Wuthering High: A Bard Academy Novel (Paperback)

~ (Author) "I did, sort of, on purpose, steal Carmen's credit card (Carmen = stepmom, but I refuse to call her anything with "mom" in the title,..." (more)
Key Phrases: Kate Shaw, Wuthering Heights, Ryan Kent (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Fifteen-year-old Mia is not exactly thrilled when she gets the news that her parents are shipping her off to boarding school. It's not like she did anything that bad -- all she did was wreck her dad's car and max out her step mum's credit cards. So, off she goes, from Chicago to Bard Academy, an exclusive prep school that treats troubled teenagers with a healthy dose of higher learning and old-fashioned discipline. But all is not what it seems at this educational institute, and Mia and her classmates soon discover that the teachers are actually ghosts, stuck in limbo, some of them famous authors who died before their time, including Virginia Woolf, Ernest Hemingway, and Charlotte Bronte. And what's even more disturbing is that not all the ghosts have good intentions. Mia and her friends must stop one evil instructor's plan to bring down the school -- and the entire student body with it.

About the Author

Cara Lockwood is also the author of I Do (But I Don't), which was made into a Lifetime movie, as well as Pink Slip Party and Dixieland Sushi, all available from Downtown Press. She was born in Dallas, Texas, and earned a Bachelor's degree in English from the University of Pennsylvania. She has worked as a journalist in Austin, and is now married and living in Chicago. Her husband is not a rock star, but he does play the guitar -- poorly.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: MTV (July 4, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416524754
• ISBN-13: 978-1416524755
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #233,397 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting approach, August 1, 2006

By	armchairinterviews.com (Minnesota) - See all my reviews

After Miranda Tate wrecks her father's BMW and maxes out her stepmother's credit card, she is sent to Bard Academy, a boarding school on Shipwreck Island, Maine. With its Gothic setting, Bard Academy could be straight out of one of the classic novels to which Cara Lockwood is indebted: Wuthering Heights, Dracula, and Frankenstein.

Lockwood's villains are characters from these and other novels, but the main antagonist in Wuthering High is the ghost of a famous nineteenth-century author. Indeed, the school is run by the ghosts of writers who died before their time--Charlotte Bronte, Virginia Woolf, and Ernest Hemingway, to name a few. And the antagonist seeks to bring her book to life, even if it means destroying the world.

But Miranda has other ideas. An average fifteen-year old, Miranda is concerned with fashion and boys, but she's also able to transcend these preoccupations. She doesn't wallow in self pity over her worthless dad, nor does she give in to despair while stuck in what amounts to a prison. She also refuses to compete with other girls even when it means giving up the guy of her dreams.

Miranda is a strong, likeable character, brushing the dust off every time she goes down (which is quite often). She's a much-needed hero for girls stuck on the likes of Paris Hilton.

The book is heavy on pop culture references and stereotypes, although Lockwood will have more chances to add some dimension to Miranda's rather flat sidekicks. (Wuthering High is the first of a series.) It's the literary references, however, that are the biggest disappointment. With the exception of Heathcliff, Lockwood's villains have none of the complexity of their original forms, and the dead writers do not fully reflect the realities of their lives. Still, the bookhas a fast pace and an interesting plot. And what bibliophile can resist the idea of a meek writer coming back to destroy the world?

Overall, though, it's Miranda who will satisfy readers, for she's far more than her namesake from The Tempest.

Armchair Interviews says: Interesting approach that mixes modern-day writing with the work of literary geniuses.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cool romance and very well written, February 11, 2007

By	Make it Funny (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews

I think Cara Lockwood captures the dialog of teenagers very well. The book was suspenseful and kept me up reading till the very end. Then I didn't want it to end. Awesome romance with 2 'to die for' heroes. Fashion references were fun. It was a really entertaining book and subtly pointed out that many good literature have dramatic plots that would greatly interest teenagers.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazed!!!, June 24, 2007

By	Jaz Rose "Jaz" (California) - See all my reviews

Well, I always saw this book on the shelves and it looked pretty interesting so I got it one day. Wow, I'm totally glad I did. This book suddenly gave me a craving for classics- you guessed it.."Wuthering Heights." The book kept me captivated EVERY step of the way. I wanted more and was satisfied. It made me giggle like crazy at different scenes. The action or conflicts made it a fun and delicious read. Read the sequel "The Scarlet Letterman" too! The story was just as good as the first.