The Academy Review

“Comparison to the Harry Potter series seems inevitable . . . It is a breathtakingly exciting novel.”—The New York Times A girl from the forest arrives in a bustling kingdom with no name and no idea why she is there, only to find herself at the center of a world at war. She enlists at Pennyroyal Academy, where princesses and knights are trained to battle the two great menaces of the day: witches and dragons. There, given the name “Evie,” she must endure a harsh training regimen under the steel glare of her Fairy Drillsergeant, while also navigating an entirely new world of friends and enemies. As Evie learns what it truly means to be a princess, she realizes surprising things about herself and her family, about human compassion and inhuman cruelty. And with the witch forces moving nearer, she discovers that the war between princesses and witches is much more personal than she could ever have imagined. Set in Grimm’s fairytale world and ideal for non-princesses and princess fans alike, M.A. Larson’s Pennyroyal Academy masterfully combines adventure, humor, and magical mischief. “No one rescues Pennyroyal princesses; they rescue themselves.”—Reese Witherspoon

Six-pack abs, cutthroat competition, nonstop drama. The second book in a hot new series inspired by one champion's teen years.

Includes excerpt of: The only thing worse than witches.

How colleges and universities can live up to their ideals of diversity, and why inclusivity and excellence go hand in hand. Most colleges and universities embrace the ideals of diversity and inclusion, but many fall short, especially in the hiring, retention, and advancement of faculty who would more fully represent our diverse world—in particular women and people of color. In this book, Abigail Stewart and Virginia Valian argue that diversity and excellence go hand in hand and provide guidance for achieving both. Stewart and Valian, themselves senior academics, support their argument with comprehensive data from a range of disciplines. They show why merit is often overlooked; they offer statistics and examples of individual experiences of exclusion, such as being left out of crucial meetings; and they outline institutional practices that keep exclusion invisible, including reliance on proxies for excellence, such as prestige, that disadvantage outstanding candidates who are not members of the white male majority. Perhaps most important, Stewart and Valian provide practical advice for overcoming obstacles to inclusion. This advice is based on their experiences at their own universities, their consultations with faculty and administrators at many other institutions, and data on institutional change. Stewart and Valian offer recommendations for changing structures and practices so that people become successful in ways that benefit everyone. They describe better ways of searching for job candidates; evaluating candidates for hiring, tenure, and promotion; helping faculty succeed; and broadening rewards and recognition.

Acton Academy: The one-room schoolhouse for the twenty-first century Seeking a 21st century education for their children, Laura and Jeff Sandefer jumped off the track of conventional school and created a new model for learning. They created Acton Academy as a better school where learning is made practical and meaningful and where students begin a lifelong Hero's Journey to discover their true potential. Using the Socratic method, elements of the Montessori approach and state-of-the-art online instruction, Acton guides students toward independence and self-motivation, helping them find the courage to grow into the person they were meant to be. Soon, other parents wanted to start their own Acton Academies, and less than a decade from the seven founding students' first Socratic discussion, Acton has spread around the world. ​Courage to Grow is the Sandefer family's personal quest for their own children's education and happiness. Their story also contains a path for other parents who want to give their children the freedom to take ownership of their own education and to start their own school. The treasure at the end is much larger than Laura ever expected--a quickly growing network of dedicated, curious young people and parents who are not afraid to set them free.

With a past too terrible to speak of, and a bleak, lonely future ahead of her, Aerin Renning is shocked to find she has earned a place at the most exclusive school in the universe. Aerin excels at Academy 7 in all but debate, where Dane Madousin?son of one of the most powerful men in the Alliance? consistently outtalks her. Fortunately Aerin consistently outwits him at sparring. They are at the top of their class until Dane jeopardizes everything and Aerin is unintentionally dragged down with him. When the pair is given a joint punishment, an unexpected friendship?and romance?begins to form. But Dane and Aerin both harbor dangerous secrets, and the two are linked in ways neither of them could ever have imagined. . . .

