School for Psychics by K.C. Archer

I used to think that I had some sort of psychic power, be it the power to read minds or even to predict the future would be somewhat helpful. But what if those powers can do something like help other humans from dying? Would you take the risk and use your powers for good or for yourself?

Here’s more about the book

Teddy Cannon isn’t your typical twenty-something woman. She’s resourceful. She’s bright. She’s scrappy. She can also read people with uncanny precision. What she doesn’t realize: she’s actually psychic.

When a series of bad decisions leads Teddy to a run-in with the police, a mysterious stranger intervenes. He invites her to apply to the School for Psychics, a facility hidden off the coast of San Francisco where students are trained like Delta Force operatives: it’s competitive, cutthroat, and highly secretive. They’ll learn telepathy, telekinesis, investigative skills, and SWAT tactics. And if students survive their training, they go on to serve at the highest levels of government, using their skills to protect America, and the world.

In class, Teddy befriends Lucas, a rebel without a cause who can start and manipulate fire; Jillian, a hipster who can mediate communication between animals and humans; and Molly, a hacker who can apprehend the emotional state of another individual. But just as Teddy feels like she’s found where she might belong, strange things begin to happen: break-ins, missing students, and more. It leads Teddy to accept a dangerous mission that will ultimately cause her to question everything—her teachers, her friends, her family, and even herself.

Set in a world very much like our own, School for Psychics is the first book in a stay-up-all night series.

Overall I thought this was a good read. It was a pretty easy book and if you’re an adult wishing you got into Hogwarts or had any magical powers, then this might be the one for you.

The story was more like a combination of Harry Potter meets Police Academy meets The Bone Season. Harry Potter because of the whole magical universe of psychics. The Bone Season because of the rebel girl who just happens to have a power greater than all of her peers. And Police Academy because I rarely read books where people join some official government law enforcement. Although, I do wish there were more antics like they had in Police Academy, but I’m just using it for comparisons here.

The story centers around Teddy, our main character, and her days training to become a psychic FBI agent. You may think that a book about young people going to school for their psychic abilities may be YA, but this actually isn’t. I was a little surprised that this wasn’t in the YA genre especially with the voice being used and the personalities of the recruits training. I think this is where I’m drawing the comparison to Police Academy because these young folks seem a little too young and immature.

I don’t want to give spoilers, but this is a slow burner. The book is written in the third person, but I really wish that it was first person. I think the story would have definitely benefitted with the first person storyline especially since we’re reading her thoughts and her dreams and following along with whatever decisions Teddy was making. However, the story does get more exciting as Teddy learns to use her powers more and also uncovers the truth about her past. Let’s just say that there are some other special organizations with a similar cause to the School for Psychics, except they are okay with you murdering people for the sake of justice.

I did like the mystery components here, but I also feel like this will be the last of the mystery. There were a lot of uncovered secrets and mysteries that were solved, so I don’t know what the next books will contain. However, I do hope that the rest of the series will show some epic battles and usage of skills by this special people.

There were a couple of flaws that made the book a little less believable. For example, I wasn’t completely convinced it only took less than a single night for her to get on a plane to go to this elite school for training. I mean, she lived her life as a gambler and made her money that way. Now she’s going clean to work for a major government agency? It seems a little suspect.

The other thing I didn’t really seem to grasp was how she never let anyone in. While the story is mostly about Teddy and her life, there is a rag tag team of “misfits” that are involved in Teddy’s life. In my opinion, I think she did a great job with making friends and keeping them close by. She sat with them at lunch and they worked together in classes. It didn’t add up that she considered herself such a loner when there was a lot of mention of her other friends. When it finally was revealed at the end of the book that she needed her friends all along, I didn’t understand the sentiment. Weren’t they her friends from the beginning?

All in all, a good first read. Enough of the story has been outlined for the reader that the next couple of books will just flow. The book does end with a mysterious cliffhanger, so we’ll see what the rest of the series has to offer. You know me, giving the benefit of the doubt when it comes to the first book in a series.

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Simon and Schuster Paperback (April 3, 2018)
• My Rating: 3.5/5 stars
• Buy School for Psychics on Amazon

I received a copy of this book from Simon and Schuster for free in exchange for an honest review. My opinions have not been influenced by the publisher or the author.

Simone and Her Books is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. This in no way affects my opinion of the above book.