School for Psychics

January 22, 2018
In this earnest, naive paranormal thriller, a group of psychics in training slowly learn that misdirection can be as dangerous as mind control. Teddy Cannon, unsuccessful card shark, is recruited to study at a secretive foundation’s academy intended to prepare people with mental gifts for careers in security and law enforcement. It’s hard to believe that Teddy and her fellow young adults—some of whom have done police work or had run-ins with the law—would so blithely sign up for a militaristic training program without some skepticism about its motives. After a series of mysterious thefts and disappearances at the academy and a sabotaged obstacle course Teddy barely survives, she decides she wants answers. She convinces some of her fellow students to break into an FBI facility to uncover just who is out to get them, egged on by a jailed psychic connected to Teddy’s birth parents. The book has the brio of a first novel, with sudden swings of emotion and outrage that would do a hormonal teenager proud. The pages turn at a rapid pace, but it takes a bit longer than necessary for a veteran poker player to realize that, if she can’t spot the sucker at the table, it’s her. Agent: Molly Atlas, ICM.

February 1, 2018
Young psychics learn to harness their powers at an elite Bay Area school in this first of a series.Teddy Cannon feels like a born misfit. Single, kicked out of Stanford, and still living with her adopted parents, Teddy's only real talent is gambling. In fact, she's so good she's banned from every casino on the Vegas strip. She's not a cheater--she's just gifted at reading people, and she can't resist the challenge, even when it gets her into trouble. One evening at the casino, she's approached by Clint Corbett, a retired cop who urges her to leave her life behind to study at Whitfield Institute for Law Enforcement Training and Development. He explains that her gift for gambling is actually a manifestation of her psychic abilities and that Whitfield will teach her to use those skills in the service of elite government organizations. Skeptical but eager for a chance to start over, Teddy heads to San Francisco, where she meets a motley crew of 20-somethings whose gifts range from pyrokinesis to communicating with animals. Though Teddy's abilities are slow to blossom, when they do, they astonish not only her fellow psychics, but the instructors, too, who are eager to train her. But, as Teddy soon discovers, she may need her powers much sooner than anyone expected. Archer attempts to mix an origin story that will feel familiar to fans of X-Men or Harry Potter with a cast of millennials, but the novel reads like it's written about teens for teens. From the boarding school antics to the characters' immaturity, Whitfield feels more convincing as a high school for wayward adolescents than as a training ground for top-tier operatives.Implausible characters cast a shadow over a promising premise.

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March 15, 2018

Teddy Cannon knew if she could play just one more casino game, she could take care of everything. Until her game is pulled out from underneath her, and a watchful stranger tells Teddy that she isn't counting cards or reading people well--she is actually psychic. Confronted with either dealing with the law or applying to the Whitfield Institute, Teddy has little choice. Located off the coast of San Francisco, this secret school teaches students telepathy, telekinesis, investigative skills, and SWAT tactics. As Teddy befriends her classmates, strange things begin to happen: a break-in, students' disappearances, and odd, secretive behaviors. When Teddy learns there are other forces at work, she must decide whether she can accept the truths she discovers about her teachers and friends--and even herself. While the extensive cast of characters is spread a little thin, a riveting story line keeps the action moving and readers invested. VERDICT This paranormal debut, with its young protagonists and dynamic socializing, offers great YA crossover potential.--Kristi Chadwick, Massachusetts Lib. Syst., Northampton

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