Elin Hilderbrand swaps her beloved Nantucket shores for the ivy-covered walls of western Massachusetts in “The Academy,” a mother-daughter collaboration with daughter Shelby Cunningham, that peels back the polished veneer of elite boarding school life.
The story begins when Tiffin Academy mysteriously rises from nineteenth to second place in national boarding school rankings. No one understands how this happened at a school famous for its losing sports teams, outdated buildings, and students more dialed into their social lives than their schoolwork. The celebration quickly sours when an anonymous app called ZipZap begins unleashing secrets about staff and students across campus.
ZipZap becomes the story’s dark heart, exposing salacious facts with ruthless efficiency. The app transforms Tiffin into a powder keg where paranoia replaces friendship and every conversation becomes potential ammunition.
Rhode Island shapes this New England story in meaningful ways. Chef Haz, a former New York culinary legend, sources fresh seafood from the docks of Point Judith, transforming cafeteria food into dining experiences that delight students, staff, and visitors. Meanwhile, Tiffin students compare themselves to students at Middletown’s prestigious St. George’s School, either hoping to match their notoriety or surpass it. A few Tiffin parents even identify themselves as alumni. The book’s co-author, Shelby Cunningham, graduated from St. George’s herself in 2024. She now attends the University of Miami.
The book’s plot glides swiftly along the backs of its dynamic characters, all of whom bring their own flavors of complexity to the story.
Head of School Audre Robinson carries the weight of tragedy after losing student Cinnamon Peters to suicide the previous spring. Now she faces constant pressure from the school board, managing faculty scandals, and protecting students who might be struggling. Audre relies on her intuition to identify issues before they explode, though some problems prove larger than she can handle alone.
Transfer student Charley Hicks arrives as the stereotypical outsider, preferring reading in her room to mingling with her classmates. Her intellectual independence attracts both admiration and suspicion, particularly from social media influencer Davi Banerjee, who wields her Instagram fame like a weapon.
Andrew “East” Eastman exudes entitled rebellion. As the board president’s son, he has made it abundantly clear that he can conform, but he simply chooses not to. He smokes, he drinks, he fails to show up for commitments, and, frankly, he couldn’t care less. In his ennui, he decides to transform a hidden bomb shelter under the school into an exclusive speakeasy called Priorities, creating a secret society that exposes the gap between protected elites and everyone else.
* ‘Between the Lines’ is a new monthly book review column from freelance reporter Stephanie Bernaba. For the full story, pick up a copy of this week's Independent on newsstands now or purchase a subscription to our E-Edition by clicking here.