Altered (The Academy #1)
Author: Aubrey Coletti
Genre: YA Science FictionRelease Date: June 6, 2012
Description:
When Toni, Joseph and Charlie arrive at their new boarding school, they are glad to leave their families - and respective problems - behind. Isolated as boarders, they meet a handsome senior with a personality like iced snake's blood, teachers with a penchant for physical punishment, and four other outcasts who reveal that their being brought to the Academy wasn't random at all. When the arrivals discover that their new school is engaged in "behavior modification" through electric shocks, isolation, restraints, and an ever-evolving set of methods to "fix" them, they declare war on their Academy. During their campaign of sabotage, they fight, hate, scorn, love, and begin to uncover the reasons why they were brought to the school. But as their war against the school escalates beyond their control, will they become the very things the Academy believes they are: dangerous, delinquent - and mad?
“Damn,” Anton said. “They all here.”
“No backin’ out now,” Lieutenant mumbled.
“So here we are,” Joseph said. “Is there gonna be an orgy or should we all go home?”
Anton stepped forward, eyes moving from Toni to Charlie to Joseph to Ann.“You all here at the Academy for a reason. I think it’s good if we all say why.”
Toni stepped back, Charlie cringed like a wild animal, and Ann and Joseph started protesting.
“Why should we —”
“Yo man, our reasons are our own and —”
“I got brought here in handcuffs after my friend tried to kill my parents,” Anton said in his flat, low voice. “He had told me that he planned to do it after I told him ... how they treated me. But I said no, and I thought he would listen to me. He didn’t, and when he got caught, he said I helped. So my parents sent me here.”
There was silence.
“So?” Anton said, shrugging his shoulder. “Care to add anything?”
“My parents sent me here,” Lieutenant stepped forward. “Said they couldn’t deal with my moods. My mom’s boyfriend made most of the decision. Good fuckin’ riddance. I wasn’t livin’ there then anyway. I made my own money, livin’ with my sister.”
“You had a job at thirteen?” Joseph said skeptically.
“Fourteen,” Lieutenant informed. “No matter what your age, when they bring you here you start as a freshman. I was doin’ good at my school too, until this.”
“So how did they make you come here?” Toni asked.
“Oh they had to drag me,” Lieutenant nodded. “I heard cops and I ran; I wasn’t even doin’ anything and I ran, which didn’t make them like me much.”
Melvin realized after a second that everyone was looking at him. “What?” he wrapped his arms around himself. “I was born here. Oh, you mean how did I get mixed up with these hooligans?” Melvin walked into the circle. “I’ve been here since before this school was started. Then we weren’t your sweet little American town. We had kids going off and drinking and doing drugs and starting fights, ‘cause what the hell else was there to do? We actually got an offer from MTV to film a reality show here, it was that bad. So when our lovely Headmistress came into town with money and said she would fix up the school everyone jumped.” Melvin clearly enjoyed telling the story.
“So she starts with the new school and manages to get everyone to clean up their act. Then gets the parents to agree to let it be a ‘behavior modification school’. She started the STARE Program to bring troubled kids like you dolls in and ‘reform’ you. I came in last year, and I was so used to no one fighting back, when I realized these people,” he jerked his head at Lieutenant and Anton, “were actually crazy enough to do it, I had to join.”
Giveaway #1: US Only: one print and one eBook copy of Altered
Giveaway #2: Open internationally: One eBook copy of Altered
