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Chad Leito
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The Academy: Book 1 Kindle Edition

by Chad Leito (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 1,123 ratings
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Cover design by Chelsey Bateson. (designosaurus.ca)


CHADLEITO@YAHOO.COM

Every six months, 450 fifteen-year-olds are kidnapped from their homes across the world. These kidnappings happen in the span of a week, as reliable as clockwork. The victims don’t know each other, or their kidnappers. The fifteen-year-olds either end up with a ‘missing persons’ file gathering dust in a filing cabinet, or they are assumed dead. No one ever discovers what happens to them. The families move on, forever missing their lost loved one. Unknown to them, their child, grandchild, or sibling, has been taken to the Academy.

The Academy, as its members will boast, is the most secretive, powerful organization in the world. The workings of the organization are revealed on a need-to-know basis, and the organization has decided that no one, other than its most trusted members, need to know its true business. Outsiders don’t even know it exists. Occasionally, a hunter or hiker will stumble upon the Academy’s remote location. They are quickly taken care of.

When Asa Palmer, age fifteen, is out running in the woods behind his house, he is taken. Twelve hours later, after being tied and bound, and transported through an underground train station, he finds himself amidst a series of beautifully crafted structures that rest in between a circle of five secluded mountains. He has been chosen as a candidate for the Academy. Each six months, the Academy kidnaps more recruits than they can actually use. For Asa Palmer to live he must undergo body-altering mutations and compete with his cohorts in a series of dangerous and strategy ridden tasks to prove that he is worthy of the Academy’s time.
Previous page
  1. Book 1 of 3
    The Academy
  2. Print length
    470 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publication date
    March 10, 2013
  6. File size
    2966 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00BT29504
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Chad Leito (March 10, 2013)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 10, 2013
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2966 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 470 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 1,123 ratings

About the author

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Chad Leito

Chad Leito

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Hi,

My name is Chad Leito. I'm a full time author here on Amazon. If you would like updates on new novels coming out, please email me at chadleito@yahoo.com. You can also follow me on twitter, become my fan on goodreads, or follow my blog.

Chad Leito

chadleito@yahoo.com

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
1,123 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Kris Burke
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, finally something different
Reviewed in the United States on October 4, 2013
Verified Purchase
Really great and engaging read, had me turning pages and wanting to finish. I read a lot of fantasy and this was a breath of fresh air, finally some original ideas!

Synopsis of story:
***Small Spoiler Alert***
Bad disease going around killing everyone. Asa is only one left in family at 15 years old. He gets abducted and brought to The Academy. He has to get through 4 years of the academy to graduate. The only way to get out of the academy besides graduation is death. A small percentage of the class actually graduates, everyone else dies from the different classes and obstacles. As you go further in the academy you gain genetic advantages that help you as you go further through the classes (Wings on cover). Asa thinks he is just another student but every corner he turns everyone he meets is taking special attention to make sure that he dies above everyone else. Throughout the story the reasoning is revealed.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Really enjoyable read. Author said he had it professionally edited but I still saw many errors including random words being highlighted (I know it sounds minor but it was really annoying). Kept you interested and on the edge of your seat. There was original ideas and world building that I have not seen in a long time, it seems like authors are just all giving different variations of each other stories these days. Only down side is the next book isnt coming out until March of next year. I dont give out 5 stars easily and this gets it just based off of originality.

Good job!
6 people found this helpful
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Stiv
4.0 out of 5 stars Great story, minor editting required.
Reviewed in the United States on September 4, 2014
Verified Purchase
The editing makes it clear this is not a "mainstream" title. I found oodles of spelling errors (mostly words mixed up like there and their). Wish Kindle let me suggest corrections. The storyline was also a little less developed than some, but I liked it, and I look forward to future stories. I also kind of like the idea that authors are reaching more directly to the consumers as I think many good stories are passed over by critics whose tastes differ from mine. It makes the story more genuine as I hear it the way the author intended, and not the publisher.
The story itself was both familiar (kids coming of age in unusual school) but also unique and refreshing. It is hard to come up with something totally unique, but Chad did an excellent job in taking a whole bunch of familiar themes, and pasting them together in a new and unique manner to make something that IS new, interesting, and fun. The characters actually have personalities you can believe, and he was able to tell a great story without falling back on copouts like Sex and Profanity. Great job Chad, keep up the good work!
One person found this helpful
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J. Perez
3.0 out of 5 stars A Very Dark Academy
Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2014
Verified Purchase
What I would have liked to know before I bought this book. (no spoilers)

1. What type of book is it: adventure, action, drama, etc? This is a superpower horror thriller and suspense adventure. It is a dark book.

