Review of Breksta's Academy
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Kelcee Sykes
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- Latest Review: Breksta's Academy by Natasha Quay
Review of Breksta's Academy
[Following is a volunteer review of "Breksta's Academy" by Natasha Quay.]
Breksta’s Academy by Natasha Quay follows a girl named Breksta who lives in a secluded village with her mother. One day, a squadron of soldiers arrive looking for Breksta’s mother, claiming that she is a magic user—known as a “Dreamer”—and is wanted for crimes against the government. The soldiers, led by a mysterious red-haired woman called The Director, kill Breksta’s mother and take Breksta to the Academy, an institution intended to turn children into soldiers in the war against the Dreamers. There, Breksta meets a kind-hearted cadet named Hestia, and the two form a strong bond. With Hestia’s help, Breksta will discover the truth about her mother’s magic, unlock her own potential, and save the world.
Overall, I feel the writer has a good grip of dystopian fantasy tropes and created an interesting magical system by combining elements of Greek mythology and modern technology. On a macro level, the plot progresses logically, in line with other young adult fantasy novels I’ve read, and provides a reasonably sophisticated portrayal of government-sanctioned discrimination of magic users that will likely feel familiar for fans of the X-Men series.
I also believe the writer did a good job of establishing the stakes for both the protagonist and antagonist. Both Breksta and the Director are driven by the loss of their families and act as effective parallels for one another.
However, there are some issues with the story’s pacing and the author’s use of point of view that prevent this novel from feeling as compelling or polished as it could.
It takes a long time for the story to build up the momentum needed to really hook a reader. Though the main character is introduced to her mother’s magic in Chapter Three, neither she nor any other character explains—or even asks about—said magic again until Chapter 19, nearly 200 pages into the book. This makes the first half of the story feel like an unnecessary preamble, and I was often tempted to skip ahead. This struck me as a shame, because much of the book takes place in a school, which seems like the perfect setting in which to show characters learning and reacting to information about the magical, political, and social forces in the world.
Instead, most of the vital world-building and character development is delivered via narration, rather than in scenes. Frequently, the story skips ahead in time and the reader is told that two characters became friends, or learned skills, or began to question someone else’s motives, rather than seeing those interactions happen on the page.
Moreover, the point of view frequently shifts between characters, some of whom only show up for a scene or two, instead of telling the story from a smaller, more relevant set of character perspectives. As a result, it feels like the author must cram entire character arcs into a few paragraphs and no one character feels fully developed.
All this being said, given that the author was a high school student at the time that she wrote this story, I think the writing shows great potential and could work as a solid first novel draft. I hope she will continue to refine her craft and I look forward to seeing what she does in the future. For those reasons, I give this book 3 out of 5 stars.
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Breksta's Academy
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Breksta’s Academy by Natasha Quay follows a girl named Breksta who lives in a secluded village with her mother. One day, a squadron of soldiers arrive looking for Breksta’s mother, claiming that she is a magic user—known as a “Dreamer”—and is wanted for crimes against the government. The soldiers, led by a mysterious red-haired woman called The Director, kill Breksta’s mother and take Breksta to the Academy, an institution intended to turn children into soldiers in the war against the Dreamers. There, Breksta meets a kind-hearted cadet named Hestia, and the two form a strong bond. With Hestia’s help, Breksta will discover the truth about her mother’s magic, unlock her own potential, and save the world.
Overall, I feel the writer has a good grip of dystopian fantasy tropes and created an interesting magical system by combining elements of Greek mythology and modern technology. On a macro level, the plot progresses logically, in line with other young adult fantasy novels I’ve read, and provides a reasonably sophisticated portrayal of government-sanctioned discrimination of magic users that will likely feel familiar for fans of the X-Men series.
I also believe the writer did a good job of establishing the stakes for both the protagonist and antagonist. Both Breksta and the Director are driven by the loss of their families and act as effective parallels for one another.
However, there are some issues with the story’s pacing and the author’s use of point of view that prevent this novel from feeling as compelling or polished as it could.
It takes a long time for the story to build up the momentum needed to really hook a reader. Though the main character is introduced to her mother’s magic in Chapter Three, neither she nor any other character explains—or even asks about—said magic again until Chapter 19, nearly 200 pages into the book. This makes the first half of the story feel like an unnecessary preamble, and I was often tempted to skip ahead. This struck me as a shame, because much of the book takes place in a school, which seems like the perfect setting in which to show characters learning and reacting to information about the magical, political, and social forces in the world.
Instead, most of the vital world-building and character development is delivered via narration, rather than in scenes. Frequently, the story skips ahead in time and the reader is told that two characters became friends, or learned skills, or began to question someone else’s motives, rather than seeing those interactions happen on the page.
Moreover, the point of view frequently shifts between characters, some of whom only show up for a scene or two, instead of telling the story from a smaller, more relevant set of character perspectives. As a result, it feels like the author must cram entire character arcs into a few paragraphs and no one character feels fully developed.
All this being said, given that the author was a high school student at the time that she wrote this story, I think the writing shows great potential and could work as a solid first novel draft. I hope she will continue to refine her craft and I look forward to seeing what she does in the future. For those reasons, I give this book 3 out of 5 stars.
******
Breksta's Academy
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Breksta's Academy by Natasha Quay
