Eighth-grader Franny and her friends investigate why most of the students at their exclusive boarding school are brilliant, beautiful, and perfectly behaved.

Well written and a good story line that will appeal to readers and thinkers ( )

An interesting, quick read for fans of juvenile mystery books. Stanley develops good student characters that the reader can relate to and involved a good mix of personalities from the science geek to the poet to the ordinary, quirky eighth-grade girl. The story is fairly basic and most readers will quickly figure out what is causing the changes among the students of Allbright Academy. This is really a tale of personal discovery as the main character, Franny, learns that it's really okay to be "ordinary" and to be yourself instead of wanting to be some perfect "robot" just like everyone else. The triumph of the students at the end of great fun to read. ( )

Everything is perfection at the Allbright Academy -- the children are polished and intelligent; the grounds are exceptional; the field trips astound, but when Franny Sharp's friend Cal gets sick and lays off the school brownies, the whole thing begins to fall apart. An evil plot (to overthrow the government of all things) unravels, putting a group of brave and brainy kids at the front of a shocking investigation.

The cool characters, the stately setting and portentous plot (involving characters of import like fictional Nobel winners and senators) make this book a thrill to read. ( )

Annotation: Franny is accepted to an elite boarding school, The Allbright Academy. She finds the schools mission to mold “perfect” children a sinister plot.

Review: Franny’s sister Zoe charms a board member of Allbright Academy, an elite boarding school dedicated to creating excellent leaders, into recommending her for acceptance by the school. Zoe will not go without her sister and brother, so suddenly all the siblings find themselves students of Allbright Academy. The kids are given a makeover and are encouraged to behave as little adults. At first Franny is proud of the growth she is making, but after being called out by an old friend as fake, Franny begins to think about what the school is doing to her personality. She finds out that the school is drugging the children by placing chemicals to make them smarter, more obedient, and better behaved into the cafeteria’s daily treat: brownies.

The Allbright Academy is a quick paced, breezy mystery whose plot is engaging but lacks in other respects. The plot moves too quickly at times skipping over elements of the story that were set up in previous chapters. For example on the day the children are tested to see if they will be accepted into the school, the chapter ends with Franny being called into the testing room, and the next chapter begins with her and her siblings being accepted into the school. There are a few incidents like that where the story leaves the reader wondering what happened. Once the conspiracy is uncovered by the children the story becomes a real page turner. Children will like the fantasy of the uber cool boarding school and should find the story an engaging read. It is recommended for children in grades 3-6.

Other Reviews:

School Library Journal liked certain themes in the book, especially the themes of individual courage and self-determination. Booklist mentions another similar book The Mysterious Benedict Society as having more magic. The reviewers agreed with me that the book is good, but could have been better if the story had been given more depth.

School Library Journal 54.3 (March 2008): 212(1) Booklist 104.6 (Nov 15, 2007): 43(2) ( )