2. What is the story about, in general? The story is about Asa, one of many kidnapped children that are forced into a horrible Dark Academy to be remade into its genetically modified foot soldiers or to die. I mean the last. The author has no pity. Children WILL be murdered in these pages. You have been warned.

3. What/Who is the target audience? The story targets young adults and adults who don't mind a semi-horror story. I feel this type of book is more for veteran readers than first timers. The imagery is too rough and gruesome.

4. How is the proofreading? Average. Sometimes the typos have typos, if you can believe that.

5. Is there character development? I have to say yes. The protagonists, and even some secondary characters, are three dimensional. They have particular outlooks, descriptions and experiences that help define their personalities. They are also consistently bombarded by evil. These `bombardments' include, but are not limited to: beatings, the death of friends, the murder of innocents, abuse of authority, abuse of power, betrayal, psychological abuse, loneliness, slander, bigotry, negative profiling, mistrust and blind hatred. Though harsh, it was interesting to see how the outlook of the protagonists, and some secondary characters, changed from optimistic, to weary, to prudent distrust and finally paranoia.

One aspect that was one dimensional was the intensity of the antagonists. Not a single antagonist hesitates to be anything but an antagonist.

One of the recurring secondary characters has impressive character development.

6. Are the characters likable? The protagonists are more pitiable than they are likable. They suffer so much abuse and so much injustice that I felt weighted down by their misery. Thus, I couldn't project `likeability' to them. I felt sorry for them. Asa, especially, is a focus of my sadness.

I also wish they were more intelligent. Many situations felt as if they could be resolved if the characters conducted basic logical safeguarding steps. They never do. On the other hand, these are children, not experienced adults.

Though the antagonists are one dimensional in their rampant hostility, their cunning is appreciated. Their attacks are usually as varied, manipulative and sometimes subtle as they are deadly. In short, the antagonists are real bastards!

7. Does the story keep its pacing? It kept me very tense. While I read these pages I could feel the malice, fear and despair inflicted upon the protagonists. I felt oppressed, on edge ... stalked. Very well done on this aspect. I wasn't expecting such a mood. It was different.

At the same time, the book goes into a lot of introspection. Many times, the introspection is repetitive. Asa, for example, will analyze a particular story moment, over ... and over ... and over. It gets to be a little too much. On the other hand, it did add to the oppressive feeling.

8. Do you have to suspend disbelief? I am not sure I can reasonably buy into the scope of the evil I've read within these pages. It combines the suspense of the most deranged conspiracy theory, more brutality than a Sith training facility and normal juvenile high school concerns.

My main problem is that the whole concept behind the Academy is unreasonable. The resources spent on the Academy are enormous. I can't help but believe there are much easier and cost saving ways to achieve the goals of the powers behind the Academy. In short, for an organization that prides itself on its immoral excellence and cold efficiency, they aren't really very efficient at all.

9. Is the book worth the asking price? I bought it for $3. That's the middle of a standard ebook price.

In conclusion: This story will not be everyone's cup of tea. In fact, some people will downright hate it. It is a truly harsh experience that deliberately targets the negative emotions of the reader. If you are expecting happy moments, don't. You won't share joys with the protagonists. You will share only exhausted relief at being able to survive. The protagonists are brilliantly stupid. They have great capabilities but do not use common sense to use said capabilities beyond what's right in front of them. This is believable because the protagonists are children. They might be as smart as Einstein but they lack experience. The book is well priced at $3. The proofreading is average. It could be significantly improved. Though I can truly appreciate the change of pace and the artistic dedication necessary to bring forth such a dark and bleak tale, I felt weighted down by it. I wish I'd known the book would have such a grim tone.

