⋙ [PDF] The Academie Susanne Dunlap 9781599905860 Books

The Academie Susanne Dunlap 9781599905860 Books

Download As PDF : The Academie Susanne Dunlap 9781599905860 Books

The Academie Susanne Dunlap 9781599905860 Books

The Academie takes place right after the French Revolution, and while I can't comment on the historical accuracy, I can say that this was a very interesting story of an important time in France as seen through the eyes of three very different young woman. The story starts off a bit slow, setting the scene, but once the connections between all three girls starts to become clear, I was very intrigued. I had no idea how this story was going to unfold until it unfolded. It kept me guessing until the very end.

Eliza is quite mature for her age, but you can still tell she's young (she's 14). She was unsure about being left at a boarding school in France until she met two of her classmates, Caroline Bonaparte and Hortense de Beauharnais. Then she hopes to make the most of it by befriending these two girls and finding romance. Hortense get's a lot of unwanted attention and is plagued by nightmares. She just wants to blend into the background and live her life on her terms. Meanwhile, Madeleine wishes for an escape from her dreadful life and her mother. She also wishes to runaway with the love of her life.

While I enjoyed the book, I couldn't help but think the author could have done more with the characters. Eliza does change and grow by the end, and I was happy that she learned something. I did want to see more of Caroline and Hortense at the end, since it seemed like their stories wrapped up too quickly.

Madeleine's chapters were my favorite, but they were the fewest. Her story had a lot of potential and was taking place separately from Eliza's and Hortense's, so we got a completely different point of view from her. Towards then end is when her storyline really took off, only to end in disaster! Her story definitely did not disappoint and I wasn't expecting that ending at all. All of the plotting and scheming through out the book led up to that one moment and it is a shock. If you can make it through the slow parts, you should not be let down by this book.


Tags : The Academie [Susanne Dunlap] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Eliza Monroe-daughter of the future president of the United States-is devastated when her mother decides to send her to boarding school outside of Paris. But the young American teen is quickly reconciled to the idea when-ooh,Susanne Dunlap,The Academie,Bloomsbury USA Childrens,1599905868,Romance - General,Aristocracy (Social class),Boarding schools,Boarding schools;Fiction.,France - History - 1789-1815,France - History - 1789-1815 - Fiction,Interpersonal relations,Interpersonal relations;Fiction.,Monroe, James - Family,Napoleon - Family,Paris (France) - History - 1799-1815,Schools,Schools;Fiction.,Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9),Fiction,Fiction-Romance,France,Historical - Europe,Historical Europe,Historical Fiction (Young Adult),Historical fiction (Children's Teenage),JUVENILE,JUVENILE FICTION Historical Europe,Juvenile Fiction,Juvenile Fiction Love & Romance,Juvenile FictionLove & Romance,Juvenile FictionSocial Themes - Friendship,Juvenile Grades 7-9 Ages 12-14,Love & Romance,Social Themes - Friendship,Social Themes Friendship,TEEN'S FICTION HISTORICAL,TEEN'S FICTION ROMANCE,United States,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Historical Europe,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Romance General,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Social Themes Friendship,Young Adult Fiction,Historical - Europe,Historical Europe,JUVENILE FICTION Historical Europe,Juvenile Fiction Love & Romance,Juvenile FictionLove & Romance,Juvenile FictionSocial Themes - Friendship,Love & Romance,Social Themes - Friendship,Social Themes Friendship,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Historical Europe,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Romance General,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Social Themes Friendship,Young Adult Fiction,Fiction,Historical Fiction (Young Adult),Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9),Historical fiction (Children's Teenage)

The Academie Susanne Dunlap 9781599905860 Books Reviews

The Académie was a great book. It was my second attempt to reading it, and I’m glad that I did. It had French history and a little romance and an ending that I honestly didn’t see coming. I had pictured the ending going in a different direction then what it did. I really enjoy endings that take a different direction than what you expect, because, let’s face it, who likes to be able to know exactly what is going to happen.

This story revolves around three girls lives, Eliza, Hortense and Madeleine. Eliza Monroe is daughter of future president James Monroe and is sent to a French boarding school in Paris. There she encounters the beautiful and reserved Hortense de Beauharnais, step-daughter to Napoléon Bonaparte and Caroline Bonaparte, sister to Napoléon Bonaparte, who will stop at nothing to separate her brother from Hortense’s mother, Josephine.

Eliza is the type of girl who wants to fit in. She soon finds herself in the middle of a feud between Caroline and Hortense. But still so desperately seeks the approval of her new friends. She also believes that she is in love with Eugene, Hortense brother. Only to find out he is in love with Madeleine, an actress’s daughter. She so desperately wants him to notice her that she does the unthinkable to be close to him.

