory, as is always the case with Freddy. Freddy describes the Hadley Academy for the Improbably Gifted, which he learned about on the dark web, and even shows the class a map of the island it’s on. The academy is, of course, invisible to ordinary mortals. Embarrassed by his friend’s presentation, Jack asks to use the bathroom and is immediately pursued by some strange beings, rescued by an old acquaintance, and brought to…The Hadley Academy. This opening is genius because the story could have so easily gone in two directions. One, the academy was all in Freddy’s head and he and Jack were both ordinary middle schoolers. Two, the academy is real and Jack and Freddy actually end up there. I would have read either of those stories but was enthralled by the world-building in this one.
At the academy, Jack quickly learns about different kinds of giftings and the strengths and weaknesses innate to each. He also realizes that he isn’t gifted. And neither are his new friends who are brought in to be part of his team. They have three days for their gifts to awaken or they will be removed from the academy and their memories of the three days, as well as their former lives, will be wiped. And the adventure begins.
The story continued, with every event, every person, and every conversation being tied together as crucial parts of the saga. I had to read back several times, not because I lost interest, but because I had to make sure I remembered previous conversations that tied in to present moments. Fabulous storytelling! Also, despite the ending being part happily ever after and part cliff hanger (but not so you’ll lose sleep over it), this was a complete story with all the wonderful twists and turns that story entailed.
Something beautiful about this story, something that seems to be unique to Christian fantasy, was the idea that you can believe in something impossible without evidence. Christians are sometimes accused of this and mocked for it, but when you see it play out in real life, it often begins a beautiful story. Jack’s story began that way. There was nothing remarkable about him. But one person believed he was the boy who was prophesied. And that belief started a chain of events that led to everyone eventually seeing who Jack was. But there was no reason to believe Jack was anyone special in the beginning.
There were many other beautiful moments in the story, but I’ll share two more. First, there is the saying, “trusting someone is more important than believing them” (219). I had never thought about this before, but it’s true. There are people who tell incredible stories that I would still trust with my life. There are others who always tell the truth, but who I still can’t trust. This maxim, which appeared several times in the story, is a good reminder of what truly matters most. Second, the way gifts were treated was poignant. When Jack first arrived at the academy, one of the teachers told him, “Everyone is born with a gift. Improbables ignore what the world tells them. They risk looking different, looking strange, in order to explore their gift. That is true courage” (21) Later on, a young boy said something similar: “I am human, and every human is born with a gift. I have chosen to use mine” (277). This is something else we often forget. We are all gifted. Maybe our gifts don’t fit the mold of what we think gifts look like or what we want them to be, but we are all gifted. Like the boy, may we choose to use our gifts.
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley and have reviewed it willingly.
I don’t read a lot of fantasy novels but I am glad I read this one and am looking forward to reading the next in the series. This is geared more for middle grade readers but it will appeal to most any age. There is a great cast of characters. Each of these characters finds out that they have a gift and end up at this school to learn to harness this gift to help the world. I did a lot of laughing and it can be very serious also. I received a copy of this book from Smith Publicity for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.
Academy books are all around you right now. And I happen to love them and try to read as many as I can, so I got really happen when I get my ex av Hadley Academy. The cover looked great, the summary sounded great and I had high expectations. And the story almost met my expectations. I felt the story was rushed at points and nowhere did I read about zombies. I mean, sure, reapers could be a word for them but I didn’t make that connection. Honestly, I wouldn’t have picked up the book had I known. So I guess it was a good thing I didn’t. All in all, I liked the book and think there are a lot of younger readers which will love it.