Phoebe Pope and the Year Four by Nya Jade

The students of Green Lane Academy roam their halls unaware that below their manicured campus exists a prestigious school of an entirely different kind . . .

Sixteen-year-old Phoebe Pope has enrolled at the Campus Below: a spy academy for shape-shifters hidden deep beneath the grounds of a boarding school whose humans unknowingly protect it. There, thanks to a carefully planned schedule, she leads a double life: spy trainee Below and normal teenager Above.

As if two course loads, concealing a secret power she alone wields, and coping with her father’s recent death weren’t enough, Phoebe finds herself developing major feelings for actor and teen heartthrob Colten Chase, who attends the Campus Above and appears to be majoring in winning Phoebe’s heart. But when officials learn that Phoebe may be at the center of a startling prophecy, she becomes the target of shape-shifting assassins who will stop at nothing to suppress the truth.

Now Phoebe’s lessons about Shaper’s enemies and spycraft take on great importance as a menace stalks the campus, with Phoebe as its target. Meanwhile, what began as an unlikely relationship with Colten, quickly morphs into heartache when she suspects that something sinister lurks beneath this movie star’s glitter and fame. Suddenly, Phoebe’s caught in a mesh of lies, betrayals, and danger where she doesn’t know who to trust, and needs to rely on herself—and her secret power—to get to the truth and to stay alive.  

I was into the book from the very beginning.  Phoebe is a 16 year old girl who is sent to a school for Shifters after her father is killed by a Vigo.  She is saddened by her father's death but is at the school to learn how to fight for the Shifters and to avenge her father's death.

When Phoebe gets to the school she immediately becomes friends with Hayley, another Shifter from her class.  The two of them have a great energy together and their conversations are typical for girls their age.  They giggle about boys, have spa days, and talk about school.  Of course they also talk about fighting the Vigos and and learning to control the elements.

Several weeks after school starts there is a Vigo attack on the younger students.  Phoebe learns she's one of four Hypa's who were born on the same day.  According to legend four Hypa's born from human women will have unimaginable powers when they first learn to shift.  Suddenly the elite Blackcoats are at the school trying to protect Phoebe and the other 3 Hypa's.

But life isn't just about staying safe.  There's a movie star on the campus above and all the girls have gone crazy over him.  However, Colten only seems to have eyes for Phoebe.  As the two get closer there is a sweet shyness between them and the awkwardness that comes with two teenagers discovering how they feel about each other.  

The only problem is Colten is keeping a dangerous secret from Phoebe.  Then again Phoebe is keeping a huge secret from Colten as well.   

This book was a fast paced and energetic story full of magic, fighting, and love.  All the elements of a great book were wrapped up in this story and I had trouble putting it down at night.  The characters were very realistic, made mistakes, but also had redeeming qualities.  The ending is so surprising I never could have guessed what was coming.

I give this book 4 1/2 out of 5 stars.  

About the author: 

Nya Jade is a singer-songwriter and author based in San Francisco. Her music videos have aired on the VH1, BET, and MTV networks. USA Today hailed Nya as a “young female troubadour worth keeping your eyes and ears on,” in an entertainment feature on up-and-coming singer-songwriters. “Her cool singing voice recalls Sade,” said the LA Times.

Between writing and performing new music, Nya took a musical sabbatical to focus on writing a novel—an endeavor she found quite daunting, until she began looking at each chapter as a verse in a very long song. Phoebe Pope and the Year of Four is her first novel.

In her free time, Nya enjoys hanging out with family and friends, searching for amazing gluten-free desserts, and bargain hunting for her next pair of funky shoes.

Nya holds a B.A. in Economics and an M.A. in Sociology, both from Stanford University.
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To find out more, please visit http://www.nyajade.com

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