I was so sad when Elin announced that Swan Song was going to be her last Nantucket novel. What is summer without a new Elin book? However, one of my favorite genres is the campus novel, and Elin has put her addictive twist on it. This book is perfect for those who grew up guzzling the Gossip Girl novels, though this book lacks any mean streak that the gossip girlies might have had. The characters are well drawn, and had me pleading with them in my head to make better decisions. Yes, I will miss my annual "trip" to Nantucket, but I am excited for what's to come at The Academy.

Thank you to NetGalley, Little, Brown and Company and Elin Hilderbrand and Shelby Cunningham for this ARC read. The following is my honest review.
I absolutely loved The Academy by Elin Hilderbrand and Shelby Cunningham! (So cool to read a mother-daughter duo author) The lush boarding school setting and all the secrets and relationship drama made it such a fun escape. It gave me that nostalgic feeling of reading “away-from-home” school stories, even though I never went to boarding school myself.
The friendships, romances, coworkerships and dynamics between the characters were so engaging—especially Charley and Davi’s friendship. The teacher-student drama was tough to read (I’ll never think of Miss Clevel the same) but it added depth and complexity to the story. I also enjoyed the mystery elements that kept me guessing and the whole secret-society vibe the secret speakeasy kinda was -it was giving Gossip Girl meets Dead Poets Society. The whole time I was on the edge of my seat to discover who zip zap was and how it knew everyone’s business.
The beginning of the story started a bit slow for me and it wasn’t until a good chunk in that I was hooked but that proved to be worth it in the end as it set the atmosphere perfectly. And once I was hooked I was HOOOKED. Like couldn’t wait to pick it up again whenever I put it down. The other qualm I have is the cliffhangery ending! What was in the letter??? Fingers & tied crossed that this is the start of a series because I need to know and hope to explore dub’s storyline more.

All in all it was a terrific read! Mark your calendars for its release on September 16, 2025!

Mystery, suspense, an elite boarding school, and a multi-pov structure: this book had all of the elements that I love! This was a fun, quick, and easy read. There were a few spots where the writing didn't flow as well as other Hilderbrand books that I've read. As this book was a collab between Hildebrand and her daughter, the flow issues could stem from merging their two voices in the text. That said, I enjoyed the read. I thought the setting was especially well established. I would read another Hilderbrand/Cunningham collab, and am interested to see how their merged voices will continue to develop!

Thank you NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Yuuuup I loved this! I knew Elin Hilderbrand was leaving her Nantucket books behind, but I was delighted to find out she was working with her daughter on a new book in a different part of Massachusetts: an elite private boarding school. And listen, am I a staunch supporter of the public school system? Obviously. But do I love the intrigue of a wild boarding school? Of course! It sounds like Hilderbrand and I have some of the same favorites (which she cites as inspiration): The Secret History, A Separate Peace, I Have Some Questions for You -- plus her daughter went to boarding school before heading off to college -- so this gets some real life Gen Z intel.

Hilderbrand is an author at the top of her game. Her characters are so well realized and I never have trouble keeping track of who's who and what they're up to, the settings come to life so vividly, and the plotting is always perfectly paced. Hilderbrand and Cunningham use one of my favorite plot devices here: things start out great and then the authors lament that if only the characters had known X, maybe they wouldn't have done Y. So what happened? How does it all go wrong? It's very John Irving and nothing makes me want to read a book more quickly.

We have a delightful cast of characters here: Audre, the headmaster; Davi, the popular girl; East, the hot bad boy whose dad is a huge donor; Charley, the weird new girl obsessed with reading; Simone, the new too-young Canadian teacher who is struggling to teach American History; and a variety of other faculty, staff, and students. The main plot lines that carry the book are the mystery of the boarding school's surprising jump to the #2 spot on the list of best boarding schools in the country, East's plan to build a speakeasy in the basement, and a new anonymous gossip app that is revealing everyone's (and I mean everyone's) secrets.

