I feel like you can tell this is her daughter’s first book. Lowkey giving nepo book baby. Which I’m not a fan of. It’s not good

So much for Elin Hilderbrand's retirement (thank goodness!). While not set in Nantucket, Ms. Hilderbrand's writing is apparent. This novel about an elite boarding school is entertaining without being frivolous. It has its serious narratives as well as teenage angst and romance. Looking forward to a sequel!

I will read anything Elin writes… and I adored this book! I can’t wait for more of this genre and to see where these characters go!

This was a fun read. I adore any book set on a campus and loved the shenanigans the characters got into. I can’t wait to see it come to life on screen!

My most anticipated read of the year, and it did not disappoint! Though it wasn't her usual Nantucket novels, Elin (and her daughter Shelby) still delivered. We're transported to Tiffin Academy, a boarding school in New England, where Fifth Form students are still dealing with the death of their classmate, Cinnamon Peters, at the end of the previous year. In true Hilderbrand fashion, we're introduced to a cast of characters, from students, to staff, and parents, many who are hiding secrets and ulterior motives. There's Charley, the new girl who is starting as a Fifth Form which is highly unusual to have a spot become available at Tiffin for the equivalent of a high school Junior. Audre, the headmaster, who was incredibly excited when Tiffin moves up in the boarding school rankings, but then has to wonder if the school earned it fairly. Tiffin is then hit with ZipZap, an anonymous app that has spread throughout the school outing the darkest secrets of students, and staff, but nobody can seem to figure out who is behind it, or how they're gaining the information. Even though it was different from the Hilderbrand books I'm used to, I really enjoyed it, and honestly prolonged the book because even though I was intrigued and couldn't wait to find out what would happen, I also didn't want the book to end. The good news is, there is a second book that will be releasing next year!
Thank you to Elin Hilderbrand, NetGalley, and Little, Brown and Company for the e-arc!

I love a campus novel and I also love rich people behaving badly stories, but this book didn't work for me. The voice felt too young for the target audience of the book and there were some name drops (Alix Earle??) that I feel like will make the book feel dated more quickly. I think there were too many characters we were following that made it hard to get invested. There's also a major unresolved loose end but I don't really know that I care to read a second book following these same characters.

This was a solid, fun read, though perhaps I’m a bit younger than the intended audience. I love a good boarding school story! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Hilderbrand is a great author with some wonderful books. This books takes place at a boarding school in New England. Her writing style comes through with the drama, the research, the little tid bits of fun facts that you discover as you read.

The Academy
by Elin Hilderbrand, Shelby Cunningham
Pub Date: Sept. 16, 2025
Thanks to the authors, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
I was so excited to get this book as I am a lifetime reader of Hilderbrand and love her books!
Unfortunately, this was a miss for me. It felt more like gossip girls, was extremely long winded and didn't need to be.
As if high school wasn’t dramatic enough...As the year unfolds, bonds are forged and broken, secrets are shared and exposed, and the lives of Tiffin’s students and staff are changed forever. The Academy is Elin Hilderbrand’s buzzy take on boarding school life, and a thrilling new direction from one of America’s most satisfying and popular storytellers.

Thank you to Little Brown and Company & NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I was so excited to read this one, especially because I’ve been a longtime fan of Elin’s stories & writing, but unfortunately this one was a miss for me.

The story was extremely lengthy and wordy in places it didn’t need to be; and was literally being told from over 20 different points of view. It was nearly impossible to keep up with so many storylines, because it changed so rapidly every couple pages. The book also ended with so many loose ends not being tied up, it will literally aggravate me for the rest of time that we never got to see the email that was teased the entire book, being opened.

To be honest the book felt like Gossip Girl fan fiction? Just too much going on, trying to fit as many cliches as possible into the “boarding school” niche. I really wanted to love this one, but it just fell completely flat.

If you are a fan of Boarding school Prep reads you might enjoy this one though!

I didn't know I needed Elin Hilderbrand to jump genres, but apparently I did,

Tiffin just became the #2 ranked boarding school in the country, but did it deserve such a jump on the list? After the unexpected death of a student, Charley has been admitted in their place. She needed an escape. In fact, it seems like most people at Tiffin need some sort of escape. Their reasons why are getting blasted on an app called Zip Zap (Hello, Gossip Girl/ Yik Yak), and it seems like no one's secrets are sacred at Tiffin.

I loved this. I'm a total sucker for darker academia books (hello, I work at a university) especially when they take place at boarding schools. There's one loose end I can think of, but maybe it was resolved and I forgot. Overall, sheer perfection, no notes.

Thanks, NetGalley!

This book was SO much fun. “Gossip Girl” meets “In My Dreams I Hold A Knife” although not really a thriller. This novel is great because you hear what’s going on about the students AND the teachers and staff. So much happened in this book and it was left open-ended to become a series or maybe even a TV show or movie. Can’t wait to see what Elin and Shelby work on next.