Welcome to Academy X, an ethical wonderland in which up is down, right is wrong, and parents and students will stop at nothing (including lying, plagiarizing, and even seduction to name a few) in orderto get into the Ivy League. Caught in the middle is John Spencer, a bumbling but loveable English teacher struggling through the final weeks of his spring semester. But keeping focused on a Jane Austen seminar proves problematic when a His crush on the sexy school librarian andas well as a pending promotion threaten to divert his attentionare threatening to sink him in a sea of academic intrigue. Things become even more complicated when the college counseler asks John to lie (or at least exaggerate) in a recommendation letter for the very student who he's just discovered is a plagiarizer!And things are only about to get worse for John, who discovers that no price is too high to achieve a coveted admission to Harvard, Yale, or Princeton-even if that includes his own disgrace. Witty and rollicking, Academy X is a priceless peek into New York City's top private schools-indeed into elite schools all over the country.where parents risk all for their child's academic.

The Devil Wears Prada meets Private Benjamin in this funny and charming story of a fashionista teen blogger who gets sent to military school, perfect for fans of Sarah Mlynowski and Kasie West. Frankie Brooks knows what she wants in life: to become the world’s next great fashion editor. All she needs to do is get into the elite American Fashion Academy in New York City. If she gets in, her life plans will be going right on schedule. Anna Wintour, watch out. But after Frankie messes up one too many times—hey, it’s hard not to prioritize her acclaimed fashion blog above all else—her parents come up with entirely different plans for her future: military school. How is Frankie, the least athletic person in the world, who knows absolutely nothing about the military, going to survive a whole semester at the famed—and feared—Academy? With classmates who seem to be totally uninterested in her, a course load that’s even more difficult than her old school’s, and the weird War Games competition she has to join, Frankie finds that her life is way tougher than it used to be. And no one, including her roommate Joni, seems to understand Frankie at all. As she learns how to cope with impossible military drills and intimidating specialized classes and is maybe even falling for super-hot and super-smart cadet Jack Wattson, can Frankie prove to everyone that being a fashionista doesn’t mean she can’t succeed?

Welcome to Crystal Wing Academy, where the magical Elite reign... and Outlings are an endangered species. Magic doesn't exist in the human world. As far as I know. But when I fling a fireball at a bully, my horrified Mom dumps me at Crystal Wing Academy, a place straight out of my favorite fantasy books. They tell me I'm an Outling, a wizard born from non-magical parents. Mom's human. Dad? I don't exactly know who he is.... One thing I do know is I'm not an Elite--descendants of the original six families who split from the Fae ages ago. At seventeen, their children and despised Outlings like me attend the Academy to learn to control our power. I'm barely on campus when I'm targeted by a mean girl. Figures. Thankfully, the Academy's not all bad. My pixie roommate's awesome. I score a coveted moonstone during Stone Selection. And let's not forget Donovan, a cute guy who seems to like me, not the mean Elite girl who's determined to win him. Except something's luring students into the forest and draining their power, leaving only shriveled husks behind. The Headmistress warns me not to investigate, but the killer's after my friends. Big mistake there. My magical skills may be untrained and wild, but if a power-sucking vamp thinks he can harm people I care about, he's about to discover I'm a wizard unlike any other.

Ever since magic stormed the world, the price for human survival is surrendering your firstborn to the monsters. But this year it's Nova's turn, and the monsters better watch their backs. I am the firstborn in my family. The first of three. And today I will pay the price for my siblings' lives by surrendering control of my own. I will step through the runegate, and I will never see my family again. What the others do with the firstborn is shrouded in mystery. All anyone knows is they are never heard from again. I will step through the runegate willingly. But I can keep secrets too. And I'll do whatever it takes to bring the others to their knees... Fans of Harry Potter, Shadowspell Academy, Harley Merlin, and The Hunger Games, welcome to a magical new world packed with adventure, intrigue, romance, and characters you'll fall in love with. Trilogy Reading Order and Release Dates: Firstborn Academy: Shadow Trials (Book 1) releases September 2019 Firstborn Academy: Shadow Witch (Book 2) releases October 2019 Firstborn Academy: Shadow Reaper (Book 3) releases December 2019