The Academie

The Academie by Susanne Dunlap, 2012 Bloomsbury

     Elizabeth Monroe is an American, specifically a Virginian in France and the daughter of future American President James Monroe. Eliza travels with her mother, also Elizabeth Monroe, for a year in Paris. Or so she thinks.
     Once they arrive she discovers that her mother has enrolled Eliza in an exclusive French boarding school. Rather than spending her days preparing for a magical night on the town, Eliza finds herself learning comportment, conversation, drawing, music, and all the other essentials to become a successful hostess in the new, post-revolution France. But her days aren't all dull; Eliza discovers that her classmates are the most celebrated young ladies in Europe: Hortense de Beauharnais (Josephine Bonaparte's daughter) and Caroline Bonaparte (Napoleon's youngest sister). Eliza's attempts at befriending the two girls only reveal their enmity. When the changing world leads the trio into forbidden territory, Hortense, Caroline, and Eliza discover Madeline, Hortense's brother's love.
     When life changes irrevocably for the four young women Eliza discovers just what she is willing to do for these new 'friends'. Madeline plays a larger part in the alteration of the girls' lives than they expected, but in the end Eliza goes home stunned at the changes in the world she discovered in Paris.
     Eliza as a character is, at first, excitable and strives to display herself in a manner similar to that of the stereotypical courtiers in novels of the time. She expects parties and balls and young men to fawn over her, so the shock of being placed in an all-girl boarding school dampens her spirits. Upon meeting Hortense and Caroline she takes the opportunity to indulge in what she thinks are politically advantageous friendships, losing herself to the more ambitious aims of Caroline despite having her own agenda for Hortense.
     Caroline despises her station, locked away from her love by a powerful older brother in a school with little to offer. She takes every opportunity to further her own desires, and even drags Hortense and Eliza into the mix.
     Hortense only wishes for her family to finally have happiness. Her mother has found love with Napoleon, yet his suspicions are easily swayed against her. Hortense finds her step-father a challenge as she has formed some sort of attachment to him, but she uses their relationship to keep Josephine in his graces. She is away she is a pawn in many schemes, but uses them to her own ends.
     While Hortense has experienced the fear of being thrown out, Madeline lives with the daily fear of being unable to escape her abusive mother. When her mother discovers the relationship between Hortense's brother and Madeline, the chance to escape is at hand and she is forced to take the leap. But Madeline realizes Josephine will never allow her son to marry the common daughter of an actress, she alters the course of her story to follow her own plans.
     The four young women of The Academie are strong-willed and frivolous, but they each take charge of their own lives in a country and world where women's lives are still controlled by the men around them. The challenges they face are interlinked as are the plans they conceive to escape their restrictions. The chapters jump from character to character, and are told in the first person. The language is understandable and suited to readers anywhere between 13 and 18 years old.