3 stars

I don’t even know where to start with this one.First of all the characters were awful. Each one was so two dimensional and stereotypical, it was hard to take any if them seriously. They were so irritatingly fake that it was hard to get into the story. To make matters worse, the characters point out how stereotypical they are (“Definitely the emo one.”) like this somehow will remove the Breakfast Club stereotypes. If anything, I felt like this made the whole thing tacky.Along those lines, the characters also point out the cliche situations that occur (rom-com meeting between Casey and Hunter). Again, it’s like the strategy is to make a book of cliches then make the characters so self aware of these cliches that it somehow doesn’t matter. Again, I found this corny and dull.Secondly, the artwork felt a little bland. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of good pieces depicting fight scenes and all the blood that goes with them. But the characters themselves did not seem to get the same amount of attention, especially the females. Jade, Casey, and Zoe all look suspiciously similar. Tall, thin, and conventionally pretty faces. It looks like each character is really the same model with a different hair style and color (and of course Zoe’s white washed Indian heritage). Even the older females fit the mold for conventional female beauty (Miss Daramount, creepy nurse) so much so that one has to wonder if a criteria for attending or working in this academy is a certain waist and bust size.There were also a few inconsistencies in the artwork (Casey’s disappearing tights in the scene where she first meets Hunter?), which were minor, but still irritating.As far as plot goes, a lot of things that happened felt as cliche as the characters. The whole book had a Scooby Doo feel to it, with much more blood of course. Yet there were plot points that caught my attention and kept me wanting more. There was a good balance of problems solved and mysteries left unresolved. I think these mysteries are the only redeeming thing about this whole volume. By the end, I was curious to know what happens next. The time jumps are a little confusing, but overall I think the details of the story work in the book’s favor. There is definitely enough cliff hangers and suspenseful moments to keep the reader’s interest.