Delcroix Academy Bk One Review

Delcroix Academy: Book One: The Candidates by Inara Scott

Book Description:

Dancia Lewis is far from popular. And that's not just because of her average grades or her less-than-glamorous wardrobe. In fact, Dancia's mediocrity is a welcome cover for her secret: whenever she sees a person threatening someone she cares about, things just...happen. Cars skid. Structures collapse. Usually someone gets hurt. So Dancia does everything possible to avoid getting close to anyone, belieiving this way she can supress her powers and keep them hidden.

But when recruiters from the prestigious Delcroix Academy show up in her living room to offer her a full scholarship, Dancia's days of living under the radar may be over. Only, Delcroix is a school for diplomats' kids and child geniuses--not B students with uncontrollable telekinetic tendencies. So why are they treating Dancia like she's special? Even the hottest guy on campus seems to be going out of his way to make Dancia feel welcome.

And then there's her mysterious new friend Jack, who can't stay out of trouble. He suspects something dangerous is going on at the Academy and wants Dancia to help him figure out what. But Dancia isn't convinced. She hopes that maybe the recruiters know more about her "gift" than they're letting on. Maybe they can help her understand how to use it...But not even Dancia could have imagined what awaits her behind the gates of Delcroix Academy.

Review:

This was a fun read. There are no vampires or werewolves, just ordinary kids with “special talents.” When Dancia is recruited to Delcroix she must take the Delcroix Pledge and “promise to use her talents only to advance the common good and to achieve the betterment of humanity.”

At first she doesn’t understand what’s so special about her and why she’s given a full scholarship to Delcroix. She tries not to stand out, but she needs up making friends and enjoying being different. During a pottery class she laments

“Sometimes I wished I could use my power, just once, and show them all that I wasn’t just a pitiful lump of clay, a badly formed bowl that wouldn’t even hold water.”

Once Dancia stumbles onto the real reason she was recruited she realizes that she’s not weird, but that she can do a lot to help humanity and be a normal person with a normal life.

If you like Harry Potter, this is a good replacement. It has action, suspense, good vs. evil, and a girl trying to determine what’s right and wrong and being her best. I'm looking forward to the series and hope it is as good as this one.

This book was sent to me free of charge from the publisher Hyperion via Shelf Awareness.

Happy Reading!

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