This book includes everything you already love about Hilderbrand, from the delicious food descriptions to the nods to local brands (someone is wearing Nantucket Reds of course, and someone else has a ChappyWrap blanket -- sorry not sorry so do I), and plunks us in a new setting with references to Mean Girls, The Crucible, Gossip Girl, and more. And listen I'm not *asking* for anything, but this book sets up plenty of material for a sequel and honestly would make a great TV series too (I'm just saying)!

If you are like me and lamented the end of Hilderbrand novels, fear not, this one is awesome. Taking place in a rural Massachusetts boarding school, Hilderbrand and her daughter craft a page turner with well drawn out characters and an engaging plot. The cool thing, this book was not about just one student or one teacher. We really get to know several, and unlike other books, it is not hard to keep the characters straight. U like many of her other novels, this is not a beach read but it takes place over a school year. I loved reading all about Tiffin Academy and cannot wait to get my hands on book 2! Mark your calendars, as this book releases in September.

This novel is an excellent summer read, immersing readers in the lives of wealthy and privileged students at an exclusive boarding school. It offers a delightful escape and, while tending towards a younger demographic than typical novels by Elin Hilderbrand, it remains lighthearted and exaggerated yet grounded enough to feel relatable.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. As is typical with this author's work, it is mindless and over the top but with enough realism to engage the reader. I rarely finish a book with an extensive "To Be Read" (TBR) list, but this one provided several recommendations, all by writers of color, which I appreciated. My one critique remains: Audre's identity as a woman of color is introduced but not explored. While the complexities of writing diverse characters are acknowledged, simply mentioning the fact and not addressing it further feels underdeveloped.


Other than that, I loved this book.

As a longtime, devoted fan of Elin Hilderbrand, I wasn’t sure how I’d feel stepping away from her signature Nantucket setting, but The Academy completely won me over. Co-written with her daughter, Shelby Cunningham, this book felt like something special from the start, and it absolutely delivered.

The collaboration between mother and daughter brings a fresh energy to Elin’s already captivating style. I was a bit nervous about the shift in setting and tone, but the story pulled me in right away and kept me hooked until the very last page. It still has that emotional warmth and irresistible drama that Elin fans like me have come to expect.

Reading The Academy felt like a treat: something familiar yet new. I loved it, and I’d recommend it to any Hilderbrand fan, especially those looking for the perfect fall read to cozy up with.

In this Elin Hilderbrand book about life at a boarding school it’s move-in day at Tiffin Academy and amidst chaos of friends reuniting and cars unloading, shocking news arrives: America Today just ranked Tiffin the number two boarding school in the country. There are problems on the campus that need addressing. But the campus is beautiful, class sizes are small, and the dining hall is run by an acclaimed New York chef.

But then the wheels begin to turn and then they fall off the bus. One by one, scandalous blind items begin to appear on phones across Tiffin’s campus, thanks to a new app called ZipZap. From Davi Banerjee, international influencer, to Simone Bergeron, the new young history teacher, to Charley Hicks, a transfer student who does not care to fit in, to Cordelia Spooner, Admissions Director – everyone has something to hide.

As if high school wasn’t crazy enough...As the year unfolds, secrets are shared and exposed, and the lives of Tiffin’s students and staff are changed forever. To me the book was not up to the quality of her previous books.

It's move-in day at Tiffin Academy, now ranked the second-best boarding school in America, and this year brings a new face: fifth-year student Charley Hicks. Charley is an immediate outlier—a bookworm, confident in her unique, old-school style, and seemingly uninterested in making friends. As the year progresses, so do the rumors. Friendships and relationships are forged and broken, and secrets begin to pile up.

As a longtime fan of Elin Hilderbrand's work, I was excited for this, her first foray into a "soft retirement" approach. This book definitely has her signature feel, with multiple character POVs, each hinting at a new secret or backstory. Typically, Hilderbrand masterfully resolves these dangling plot threads, but that wasn't the case here. I didn't realize when I started that this was part of a series, which ultimately left me quite disappointed. There was so much build-up of secrets with no resolution by the end.

As a boarding school teacher myself I was excited to read this novel. I thought it was very interesting and painted a pretty accurate picture of boarding school life. Overall a pretty good book.

