The Academy — Secrets, Identity, and Who We Become in New Spaces

Spring is a season of becoming, and in this episode of Lit with Lara Ashley, Lara Ashley dives into The Academy by Elin Hilderbrand and Shelby Cunningham, a story filled with secrets, shifting friendships, and the quiet pressure to belong.

Set in an elite boarding school, The Academy explores what it means to enter new spaces and navigate identity, ambition, and social dynamics while trying to stay true to yourself. Lara reflects on the characters we root for, the ones we side-eye, and the universal experience of figuring out who we are when everything around us is new.

In honor of AAPI Heritage Month, this episode also highlights author Axie Oh and the importance of supporting culturally rich, emotionally grounded storytelling.

Plus, Lara shares a curated Community Library featuring dark academia and elite school reads like Babel, Ace of Spades, and The Secret History.

Grab your favorite drink, settle in, and join the conversation on identity, belonging, and becoming.

This episode was lit. ✨

Transcript

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Hey friends, and welcome back to Lit with Laura Ashley. This is your cozy corner of the internet where we talk about books that stay with us, the ones that make us think, reflect, and sometimes side-eye every character involved. So wherever you are, cleaning, walking, driving, or just taking a moment for yourself, go ahead and grab your favorite drink and settle in. Because today's episode feels like spring. Fresh starts, new environments, and discovering new versions of ourselves. And of course, we're talking about the Academy, a story full of secrets, ambition, friendships, and the quiet question of who we become when we enter new spaces. April always feels like a reset month. It's not the beginning of the year anymore, but it's still early enough to shift. And the academy feels like that. A new environment, new people, and new expectations, and the pressure to figure it out. Who am I here? Because we all do that, whether it's a new job, a new city, a new relationship, or even a new version of ourselves. This book captures that tension so well. The story follows students in an elite boarding school where everyone has something to prove and something to hide. You're introduced to characters like Charlie, who you're totally rooting for, Davy, who you're impressed by, East, who you can't help but love, and Simone, who you might want to push off a cliff just a little. Each character is navigating identity, pressure, and expectation while trying to belong in a space that doesn't always feel natural. And what I loved is that this book doesn't rely on huge drama, it's the slow unraveling of it, the secrets, the tension, the relationships shifting in real time. We all perform a version of ourselves in new spaces. We adjust, we observe, and we decide what parts of ourselves to show. And sometimes that's survival. But the question becomes at what point do you stop performing and start being? That that's what this book explores so well. And I think that's why it works for April. Because spring is a season of becoming, not reinventing yourself completely, but refining. So would I recommend this book? Absolutely. Especially if you enjoy character-driven stories, social dynamics, secrets slowly revealed, boarding school elite environment vibes, then this is a bingeable read. The kind where you say, one more chapter, and suddenly it's midnight, and you're you stood up all night and you're gonna be cranky as crap the next day when you have to go to work or to school. 10 out of 10 would totally recommend this book. And for me, it's 4.5 stars out of five. So definitely something you need to add to your TBR. Now, I also want to take a moment to highlight an author for AAPI Heritage Month. One author I love in this space is Axie O. Even though we talked about her book, The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea earlier in previous episodes, it's worth highlighting her impact. Her work blends Korean mythology, identity, and emotional storytelling. And she represents a broader movement of AAPI authors bringing culturally rich, immersive stories into mainstream spaces. Supporting authors like Axie O means expanding the stories we see and the voices we elevate represent. Now, talking about our community library, if you enjoyed the academy, here are some books to add to your community library. Babbel, which is a dark academia full of power, language, and identity. If we were villains, think elite school with even more secrets intention, The Secret History, a classic academia and moral complexity, and one of my faves, Ace of Spades, talks about secrets, race, and power in elite schools. Each of these explores identity, belonging, and the cost of fitting in. As we move through April, I want to leave you with this. You don't have to become someone new to belong somewhere. You just have to become more of yourself, and the right spaces will meet you there. I'm Laura Ashley, and this episode was so lit.