Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Knightley Academy by Violet Haberdasher


Knightley Academy

Author: Violet Haberdasher

Publisher: Aladdin Publishing

3½ out of 5 stars

Henry Grim’s life, in fact, did start out very, very, grim. His story begins at the Midsummer Orphanage where he was taught and lived until he was thirteen years old. At that age he was allowed to leave, and did so, by trekking up to the Midsummer School for Boys. Now, instead of attending this school, this is where he was a servant boy who brought out the food and scrubbed the chalkboards at night. And that was all he ever really knew. But, you see, this school wasn’t just any school. It was a school that taught boys that had long, fancy titles, and were from prestigious wealthy families. These boys thought that they were all that mattered, and were better than everyone else. Especially commoners…but that’s where Henry comes in.  

Every year at the Midsummer School, the examiners from Knightley Academy come to evaluate the boys to see if any of them can pass certain exams, testing their intellectual and physical strength. This is all done to see if any of them are worthy enough to become a knight. Now, I don’t mean the old round table knights stuff, no, I mean modern-day knights who live and work around us, to protect us. At Knightley Academy you learn everything you need to know to become a Knight of the Realm, and choose to be a police knight, knight detective, or secret service knight, after your four years at Knightley.

So, Henry takes his chance and completes this prestigious Knightley exam. I mean, why not, all he could do is fail, or get the chance of a lifetime to change his life forever. And…he makes it! He ends up being the only bright, young boy to make it into Knightley Academy from the Midsummer School. However, as he arrives at Knightley he soon realizes that not everybody wants him there, and he and his friends seem to be getting purposely sabotaged. But, soon these “accidents” escalate out of proportion. Will Henry and his friends find out who’s doing all of these nasty deeds and put a stop to it? Violet Haberdasher reveals all in the stunning book Knightley Academy!

From my point of view, I thought that this book grabbed you right from the beginning. From the first page, I just loved how the author put young Henry in the spotlight. Violet Haberdasher makes the characters just leap off the page and their personalities really do stick with you, all the way until the end. You just adore how Henry is such a bright boy, yet really does just want to make a difference. Of course, he has a healthy dose of sarcasm too. You even become attached to many of the other characters, such as Henry’s friends; the bold Adam, sensible Rohan, and boisterous Frankie. Knightley Academy is a fantastic book for kids and teens alike, and is a fun, yet suspenseful story.


Later in the book, when you see how Henry and his friends live at Knightley, it definitely gives you a sense of “Harry Potter”. You follow along as they go to their classes, visit Henry’s old tutor off campus, and generally break the rules. This is definitely a plus, since it gives you something to relate to and it’s fun to compare the two very similar, yet completely different books.

However, this also adds a downside to the story. As they go about their daily lives, these are some of the only parts of the book that do get a little boring. It just gets a little annoying when nothing new is happening in these boys’ fast-paced lives, when usually so much is going on. But, it’s not too bothersome, and really doesn’t get to you until the middle and towards the end, when you’re dying to know what happens next.

I also thought that it was very creative for the author to put such a twist on the whole story. Not only in the plot, but how the entire story takes on a modern twist and how it’s a time of change. I mean, they still have some of the modern items that we do, one being tabloid magazines, which Henry’s old tutor Professor Stratford is hooked on. Mainly though, many of our modern-day necessities, that we take for granted, are just coming about.

Overall, Knightley Academy is a compelling tale of friendship, which is about hard work, pushing through difficult times, and most importantly, the truth. Join Henry Grim and his friends, as they live their adventures at Knightley Academy and deal with a new revolution of change, just on its way.

-This is T.B. with Another Book Back on the Shelf...
Until Next Time, Keep Reading!


Check out the Knightley Academy website at www.knightleyacademy.com.
Knightley Academy is available from Amazon here.

2 comments:

  1. oooh... now this book i've heard great things about :D and it sounds like a very very interesting story! Thanks again for sharing your thoughts!

    Diana

    ReplyDelete
  2. I really enjoyed this book, and it was much better than I expected. It was a fun story and reminded me very much of Harry Potter. I can't wait for the sequel!

    ReplyDelete

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