The Upstream Writer: Reader's Review: "Tompkin's Academy For the Extraordinarily Talented" by Tabitha Slick

Synopsis from Amazon:

Tompkin’s School looks like any other boarding school.

That’s the lie.

When my twin brother and I are sent there, I expect strict rules, awkward dorm life, and teachers who don’t care. What I don’t expect are students disappearing—and everyone pretending nothing is wrong.

Then the voice starts speaking inside my head.
It’s dark. It’s ancient. And it knows things about Tompkin’s no one has ever told me.

The school isn’t training us. It isn’t protecting us. It’s hiding something buried deep beneath its ordinary halls. The adults refuse to answer questions. The warnings are subtle but constant. And whatever is stalking the students knows exactly where to find us.

The worst part? The power waking inside me isn’t something I’m being taught to control.
It’s something I’ll have to face alone.

Even the one person who makes this place bearable, the charming, untouchable captain of the basketball team, feels like a secret waiting to turn deadly.
As fear tightens its grip on the school, I’ll have to uncover Tompkin’s darkest truth, decide whether the voice inside me is a weapon or a curse, and choose how far I’m willing to go to protect the people I love.

Because at Tompkin’s, monsters don’t wear uniforms.
They wear familiar faces.

>>>>>>>>>

My Review:

Tabi Slick is one of the authors I heard about doing the Bookish Blog Hops several years ago. So when I went on a book-buying binge back in 2019, hers was one of the books I prioritized. It had all the hallmarks of a story I’d enjoy: a magic school, high peril and intrigue, supernatural abilities… Yep! Plenty of boxes ticked. It just took me the better part of six years to then whittle down my TBR pile to actually get to read it!

Okay, the first thing I’ll say is this book way delivered on the premise! Izara and Kain are typical siblings, each full of their own feelings when they get transferred to a school in the middle of Oklahoma. It doesn’t take long before strange things start happening around them… then to each of them! The story is from Izara’s point of view, and it seems like the more she tries to accept these changes that she can’t seem to direct or reject, the worse things get!

I really liked the unique way the distinct abilities were introduced. Whether it’s clairvoyance, telepathy, or shapeshifting, Izzy goes from dismissing it as just a strange occurrence to disbelief when she figures out what’s actually happening at this school. It’s neat that they aren’t the only ones with inexplicable abilities… and even some of the other students who have abilities don’t even know it! The pacing of the story is a bit rough at first, but it picks up pretty quickly and it got harder and harder to put the book down, the further I read!

The biggest downside was the quality of the editing, I would say. I don’t know if the file I got just wasn’t updated properly, or perhaps the mistakes really haven’t been fixed, but they seem to be the same ones mentioned in other reviews, so I’m not sure what is up with that. I managed to ignore the mistakes whenever they cropped up since I was so invested in the story itself, but they were there, all the same.
Then also there was the whole “demonic influence” thing that the blurb mentions. The murders are very graphic and the dark influence is very dark, indeed. I will admit that I was rather hoping for more wholesome vibes, like Hogwarts, and instead it reads like “The School For Good And Evil”, but if that’s a vibe you enjoy out of fantasy academia novels, you might like this series!

I’d rate Tompkin’s Academy for The Extraordinarily Talented a modest ****4 STARS****, all told. The mystery is compelling, the imagery is vivid, and the characters are well-rounded. The only part that came up a little short was a bit of the plot—there were just some holes left behind that I think may be improved upon or answered further into the series, but for now, this is a great “first encounter” for anyone itching for a new “magic school” series who wants to support an indie author!

Further Reading: (Paranormal/Superhuman/Teen Academia/Unique Magic/Compelling Plots)

The Vemreaux Trilogy--Mary E. Twomey
       -The Way
   -The Truth
   -The Lie

Starstruck Saga--S. E. Anderson

-Starstruck

-Alienation

-The Purple Door District--Erin Casey