Book Review: ECHO Academy

I am thrilled to be a part of the official Xpresso Book Tours blog tour of ECHO Academy by, Christina Bauer. This book is part of a series that young adult science fiction readers will really enjoy. Find out more here!

(Dimension Drift #2)
Published by: Monster House Books
Publication date: April 28th 2020
Genres: Dystopian, Fantasy, Young Adult

Synopsis:

“Miss Meimi is indeed a transcendent,” says Father. “But we differ on a single point, son. SHE’S MINE.”

A Prince Of No Value
On planet Umbra, Thorne is known as the weak prince, extra brother and human-shaped punching bag for his father, Cole, Emperor of the Omniverse. Thorne never expected to find his transcendent soul mate. But when the prince connects with Meimi Archer, the human girl becomes Thorne’s transcendent and his world…

…until Cole decides to abduct her.

Now the prince of no value will do anything to protect what’s most precious. Meimi.

A Girl Geek With A Problem
Science prodigy Meimi Archer attends ECHO Academy, an elite high school located under Earth’s Boston Dome. That part is cool. Then she finds herself separated from her boyfriend, Thorne, due to a supposedly unbreakable exile void. Not okay.

Meimi pulls together a band of classmates and misfits. Her goal? Break through the exile void. Her problem? Headmaster Conway, the man who runs ECHO Academy. Conway wants to use Meimi’s exile void annihilator for an invasion of Umbra. Meh. Meimi’s not worried–she’ll take the Headmaster down while still reuniting with Thorne, easy peasy. Only trouble is, who’s that shadowy figure following Meimi everywhere? And why does it feel like Umbra may actually be invading Earth somehow?

In ECHO Academy, secrets are revealed, plots uncovered, and transcendence is only a few pages away. Don’t miss this jam-packed adventure of 40,000+ words.

I love reading YA books based in schools, so when I was given the opportunity to read ECHO Academy, I jumped at the chance. I figured that a book with the name of a school in the title must have to be based in a school setting, right? Well, in the case of ECHO Academy, the answer is “sort of.”

ECHO Academy is a school but for our characters, there are no classes to go to. No typical teenage drama. There’s just a headmaster with evil plans and cliques of students who don’t get along. This is not your typical YA academy novel.

The story is sometimes technical, sometimes romantic, but all sorts of light and fun and a great wrap up to the Dimension Drift series.

Before reading this book, I read the other books in the series, including Alien Minds and the two series prequels. I am very glad that I did read those first as they really enhanced ECHO Academy. I do not believe that this book is a stand-alone. So if this sounds like fun for you, start at the beginning and read your way through. You will be glad that you did.