John Tyler High School is having a change of administration: there was a vote to disassociate themselves from the school board and become a charter school. Even those opposed to the change feel this may not be a bad deal, as it may actually allow for additional funds to buy new schoolbooks and supplies and will give the teachers a more lenient curriculum and less restriction on their teaching methods. There will also be encouragement for the parents to either volunteer for the school at fundraisers and functions or pay dues instead. Not too hotly received, but a great idea to help the school through this first trying year of its charter.

But when a wall gets erected outside the school and the outside world is cut off, things change. A Nazi Youth-style movement called the Tyler Scouts oversees day-to-day rule adherence among the students and anti-charter teachers through intimidation and violence. Pro-charter teachers brutally beat students for the slightest infraction and anybody who starts looking into these unusual goings on is forcibly removed by Tyler Scouts and either returns complacent or doesn't return at all. Molestations, assault, rape, and an overshadowing atmosphere of fear; it's Class of 1984 all over again.

So, my total exposure to Bentley Little previous to The Academy was a five minute overview of The Store and I remembered I read his collection The Collection about 30 pages before I finished this book. So yeah, not very memorable. Plus, I hate titles that are The ________ and the references to The Store in The Academy seem forced. Anyway, remember that episode of South Park and those underwear gnomes with the three point plan?

1. Collect underpants
2. ?
3. Profit

Well, make point one say 'Charter' instead and that's how I felt about this book: there a BIG gap between the history of John Tyler High and the present-day events. You get some allusion to what happened in the past and there's a couple of characters to connect the two time periods but Little completely forgets to establish any valid reason to explain WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON. Did you also notice I didn't mention anything about the supernatural in my overview? That's because I found the supernatural elements completely unnecessary and I swear that if the book was written as a suspense/thriller about the high school becoming a fascist dictatorship, I would have given it at least four frigging stars, but nope, the tension was killed by these ghosts screwing around with the lockers so the book doesn't even get half that.

Also: the female Scout training is a pump fake and the ending is as unsatisfying as sex without orgasm. Seems to me this was an excuse to have some dirty sex shenanigans see print. In summation: drop out and get your GED or your mom will get raped. Seriously.
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Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Signet (August 5, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0451224671
ISBN-13: 978-0451224675