M.A. Larson’s The Shadow of Cadets of Pennyroyal Academy is a Perfect Can’t-Put-it-Down Summer Read

I first learned about M.A. Larson’s Pennyroyal Academy when seeking adventurous reads for my nine-year-old daughter, a Harry Potter aficionado. It was over a holiday break and she flew through the book in a day or two, stopping only for meals and other obligatory interruptions. This beloved title still makes the cut when she’s picking out books for friends’ birthday gifts. Present and accounted for are all the ingredients for a literary adventure: a magical academy, princesses, witches, dragons and a strong, do-it-herself female protagonist. What else could you ask for? When the much anticipated follow up, The Shadow Cadets of Pennyroyal Academy, arrived in the mail, I had to wait my turn. “Fans, first,” I was told. Admittedly, my daughter finished it before I would have. She devoured the second book in the series the same way she had the first.
Pennyroyal Academy opens with a girl who doesn’t remember her name and who is fighting off trees in an enchanted forest. She escapes to the academy for princesses in training, who are learning courage, compassion, kindness, and discipline, and to fight side by side with knights. Evie, as she is named by her classmates, struggles to complete the rigorous training, as well as to become skilled at fashion, and more honest and generous to boot. While at Pennyroyal, she finds out her dragon and witch family—not a typical family, to say the least—is on the Academy’s enemies list. Princess Cadet Evie begins to doubt if she really belongs at the academy, but after leading a triumphant victory over the witches, she realizes she’s right where she should be.

The Shadow Cadets of Pennyroyal Academy picks up where the last one left off, as Evie returns for her second year alongside her fellow princesses and knights. It’s tougher than she expects, with more intense training, complicated relationships, and a little bit of tragic romance, too. News of her heroic efforts against the witches has spread throughout the land and inspired not only grateful citizens but also a wave of new recruits. Before long Evie witnesses a vicious attack on a woman by what appears to be three princess cadets. Headmistress General Princess Beatrice is skeptical, because princesses are enforcers of truth; not aggressors. But something just doesn’t feel right to Evie, and she soon discovers that a secret society is plotting to destroy the Academy. It’s up to Evie and her friends to take on the challenge of saving their beloved school.
This tale is full of adventure and suspense with a few scary scenes, depending on your child’s threshold for danger and thrills. But to make up for the fright, there are also plenty of uplifting themes—like being true to oneself and working together as part of a team. A few kisses may elicit either an “ahh!” or and “ewww!” from your middle grader. And, there are a few mean girls thrown into the mix, but kindness and goodness win out in the end at Pennyroyal Academy, which has all the right ingredients for a can’t-put-it-down summer read!
The Shadow Cadets of Pennyroyal Academy is in stores now.