I wasn't sure how I was going to do with an Elin Hilderbrand book outside of Nantucket, but I absolutely loved this one! At first, I was confused. There was a lot going on and a lot of characters to sort out. Once I pushed through that part, I really enjoyed the read. Loved the descriptions of boarding school life, and of course, all the drama that came along with it. Can't wait to read the next year!

This book really threw me for a loop. I picked it up due to Elin Hilderbrand's reputation (I have enjoyed a few of her other novels) and had no expectations but thought it was cute she was writing a novel with her daughter. One chapter in and I was hooked! The cast of characters, both student and faculty, is well developed and what unfolds is a year at Tiffin, an upscale boarding school in "the middle of nowhere" in Massachusetts. Drama, comedy, ingenuity...there is much here. And with the ending I am curious of there will be another. If there is, I will be back for sure!

I love drama playing out in a school setting! Students are arriving to campus and scandals are being uncovered at an elite private high school. The plot unfolds over the course of the school year when secrets come to life and students connect in unexpected ways. There are a lot of characters to keep track of but the storyline keeps you invested in each one. The book did feel a bit long and drawn out but the ending wrapped up well and I felt very satisfied. I do think this could turn into a series or at least a sequel, based on some things that weren't touched on. I will be excited to read what comes next! Thanks to Elin Hilderbrand and Shelby Cunningham, Little, Brown and Company, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed The Academy... it’s got that classic Elin Hilderbrand feel, the kind of book you want to read by the water with a cool drink in hand. The story digs into family dynamics and personal ambitions in a way that feels real and relatable. The characters stuck with me, and the setting added just the right amount of atmosphere without overwhelming the story. It’s not a fast-paced thriller, but the emotional depth kept me turning pages. Overall, a solid read that I’d recommend to anyone who likes thoughtful, character-driven stories.

The Academy is an addictive, page-turning book that is perfect for everyone who is feeling nostalgic for Gossip Girl. I love reading about boarding school life, and Elin Hilderbrand and her daughter Shelby Cunningham have created a fictional New England school, Tiffin Academy, that is peopled with a fascinating cast of characters. The diverse cast includes the New Girl, the Athlete, the Influencer, the misunderstood Bad Boy, the Teacher Behaving Badly, as well as many more students and faculty. The book covers an entire momentous school year, and is full of drama, food descriptions, and secrets. I really hope that we get a sequel, so we can finally find out what is in that letter! Thank you to Netgalley, Little, Brown, and authors Elin Hilderbrand and Shelby Cunningham for the librarian preview copy.

The Academy in the title is none other than Tiffin Academy- an elite private school that does well, but not too well. They hold their own, but don't necessarily shine. They focus on the "well-rounded" student over the academic-driven student.

During the chaos of move-in day, head mistress Audre is navigating texts telling her to view the private school standings and respond to board members immediately. As she anxiously deals with move-in day minutia, she can't help but wonder if the Tiffin Academy ratings have slipped so significantly she will be out of a job. Surprisingly, just the opposite happened - Tiffin zoomed up to number 2 in the rankings. Suddenly, Tiffin was an "it" school, and Audre has to navigate jealously from other school heads and how to keep certain secrets like the student death the prior year, the double standard treatment of the school's greatest donor's son, plus potential staff misbehavior under wraps so as not to tarnish this new and noticeable standing. All this not to mention the new ZipZap app that has been circulating boarding school campuses exposing deeply buried secrets,

I am an enormous Elin Hildebrand fan, so the author name alone caught my attention for this title. I was unsure of what to expect from a mother/daughter collaboration, and I ended up really liking this book. The authors really managed to capture the differing voice and perspectives of the adult headmaster and the students. Interspersing the book with views from The Academy personified was brilliant and allowed the reader to have a Birds Eye view as all the events played out. I zipped through this book way too quickly, but I simply couldn't put it down. I hope to see more from this writing team!

It took me a minute to get into this book but once I did I loved it! At first I struggled to remember all the characters, but by the end I wanted more details about each and every one of them. I loved reading about the lives of the children and staff at Tiffin Academy. This was such a fun idea from Elin Hilderbrand and her daughter Shelby Cunningham. I really hope they continue to write together and add on a sequel to this book so we can follow this group of kids into their sixth form (senior year.)

The one plot hole that has left me annoyed is Cinnamon's email! We never found out what is said and I am so curious what it was! There were several story lines that didn't get wrapped up which leads me to think we are in store for a sequel.

This was a great book that I knew would not disappoint! Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy to read and review.

This will be a cozy fall read for the back to school season. I enjoyed the boarding school setting, which in typical Elin style, received a good deal of attention, with details from the brand students wore to the menus served by their fancy chef. The story rotates narrators, which worked, and there wasn’t one perspective I found myself more invested in than others. Again, Elin does something so particular with her shared narration, writing occasionally from the perspective of everyone in the school community (as she often did with the perspective of the Nantucket community), and it adds an important dimension to the book.

Although this moves between teacher, student, and administrator narration, it did generally feel very YA. That’s not a bad thing, but worth knowing what you’re in for. It also felt a bit long - hard to say since my version didn’t have page numbers, but this one probably could’ve been a bit shorter and still hit.

I really appreciated the ending! They pulled it off!