The School for Psychics by K.C. Archer

K.C. Archer's 'The School f0r Psychics': Hogwarts it isn't.


If you were given the option of becoming a student at a secret government program, be arrested, or be killed by your bookie, which would you choose?

The School for Psychics. By K.C. Archer. Simon and Schuster. Publish Date: April 3, 2018. 368 pp., $16. Adult Fiction. 

By Sandra Brower

Do you dream of being a Paranormal Student who attend a secret schools to fine tune or discover your powers? I know that I dream of that everyday, waiting for my Hogwarts letter to arrive by owl and still it never comes. The School for Psychics isn't for witches and wizards however. It's a school for people who possess mind power. 

Whether Misfit or not, these young adults never really fit into a normal situation. 

At the start of the book we wander into a Las Vegas casino as twenty-something Teddy Cannon is trying to gamble her way out of a sticky situation. She owes her bookie thousands of dollars, and money she "borrowed" from her parents retirement fund. However, she is banned from all Las Vegas casinos. Security thinks she is cheating by counting cards or some other scheme, so she's incognito- dressed as a middle-aged dumpy lady. There are a few people who are not fooled by her costume. Her bookie happens to walk in and recognizes Teddy.

Teddy is bailed out and recruited by a big man, Clint, working for the Whitfield Institute. This is where the adventure begins...

Although I usually like the premise of a school for talented kids this book wasn't quite for me. It wasn't because the writing was bad, it wasn't. In fact, it has excellent writing, a good plot, well written with good visuals. I really got into the storyline. I think it was because I felt as though Teddy and her schoolmates acted much younger than their early twenties. I felt as though the book was about sex-craved, party-all-night, break all the rules high school kids and not college-aged training recruits for an undercover program. I'm truly disappointed in the misappropriation that this book is Adult Fiction when it feels more Young Adult. 

When it comes to Teddy's psychic abilities and the struggles she goes through, then the story comes alive. When Teddy isn't acting immature, she is brilliant, talented and likable. Because of her immaturity, I grew weary of her antics when mainly dealing with her peers. The abilities each peer has are unique, some enviable and others just so out there you wonder if they really could occur if encountered in real life. Not everyone is who they seem to be and you will have to discern who is a friend and who is a frenemy. This keeps the book moving and I really enjoyed the twists. The Criminal Thriller plot is the best part of the storyline and I would read this book just for the mystery it creates.

Whoever wrote The School of Psychics, since K.C. Archer is a pseudonym, hopefully, changes the way the characters interact with each other in the next book of the series so that their age is more relatable. I do look forward to reading the next in the series. I would like to see what happens to Teddy and her fellow trainees and teachers. 

Overall, I enjoyed the book, I still don't believe that 20+somethings adults act like HS kids. For this reason, I gave the book a rating of 3 stars. 

Thanks to Simon and Schuster via Netgalley for the advanced copy in lieu of my honest opinion which this review is. Give The School for Psychics a read. You might like it.