Elin Hilderbrand and her daughter, Shelby Cunningham are on to something! With Elin's classic cast of characters, constant drama, and glamour, we are brought into the new world of Tiffin Academy! I truly enjoyed diving deeper into the lives of high school age girls who live in a world with social media. The topics of eating disorders, tik-tok fame, and female friendship are all done so well and I couldn't help but want to give some of these girls a hug! If you grew up loving Lisi Harrison's, "The Clique" series, you will LOVE "The Academy"!

I love everything Hilderbrand does, but I couldn't slog through this one. I got about 37% in and just couldn't care enough about the characters or the story. Unfortunately, I abandoned this one.

A really well done boarding school novel which will work, I think, for YA and adults. The story is unusual in that it is told not just from the perspective of the students, but also the adults, and the effect is to give a well-rounded view. Lots of story. Lots of intrigue and shenanigans. And it felt very real. Well-developed characters facing real life challenges. I particularly loved the Charley and East story, and the way it was left at the end. Maybe instead of 5 starts this should be 5 white roses.

The Academy by Elin Hilderbrand and her daughter Shelby Cunningham is a lively, page-turning romp through one drama-filled year at Tiffin Academy, a prestigious New England boarding school. If you enjoy juicy gossip, colorful characters, and a splash of social media scandal, this book delivers the goods. Right from move-in day, readers are thrown into the chaos of students reuniting, selfies popping up everywhere, and the surprise ranking that puts Tiffin unexpectedly high on the list. But as the new app ZipZap spreads secrets and scandals across campus faster than you can say “dorm room," the story really kicks into gear. The cast is a strong mix of archetypes—social media queen Davi Banerjee, the enigmatic transfer student Charley Hicks, young history teacher Simone Bergeron, and the quirky Admissions Director Cordelia Spooner—all harboring their own secrets and agendas. The plot twists and revelations keep the pages turning, and the commentary on social media culture adds a contemporary edge. While it's undeniably fun and engrossing, some readers might feel that the characters could be a tad more fleshed out, or that the numerous plotlines occasionally veer into over-the-top territory. Nonetheless, The Academy is an engaging, buzzy read—perfect for those who love their dramas served with a side of glamour and gossip. Overall, this novel is a solid, entertaining take on boarding school life that offers plenty of intrigue—just maybe not quite enough depth to reach five stars. Still, fans of Hilderbrand’s storytelling style will find it a satisfying and enjoyable escapade.

Thank you for this early book! Anybody sad about Elin's "retirement" will happily read this instead. I couldn't put it down.

I absolutely loved this book. A bit of a departure from the author’s usual subject, but still with her voice nonetheless. Loved the characters and look forward to a sequel with their senior year or a new cast of characters at the Academy.

The Academy by Elin Hilderbrand and her daughter Shelby Cunningham takes readers into the privileged world of an elite boarding school, unfolding over the course of one school year. While the setting is glossy and the drama is constant, I found it hard to connect with the story. Maybe it’s just me, but I couldn’t really relate to a group of wealthy teens and their very specific set of problems. The characters didn’t grab me, and I had a hard time caring about what happened to them.

Honestly, this wasn’t my favorite Hilderbrand book. I usually enjoy her beach reads—the ones with messy relationships, summer vibes, and relatable grown-up drama. This one felt like it was trying something new, and while I respect that, it just didn’t land for me. That said, the ending hinted at a sequel, and I’ll probably give it a shot. Maybe the next one will draw me in a bit more.

I have a hard time figuring out what adjectives to use to describe this book, but I loved it. A boarding school with a cast of characters. Elin's writing which makes it easy to read. A year in the boarding school with all its changes. Overall, different than any other Elin Hilderbrand book yet the same as well. Highly recommend.

2.5 ⭐️⭐️💫 rounded up. There are pieces of Elin's writing I loved-the descriptions of the food and the scenery and the characters; and there was so much lacking. The plot piece that kept me reading wasn't resolved and the way the book ended leads me to believe it will be a series? Or could be? I am glad to say I read it because I was curious and also wish I'd spent my time reading something else. Also TW: suicide & eating disorders. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

I’m already missing Elin Hilderbrand’s adult novels! I wanted to give this a try but I don’t feel invested in the series.