Book Review: The Candidates (Delcroix Academy Book 1)

 
The Candidates (Delcroix Academy Book 1) by Inara Scott

Publisher: Hyperion Book  CH

Publish Date: August 24, 2010

Hardcover, 304 pages
Young Adult

My Review:
Why I read this: I love boarding school novels and this one had paranormal elements and sounded really good, plus it was the beginning of a series, and I love series.

How is the novel driven: This one is character and plot driven.  There is time spent in this the first novel in the series getting to know the characters and the surroundings, but I think it's more plot-driven. 


My thoughts:  This book was hard to put down.  As I stated above - I love boarding school novels so that is what attracted me to this, but really the boarding school aspect in this book is different from most books.  This doesn't focus on cliques as much, they are there, but Dancia doesn't want to be noticed or be a member of a popular clique - she wants to fly under the radar and simply learn more about the power she has.  The boarding school seems to be a character of it's own, is it normal or is there something else going on there besides typical learning?

Add in two hot guys, one the most popular guy at the school and the other the bad boy and you have the typical love triangle that is not so typical in this book.  I really like both Jack and Cam for different reasons as does Dancia.  I love the mystery surrounding Jack and the school.  And I like Cam because he does seem to care.  Dancia is a great character, she's trying to figure her power out, but she's not whiny, and she learns in this book she has strength.  She's also not a girl that pines for a boy, in fact she really doesn't want to get involved, she wants to be her own person and I like that in the female leads in YA books.

The book is well-written, the plot moves quickly and since this is part of a series the ending has me eager for the next book so I hope Ms. Scott is writing quickly. 

My Rating: 4.75/5.0

About the Book:

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.

About the Author:
Inara Scott lives in Seattle, Washington, with her husband and children. She is currently hard at work on the next book in the Delcroix Academy series.

Her Website
Blog

FTC Information: I received this book through Book It Forward Tours for review.  I have Amazon links on my review pages but I do not make any money from these because of NC laws.  I put them solely for people to check out the books on a retail site.