3.0 Stars
3 people found this helpful
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DJW
5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome, Unique, Engaging, and so much more!
Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2014
Verified Purchase
A teacher recommended this book to me and within four days it was finished. I could not put this book down; however, when I had to, I’m pretty sure I started having withdrawals. This book pretty much takes the best of Ender’s Game, Harry Potter, and Hunger Games, adds its own specials twist to create a wonderfully suspenseful and entertaining plot line. These characters have believable qualities that makes the reader care about them. I love the way the author is not forced to explain everything about the Academy to the reader because not even all of the people working there know that much about it. This book has surprising twists and turns that made me stop and actually say, “Oh man! Did that really just happen?” There are a few spelling errors, and at times a little too much information is leaked to the reader; other than those minor things this book is definitely on my favorites list. Within five minutes of finishing the first novel, I bought the second one- I can’t wait to start reading it. All in all- this book is unique and amazing! I am definitely recommending this book!
- Renae White
2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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thomas postlethwaite
4.0 out of 5 stars Good read
Reviewed in Australia on May 21, 2017
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Really liked this book
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Chris Smythe
1.0 out of 5 stars Do not buy this book
Reviewed in Canada on March 28, 2014
Verified Purchase
I bought this book on the strength of the premise and the one review that was already here. It sounded great, a good time, just something light to entertain me for a few hours.

It was excruciating. The protagonist, allegedly 14 or 15 years old, both ages get mentioned in the book, has been written in not only a very adult voice, but an extremely pompous adult voice. I don't know a lot of 14 year-olds who use the word whilst, and even fewer who use it twice in the same paragraph and never again. But still, I stuck with it. Maybe it would get fun when he went to the titular Academy.

Then I got to chapter 4. Despite claims on the page of the book having been "professionally edited," this was the point where the typos and inconsistencies caught up to me. In particular, when the protagonist was in peril and feared that he would "parish." If this book was edited, it wasn't by anyone worth the title, I'd say it looks like they just ran a spell check, but since those catch glaring grammatical errors as well, I kind of doubt it.

All in all, a book with a lot of promise, and interesting premise reminiscent of Harry Potter or The Magicians, but I'd suggest you go read one of those instead, since this book is so full of errors as to be unreadable.
4 people found this helpful
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Nick Badger
5.0 out of 5 stars ein sehr tolles buch!
Reviewed in Germany on March 29, 2014
Verified Purchase
Die ideen im buch, mit den genetischen "aktivierungen" fand ich sehr faszinierend. Eigentlich nicht so mein genre, fand das buch aber sehr gut. Schade nur das es keine fortsetzung geben soll, soweit ich es verstehe, aber man kann ja hoffen! Sehr gut, hat meine empfehlung!
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CalColes
5.0 out of 5 stars Well worth a read!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 11, 2014
Verified Purchase
I was recommended this book by a friend, and will admit that I was sceptical of the premise at first. However, this is well written prose, the characters are vividly imagined and the pacing good and fast. As a young adult novel this reads perfectly. Yes, there are minor grammatical errors every few pages, but this should not be used as a club to beat an otherwise brilliantly written work.

I would highly recommend this book, especially if you are a keen reader of fantasy or light science-fiction. I picked it up as a casual read, but quickly became engrossed. The writing is clearly personal; Asa, in particular, is a highly relatable character around which the story had plenty of space to unfold.

Proofreading errors aside (they should hardly figure in the enjoyment of a book in the first place, in my opinion) this is, above all else, a good story. That is why it got five stars from me and many of the other reviews here. The fact that the proceeds go to charity is also not to be ignored. Well worth a read!
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Videye
4.0 out of 5 stars Mal was Neues
Reviewed in Germany on November 16, 2013
Verified Purchase
Auch wenn das Buch wahrscheinlich ein Stück weit jüngeres Publikum (Teenager) adressieren soll, war ich doch erstaunt, wie gut ich es fand.

Die Geschichte ist spannend erzählt und wirkt unverbraucht. Ich hatte nicht das Gefühl, das in den letzten 100 Büchern schon zehnmal gelesen zu haben. Am Anfang brauchte ich ein wenig, um mich in die Handlung hinein zu finden.

Der Schreibstil hat mich manchmal an Bücher von Stephen King erinnert. Vielleicht gab es da inszenatorische Anleihen. Vielleicht war das aber auch nur mein Eindruck beim Lesen.

Nicht vollkommen perfekt für mich, finde ich den Inhalt aber fesselnd genug für 4 Sterne.
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