Sea Breeze Academy by Bryant A. Loney

A group of boarding school teens in season five of a Cali-based sitcom begin to realize they are in a TV show. 

A missing student, or maybe several.

Embedded marketing, sushi, token friends, and cacti.

The sound of the Pacific waves in the background.

Smothering darkness. The threat of Alaska.

Another perfect, perfect day.

Happiness lives here.

Brooklyn, Matthew, and the gang are ready to rock their last few weeks of junior year at their elite boarding school on the California coast. But something is amiss. In the fifth and potentially last season of this award-winning television series, the struggle between truth and network censorship just might destroy their bond once and for all. Can they hold out for the summer? Will life ever be normal again?

Experimental and subversive, Sea Breeze Academy is a smart love letter to the Nickelodeon and Disney Channel sitcoms you grew up with. Are you ready?

I had a really difficult time reading this book. As the description says, it's about a reality show that takes place in California, which isn't entirely untrue, but this 'book' is a script for that show…not actually a book in the traditional sense. I wish I had known that going in, because I was NOT prepared for the story to be told in that way.

I really liked the cover - it's what made me excited to read this in the first place…that and the promise that this would be a love letter to my favorite Disney and Nickelodeon shows from childhood. To say it wasn't even close is an understatement.

As I mentioned before, the story is told in a script format. If you do want to read this book I would seriously consider finding a book club to read it with and everyone plays a part. That could make the experience a little more tangible and the characters more memorable.

Another aspect I didn't like was the fact that we started in 'season 5' of the show. We get no introduction to the characters or their backgrounds, the scene is set and off you go! I feel like that might come off better on screen, but since this is NOT a real tv show, that made the story even less accessible and I was even less motivated to read on.

Lastly, there are these in-between sections with person 1 talking to person 2. There is no explanation of them (I'm assuming they're tech guys working on the show?) but they have no names and no context - it felt like an afterthought to move between scenes/chapters.

Honestly I can't believe this is a book that will be published. It's a poorly written tv show at best with no strong emotional connection to any characters or storyline. I think the last line sums up my feelings pretty well, "I am but a yogurt-covered pretzel in the void."

Thanks Verona Booksellers for the ARC, but maybe this one should have stayed unpublished.