Dangerous Games and Deadly Secrets: An Academy for Liars
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In An Academy for Liars, Alexis Henderson invites readers into the dark, enigmatic halls of Drayton College, a place where magic is hidden in a secret pocket of Savannah and the hardest lessons often come outside the classroom. Fresh off the acclaim of The Year of the Witching and House of Hunger, Henderson returns with a stunning dark academia novel that’s already earning buzz as a Goodreads Choice Awards finalist and a New York Times staff pick.
The story centers on Lennon Carter, whose life is falling apart until a mysterious phone call offers her a new window of opportunity—an entrance exam to the elusive Drayton College. Here, students like Lennon wield the rare gift of persuasion, a power that can control others and, in some cases, matter itself.
But as Lennon’s abilities grow, so do the disturbing truths she uncovers about the school and her increasingly disquieting mentor, Dante. Faced with the ultimate test of embracing absolute power without losing herself, Lennon’s journey at Drayton College is one that will leave readers questioning the true price of power and the dangers that lurk in the shadows of academia.
Title: An Academy for Liars
Author: Alexis Henderson
Publisher: Ace/Bantam Books
Genre: Horror, Gothic Fantasy, Paranormal
Pages: 464
Star Rating: 5 stars
Spice Rating: 1 bell pepper (fade to black)
Embrace Absolute Power because Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely
Coming in as someone who has never read an Alexis Henderson book. I knew that this was going to be good. In fact, it was the first thought I had as the last sentence of the first chapter ended. Marked by that final period. And good it was. As we first meet Lennon she is beaten and broken down mentally. Struggling with her mental health. Having been in and out of facilities, compounded with the fact that she just caught her fiancée cheating on her with the one person she thought was her only friend (at their engagement party no less, ugh). When she finds Drayton College she is on the cusp of a mental breakdown. Taking a heavy toll. So much so, that she thinks she should end her life. That is until she gets a phone call that changes everything.
I don’t think I will be able to express how much I loved this book. With representation in it, not just a Black woman seen as mentally unwell but the hidden threads of something more to the story. Things deep with the questions you ask yourself day over day, year over year even decades later. And with this representation comes the hard shadow of uncertainty. Questioning the validity of Lennon. Marking her as something more than just unstable. Something weightier, more ponderous.
“The first step to persuasion is observation.”
What lies beyond the doors of the draped campus is a haze thick and murky. Darker. Colder than you can imagine. There is a wrongness to the walls. Like a heavy leaden ball in the pit of your stomach, cementing you, leaving you bristling with a creeping sensation that something isn’t right. As the story progresses tension builds, ratcheting up until you are screaming RUN LENNON!
The joy in a story like An Academy for Liars is in its distortion. Blurred vision and images formulating a masterpiece for some and nonsense for others.
In addition to the well-created storyline in An Academy for Liars is its pacing, and character development. While creating compelling backstories and building upon them. Taking and balancing multiple elements like the supernatural and horror, and even the forbidden teacher-student relationship that develops as a secondary thread.
“Do You Still Have Your Name?”
Running throughout the story are moths. Dante is covered in them via his tattoos, he is gifted one by the vice-chancellor. It is on the cover of the book. They are everywhere. When you look into the meaning behind moths you will see that they represent change, transformation, and growth. Then you realize that it is a foreshadowing of sorts. With magic hidden from Lennon (in a way. She doesn’t realize she has it), you see the growth, change, and transformation it takes for her to get to the place that rare cases get to (I can’t tell you it would be a SPOILER). In turn, she also realizes that she isn’t alone, she has brilliant classmates whom she notices are her friends and willing to stand by her.
In contrast, there are several questions I have about An Academy for Liars. Two that I can’t seem to let go. One is the frequent line Do you still have your name? When do you lose your name? How do you lose your name? And while I think I should know this and it was probably given to me point blank in the story, I can’t seem to wrap my head around it. The other is the constant storms. This probably was also given to me while not so point-blank.
“Drayton isn’t static. It’s alive. Moving through space and time.”
In fact, this is a story that needs to be experienced whether in the written word or even visually as a movie (it would lend itself well to a movie). It is dark and haunting. With depictions of blood-soaked students and faculty (everyone is always soaked in blood somewhere), the use of drugs, and the like.
An Academy for Liars is a book that should be a staple on every horror reader’s shelves. Slotting itself into classic literature. This is what dark academia should look like, feel like. Something crafted into the lens of a masterful story.
An Academy for Liars will be the perfect fall read and will release on September 12th. My reread will definitely be via audiobook thanks to Libro.fm! You need to preorder it!
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