The Candidates

August 2, 2010
Debut author Scott launches the Delcroix Academy series with this light paranormal romance. Dancia has always kept a low profile, avoiding anything that might bring attention to her secret: whenever she witnesses injustice, a protective instinct kicks in and she’s able to take out the threat (knocking out a gunman or blowing out the tires on a car pursuing a boy). Now Dancia is being recruited to the freshmen class of Delcroix Academy, an exclusive boarding school for geniuses. A mediocre student, Dancia can’t understand why they want her, but Cam, a junior helping with her recruitment, persuades her to attend, and Dancia starts a new life and begins to come out of her shell. Dancia’s crush on Cam grows, as does her relationship with brooding Jack, who suspects there is a conspiracy at Delcroix. Dancia eventually discovers the truth about Delcroix, but the unresolved “telekinetic girl caught between good soldier and edgy rebel” love triangle (which, along with the academy setting, may feel familiar to X-Men fans) and Dancia’s determination to use her power for good pave the way for later books. Ages 12–up.

February 1, 2011

Gr 6-10-Dancia works hard at being nondescript because of her supernatural powers: not too smart, not too pretty, not too friendly. So when recruiters from the prestigious Delcroix Academy show up at her house the summer before her freshmen year of high school and offer a full scholarship, she is sure that there has been some kind of mistake. Once at the academy, the teen begins to make friends and let people in to her life, including two equally interesting but very different young men. While this should be a good thing, Dancia can't help but worry; caring too much causes trouble. When she feels threatened, her protective instincts kick in and things happen that she can't control, like windows breaking and things collapsing, and sometimes people getting hurt. At Delcroix, Dancia realizes she is not alone with her powers and that a program can help her to control and strengthen her talents. Unfortunately, while great for Dancia, not everyone whom she has grown close to feels the same way. While nothing about Scott's premise is especially groundbreaking, the plot is quick and gratifying, and Dancia is much more empowered than the female protagonists in some other popular supernatural thrillers.-Jennifer Miskec, Longwood University, Farmville, VA

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2011
Dancia suspects she was admitted to prestigious Delcroix Academy because of her telekinetic powers. But she still feels like an outsider at the school, where she's torn between popular, attentive junior Cam and bad-boy Jack, who's also psychically talented. The boarding-school-for-kids-with-magic-powers setup isn't new, but with its modest, affable protagonist and fast-moving plot, it's well executed.

(Copyright 2011 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)