Review: Academy 7 by Anne Osterlund

Posted on April 2, 2011 by Phoebe 5988 Commentshttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.phoebenorth.com%2F2011%2F04%2F02%2Freview-academy-7-by-anne-osterlund%2FReview%3A+Academy+7+by+Anne+Osterlund2011-04-03+02%3A25%3A15Phoebehttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.phoebenorth.com%2F%3Fp%3D598

Academy 7 by Anne Osterlund
Recommended.

Don’t let the cover fool you.

Academy 7 by Anne Osterlund is not a romance novel. Nor is it historical fiction, despite the weirdly archaic choice of dress for the male cover model, the loopy font and embellishments of both the cover and the chapter headings, and the cover copy that wholly obscures the true genre in favor of, instead, oblique references to lurking dangers, dangerous secrets, and undiscovered bonds.

Academy 7 is, in fact, a space opera.

But not just a space opera—this is one of the spaciest space operas I’ve ever encountered. Academy 7 is filled with space airplanes and interstellar alliances (well, one alliance, called, appropriately enough, the Alliance), rebellions on impoverished planets and beaten slaves, fierce generals and tragic orphans, politics and haughty girls. I’m not entirely sure why Penguin chose to market Academy 7 the way they did—I certainly would have never picked it up had it not come highly recommended as a stellar (heh) example of young adult sci-fi.

And it is! Academy 7 is the story of Aerin Renning, an orphan girl with a mysterious past who is accepted to the prestigious institution of the title. There she encounters Dane Madousin, the cocky son of a military general. Dane and Aerin become sparring partners, wherein they often come to blows both physically and verbally, but it’s one of those contentious relationships which is clearly just a set-up for a prickly slap slap kiss love affair.

I suspect that Academy 7 owes more than a little to Star Wars (original trilogy; let us not speak of the prequels). Aerin’s relationship with Dane is redolent of Han Solo and Leia Organa’s, and eventually certain plot elements—which I will not spoil—confirm this reading. Their dialogue, both playful and argumentative, certainly creates a similar sort of chemistry.

And the setting is more than mildly Lucasian; the scattered network of planets is rendered vividly, in bright splashes of color that evoke longing for adventure. Like Star Wars, the sci-fi is in no way hard. Call it “science fantasy” if you want, but this is proper space opera, with little concern for technology. Instead, Osterlund’s focus seems to be on creating a deeply-felt setting and archetypal characters. For that, I’ll easily forgive her sillier world building missteps: the Alliance’s goal of colonizing “the universe” (!) and her naming of the planet that the eponymous school is settled on “Academia” (hee!).

The prose is pretty, if a bit arch. For the most part, I found this wholly appropriate considering the genre. The narration conveys a certain cheeky gravity through its heavy use of adjectives that reminded me of the pulp classics. However, I must note that once Osterlund ventures into overwriting with some likely-unintended, but still-unfortunate connotations. (“The chocolate slid down her throat in rich ecstasy, and for a moment she was a child again, tasting her father’s love” [146]. Um.)

But what surprised me was that beneath this retro-Golden Era sci-fi surface, there’s some real depth to Academy 7. The central political problems which the students debate—problems which touch Aerin and Dane’s lives deeply—are actually of genuine philosophical interest. What differentiates a military action from a war? When is rebellion worth it? Why do powerful nations only intervene in instances of human rights’ violations when it serves their financial or political interests? This isn’t the muddled (and boring) political philosophy of the Star Wars prequels (sorry; forgot we weren’t talking about those), but, more, the real political questions that arise in our everyday world.

And, more, the lives of Dane and Aerin aren’t just dark in an iconic or obligatory way. Aerin is, indeed, an orphan with a mysterious past, but eventually we come to understand why she puts up walls and creates a prickly exterior, and her longing for her father is well-conveyed through the prose. Likewise, Dane has faced some serious abuse, both physical and emotional, and understanding the impact of this abuse goes a long way in understanding his character. The movement of the novel between this central pair, as they go from adversaries, to allies, to friends, to lovers, is really very touching, and more tenderly described than the love affairs of many YA novels.

All-in-all, this is a rollicking sci-fi story with surprising depth, and one I’d just as easily recommend to boys that like Star Wars licensed fare as the apparent female audience being courted by Penguin’s marketing team. I just hope those boys are willing to look past the cover to discover the vivid space opera waiting within.

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