The characters are just simply amazing. The story was also amazing. Dunlap brought history to the 21st century in this great book. It has a great story with a great ending that is sure to please. My next read by her is In the Shadow of the Lamp, can’t wait to dive it.
THE ACADÉMIE has a solid premise, friends, and it takes place during one of the more interesting--and one of my personal favorite--historical periods Napoleonic France. I LOVE reading about the society and the politics and how basically the Bonapartes sound kind of like a stereotypical mafia family, except with less murder and more political scheming. There's so much SCANDAL about them, guys, and that makes them JUICY to read about. And for the most part, reading about Napoleon's sister, Caroline, step-daughter, Hortense, and their school friend Eliza Monroe, was interesting in a history nerd way. But THE ACADÉMIE didn't quite meet my expectations. *Sad face*

I'll start with the things I liked. The historical setting is awesome. I just love this time period! And really, reading about Napoleon and his immediate family as well as his wife and step-children and the way they interact with each other is fascinating and backstabby and brimming with barely-veiled distaste. I wish we had gotten a bit more of this, to be honest, but there was lots of good family politics in THE ACADÉMIE.

The pacing improved after the half-way point, when things really started happening. There's lots of plans and action and THINGS going on. All of the plot threads start to weave together. It might have seemed still a little scattered and hasty, but it was more exciting than the first half, which I thought lagged a bit.

There were also some very likable characters, too Eugene, Hortense's brother, was very endearing and sweet. I wish we could have seen more of him. He seemed a little more well-rounded than some other characters, who came off kind of flat to me. And I enjoyed reading about the Bonapartes, especially Napoleon's mother, who seemed like a major beyotch. I think it would have been fun to see her a little bit more as well. Madeleine, the young actress living with her MONSTROUS mother, was an empathetic character who wound up having quite a bit of mettle.

Alas, all of these things that I liked couldn't really make up for some other things that I didn't like as much. For instance, our girl Eliza. Eliza is IRRITATING. Also superficial, snobby, childish, and kind of ridiculous. Granted, she's only 14, and props for having her ACT her age, but she still made me roll my eyes A LOT. It was hard to connect with her when she's being a brat to the servants and basically hoping that something scandalous will happen so that she can go write a letter about it to her mother.

Hortense is a good character, but kind of flat, and some of the things she gets herself into were either weird (her mildly uncomfortable relationship with her step-father) or seemed out of character for her (her attachment to Michel, and her role in her brother Eugene's relationship). But I certainly empathized with Hortense. Caroline, on the other hand, seemed to be a little bit more well-rounded, what with her love for her brother's general, Murat. But mostly she was the bad guy. There was a little confusion at the end there, when she seemed to turn around a little bit, but then I think we were supposed to assume that she had only been faking her turn to the good side? I'm not sure. In any case, she didn't have a very likable personality, which I usually have no problem with. Lots of times villains are the most intriguing characters, but something about Caroline just made her seem manipulative and mean. Boo.

Things happen, too, as the book winds down but they never seem fleshed out somehow. Or smoothly connected. There's so much time devoted in the beginning to meeting the characters, who I didn't find particularly likable or interesting in both the sense of personality and/or characterization, that by the time we make it half way through and the story starts picking up steam, there isn't really enough time left to give each event its proper due.

Perhaps most disappointingly, the romances were really...blah. Mostly because we saw almost literally NOTHING of them. I KNOW, RIGHT? So sad. There was mention of a kiss with tongue that occurred in the past (we didn't see it) and a chaste kiss that wasn't even meant to be romantic between two people OTHER than one of the established couples. THAT'S IT. For all that I thought THE ACADÉMIE would have more of the romances in it because it's really those romances that drive the culminating action, they were pretty flat. I felt nothing for them. This was a bummer to me both because I felt like they wound up being important enough to warrant more attention than they got and because I felt the lack of sexytimes MAJORLY.

Overall, there were certainly entertaining aspects of THE ACADÉMIE, and I LOVED reading about Napoleonic Paris. The ending picked up the pace and flew by, which was great. And the events of the last half of the book were dramatic. But I had such high expectations for this book and, unfortunately, it didn't quite meet them. There were seeds of great things--complicated romances, difficult family relationships--but nothing seemed to fully flesh out. I hope you guys will read THE ACADÉMIE, though, and tell me what you think!
The Academie takes place right after the French Revolution, and while I can't comment on the historical accuracy, I can say that this was a very interesting story of an important time in France as seen through the eyes of three very different young woman. The story starts off a bit slow, setting the scene, but once the connections between all three girls starts to become clear, I was very intrigued. I had no idea how this story was going to unfold until it unfolded. It kept me guessing until the very end.

Eliza is quite mature for her age, but you can still tell she's young (she's 14). She was unsure about being left at a boarding school in France until she met two of her classmates, Caroline Bonaparte and Hortense de Beauharnais. Then she hopes to make the most of it by befriending these two girls and finding romance. Hortense get's a lot of unwanted attention and is plagued by nightmares. She just wants to blend into the background and live her life on her terms. Meanwhile, Madeleine wishes for an escape from her dreadful life and her mother. She also wishes to runaway with the love of her life.

While I enjoyed the book, I couldn't help but think the author could have done more with the characters. Eliza does change and grow by the end, and I was happy that she learned something. I did want to see more of Caroline and Hortense at the end, since it seemed like their stories wrapped up too quickly.

Madeleine's chapters were my favorite, but they were the fewest. Her story had a lot of potential and was taking place separately from Eliza's and Hortense's, so we got a completely different point of view from her. Towards then end is when her storyline really took off, only to end in disaster! Her story definitely did not disappoint and I wasn't expecting that ending at all. All of the plotting and scheming through out the book led up to that one moment and it is a shock. If you can make it through the slow parts, you should not be let down by this book.