A warm June evening, a local tradition: the students of Nantucket High have gathered for a bonfire on the beach. But what begins as a graduation night celebration ends in tragedy when Penny Alistair's car crashes, leaving her dead and her twin brother in a coma. The other passengers, Penny's boyfriend Jake and her friend Demeter, are physically unhurt - but the emotional damage is overwhelming.
As summer unfolds, details of that devastating night continue to surface. Questions linger about what happened before Penny took the wheel, and startling truths emerge about the survivors and their parents: revelations of secrets kept, promises broken . . . and hearts betrayed.
Elin Hilderbrand is a graduate of the Johns Hopkins University and the University of Iowa Writers Workshop. The Academy is her thirty-first novel, and the first co-written with her daughter, Shelby Cunningham. Hilderbrand is the co-host of the podcast "Books, Beach and Beyond" along with @TimTalksBooks creator, Tim Ehrenberg. She is raising four young adult children and likes to spend her free time at the beach and on her Peloton. She's a grateful ten-year breast cancer survivor.
Shelby Cunningham was born and raised on Nantucket Island. She's a 2024 graduate of St. George's School in Middletown, Rhode Island.
Elin Hilderbrand
Elin Hilderbrand
Elin Hilderbrand
Elin Hilderbrand
Elin Hilderbrand
Elin Hilderbrand
Elin Hilderbrand
Elin Hilderbrand
Elin Hilderbrand
Elin Hilderbrand
Elin Hilderbrand
Elin Hilderbrand
Elin Hilderbrand
Elin Hilderbrand
Elin Hilderbrand
Elin Hilderbrand
Elin Hilderbrand
Elin Hilderbrand
Elin Hilderbrand
Elin Hilderbrand
Elin Hilderbrand
Elin Hilderbrand
Elin Hilderbrand