Guest Post
Thank you for hosting, Kristin!
Like the main character in THE LAST ACADEMY, I left home for
boarding school when I was fourteen. The
school I attended was prestigious. There
were kids who spoke four languages, who had last names you’d recognize as major
labels, who had IQ scores that made the local paper.
Me? Not so much. Most of my life had been nomadic. My parents came up with the whole boarding
school plan so I’d have four years in the same educational system. To this day, I’m convinced the school took
me because my home address was from a state not yet represented in the alumni
letter. So basically, the one thing
that made me special enough to get in was not about me at all.
By the first week of classes, I’d discovered that in
comparison to my classmates, most everything about me was completely unimpressive. By sophomore year, I was white knuckling it
through the days, sure that my place in the world was watching other people
live large while I could only hope to ride the coattails.
Anyway, the school would host a formal dinner followed by a
presentation every week. Once, it was
announced that David Crosby, alumnus, would give a private concert for the
students. Campus was on fire with the
news. I didn’t know much about the guy,
except that he’d been a rock deity in the sixties. To me, his resume seemed typical of a
graduate of our school.
At dinner before the concert, I overheard a teacher uneasily
mention that David Crosby hadn’t technically graduated from our school. He’d been expelled, receiving his diploma via
correspondence. It’s hard to explain the
amount of pearl clutching that idea generated.
When we got to the theater, the stage was not set up for a
rock band. No wild strobe lights, flashy
dancers, or fog machines. There was
nothing but a middle aged guy, a chair, a guitar, and a glass of water. In my mind, I was still trying to put together
two incomprehensible ideas: David Crosby
was kicked out of our school. And he
still went on to be successful. That’s
when I realized I was terrified that
if I didn’t make it in high school, I was never going to make it anywhere. The person standing on stage was living,
breathing, Rolling Stone Cover gracing proof my fears weren’t true.
We took our seats and this crazy thing happened. Crosby started to speak. His eyes darted to his shoes, he mumbled into
the microphone, and cleared his throat.
He ducked to his glass and took a quick sip of water. Of all the stages this guy had stood on in
his career, he was nervous to be at his old high school. Maybe like me, afraid that if he didn’t do
well, the earth would open up and swallow him whole.
Then he began to sing.
His voice was so beautiful, the audience fell completely still. I had
this contradictory epiphany that changed everything.
I thought: This guy
has completely escaped high school.
At the same time, I thought:
No matter how far he goes, part of him is still trapped here.
It was the first time it occurred to me that I could follow
my own path, not the one laid out for me.
Before that night, I’d assumed stepping off course meant dropping into
darkness, to certain death, never to find my way again. It was better to be last than to be
lost. That night, I was set free. But at the same time, I understood no matter
what I did, part of me would always be trapped at school.
As I wrote Camden, I kept going back to that night in my
head, hoping to catch the surreal feeling of being both freed and caught at the
same time. For me, that place is what
high school was all about, and what I wanted to talk about in THE LAST ACADEMY.
If you are interested in more deets on THE LAST ACADEMY, you
can find a hidden page by going to the address www.anneapplegate.com/secret
Blurb:
Synopsis via Goodreads
Curtis Sittenfeld's PREP meets THE SIXTH SENSE in this spine-tingling, unforgettable debut.
Camden
Fisher arrives at boarding school haunted by a falling-out with her
best friend back home. But the manicured grounds of Lethe Academy are
like nothing Cam has ever known. There are gorgeous, preppy boys
wielding tennis rackets, and circles of girls with secrets to spare.
Only . . . something is not quite right. One of Cam's new friends
mysteriously disappears, but the teachers don't seem too concerned. Cam
wakes up to strangers in her room, who then melt into the night. She is
suddenly plagued by odd memories, and senses there might be something
dark and terrible brewing. But what? The answer will leave Cam--and
readers--stunned and breathless, in this
thrilling debut novel.
Release date: May 1st 2013
Publisher: Point
Purchase: Amazon
About the Author
Anne
Applegate was born in Chico, California. Most of her childhood was
spent moving across America with her family, nomad style.
When
Anne was fourteen, her parents sent her to boarding school so she could
spend four years in a single educational system. As it turned out, her
family then promptly settled into a small mid-western town and lived
there for the next sixteen years. Anne still hasn’t figured out if this
means something.
After
graduation, she went on to
Tufts University in Medford, MA, where she had a wicked good time.
Eventually, she wound up back on the west coast, where she married a
fantastic Californian guy. Together, they have three children.
For
the last twelve years, Anne has lived in San Luis Obispo County. This
is by far the longest time she has stayed in any one place her whole
life. She immensely enjoys living where 1) the sun always shines and
2) she isn’t the weirdest person in town.
Great guest post. I wonder what the State was not represented in the Alumni letter.
ReplyDeleteThanks for participating. Nice guest post by Anne
ReplyDeleteSome of us don't have the most pleasant memories of high school, don't believe mine are as bad or revealing as Camdens. I would love to read THe Last Academy by Anne Applegate to find out what memories haunt Camden at Lethe Academy.
ReplyDeleteI'm intrigued!! Thanks for the info about this book, it's the first I've heard about it and thank you for the giveaway too.
ReplyDelete