The Hadley Academy for the Improbably Gifted: A Novel

Written by Conor Grennan

Narrated by Zach Hoffman

Young listeners will find action, suspense, and a perilous battle between good and evil in The Hadley Academy for the Improbably Gifted from New York Times bestselling author Conor Grennan. For ages 10 and up, this dystopian fantasy novel follows a boy's unlikely journey to save humanity as he unravels his true identity and the responsibility it comes with.

Jack Carlson is dreading a class presentation when he suddenly finds himself transported to the Hadley Academy, a secret institution that tracks teens with unlikely gifts and trains them to protect the world from an unseen squad of killers. But Jack isn't the only one who doesn't know what he's doing at Hadley. Despite indications that he is the one prophesied to end the ancient Reaper War, Jack appears to have no extraordinary abilities.

So when dark, mysterious forces grow, Hadley is in a confused panic. Much to everyone's dismay, humanity seems to depend on Jack and his new teammates. Can Hadley's rawest recruits push past personal struggles and enormous doubts, develop their dormant powers, and stop the spreading evil? And are they willing to commit to Hadley's motto, "One Life for Many," and make the ultimate sacrifice? The Hadley Academy for the Improbably Gifted might be just the place for Jack after all.

This action-packed novel will captivate listeners with its riveting plot, relatable characters, and humorous dialogue. Fans of the Hunger Games, the Chronicles of Narnia, Divergent, Maze Runner, and Rick Riordan's books will find themselves at home in the battle for good at the Hadley Academy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tommy Nelson
• Release date: Oct 8, 2019
• ISBN: 9781400218004

Conor Grennan

Conor Grennan is the author of the New York Times bestselling and #1 international bestselling memoir Little Princes: One Man's Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal. The memoir shares Grennan’s humanitarian work as the founder of Next Generation Nepal (NGN), a nonprofit organization dedicated to reconnecting trafficked children with their families in Nepal. Little Princes has been shortlisted for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, was the winner of the GoodReads 2011 Best Travel and Outdoors Award, and has been translated into 15 languages. Following publication, Grennan spoke about the book across North America and particularly enjoyed sharing his story with young people at secondary schools and colleges. For his work with the trafficked children of Nepal, Grennan was recognized by The Huffington Post as a 2011 Game Changer of the Year. In 2014, he was also named a recipient of the Unsung Heroes of Compassion, which was awarded to him by the Dalai Lama. Grennan is the dean of MBA students at the NYU Stern School of Business. Currently he resides in New Canaan, Connecticut, with his wife, Liz, and his two children, Finn and Lucy.

Reviews for The Hadley Academy for the Improbably Gifted

[constant2m · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The Hadley Academy for the Improbably Gifted was one of the most exceptional books I've read this year. It does check all the boxes of my favorite categories: Middle Grade, Christian, fantasy/science fiction. Several other reviewers wrote that this was Hunger Games, Divergent, X-Men, and Harry Potter all rolled into one. It is definitely a book for anyone who loves those, but simultaneously so different from any of them.The intrigue began on the first page when Jack sits through his best friend's history presentation, which sounds exactly like a conspiracy theory, as is always the case with Freddy. Freddy describes the Hadley Academy for the Improbably Gifted, which he learned about on the dark web, and even shows the class a map of the island it's on. The academy is, of course, invisible to ordinary mortals. Embarrassed by his friend's presentation, Jack asks to use the bathroom and is immediately pursued by some strange beings, rescued by an old acquaintance, and brought to...The Hadley Academy. This opening is genius because the story could have so easily gone in two directions. One, the academy was all in Freddy's head and he and Jack were both ordinary middle schoolers. Two, the academy is real and Jack and Freddy actually end up there. I would have read either of those stories but was enthralled by the world-building in this one.At the academy, Jack quickly learns about different kinds of giftings and the strengths and weaknesses innate to each. He also realizes that he isn't gifted. And neither are his new friends who are brought in to be part of his team. They have three days for their gifts to awaken or they will be removed from the academy and their memories of the three days, as well as their former lives, will be wiped. And the adventure begins.The story continued, with every event, every person, and every conversation being tied together as crucial parts of the saga. I had to read back several times, not because I lost interest, but because I had to make sure I remembered previous conversations that tied in to present moments. Fabulous storytelling! Also, despite the ending being part happily ever after and part cliff hanger (but not so you'll lose sleep over it), this was a complete story with all the wonderful twists and turns that story entailed.Something beautiful about this story, something that seems to be unique to Christian fantasy, was the idea that you can believe in something impossible without evidence. Christians are sometimes accused of this and mocked for it, but when you see it play out in real life, it often begins a beautiful story. Jack's story began that way. There was nothing remarkable about him. But one person believed he was the boy who was prophesied. And that belief started a chain of events that led to everyone eventually seeing who Jack was. But there was no reason to believe Jack was anyone special in the beginning.There were many other beautiful moments in the story, but I'll share two more. First, there is the saying, "trusting someone is more important than believing them" (219). I had never thought about this before, but it's true. There are people who tell incredible stories that I would still trust with my life. There are others who always tell the truth, but who I still can't trust. This maxim, which appeared several times in the story, is a good reminder of what truly matters most. Second, the way gifts were treated was poignant. When Jack first arrived at the academy, one of the teachers told him, "Everyone is born with a gift. Improbables ignore what the world tells them. They risk looking different, looking strange, in order to explore their gift. That is true courage" (21) Later on, a young boy said something similar: "I am human, and every human is born with a gift. I have chosen to use mine" (277). This is something else we often forget. We are all gifted. Maybe our gifts don't fit the mold of what we think gifts look like or what we want them to be, but we are all gifted. Like the boy, may we choose to use our gifts.I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley and have reviewed it willingly.

[virginia51-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I don’t read a lot of fantasy novels but I am glad I read this one and am looking forward to reading the next in the series. This is geared more for middle grade readers but it will appeal to most any age. There is a great cast of characters. Each of these characters finds out that they have a gift and end up at this school to learn to harness this gift to help the world. I did a lot of laughing and it can be very serious also. I received a copy of this book from Smith Publicity for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.

[lostinalibrary · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Thirteen-year-old Jack is always a little embarrassed by his best friend, Freddie, who is constantly going on about the most ridiculous conspiracy theories. His latest is about a school, the Hadley Academy for the Improbably Gifted where children with special talents are taken to train for a war to save humanity against an enemy called the Reapers. So after Freddie presents this latest 'theory' to the entire class, Jack makes an excuse to leave. As he heads for the washroom, he is accosted by the new school security guard who tells him that he is there to take Jack to a new school...the Hadley Academy of the Improbably Gifted where Jack is needed because he is to play an important role in saving the world.The Hadley Academy for the Improbably Gifted is a middle grade dystopian fantasy novel by author, Conor Grennan. It's intended audience is ten and up and as someone who is way way up, I really enjoyed it. It is an action-packed tale with plenty of likable characters and with enough tension to keep the pages turning frantically but not so scary that it will frighten a young reader. Overall, I found it great fun. The storyline here is complete but there are hints that there will be more books in the series. If you have or are a young (or young-at-heart) reader who is a fan of books like the Divergent Series or The Maze Runner, I highly recommend this novel.Thanks to Netgalley and Thomas Nelson Publishing for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review