The Dystopian, Coming-of-Age Story YA Needed: NIGHTSHADE ACADEMY (book review)

by Cailey Tin

Thank you to Lost Island Press for the free copy of Nightshade Academy’s VIP ebook. This is an honest review of the first book in Mel Torrefranca’s Belladonna Trilogy. 

• MINOR spoilers from early chapters and setup only – no major twists revealed

Nightshade Academy follows Yahshi Konya, a once-promising student who is unexpectedly selected to join a secretive, high-stakes institution that only accepts 20 students per cycle — and only graduates five. Being chosen is considered a rare honor; not only do the students gain access to elite training, but their families and home districts also receive a generous stipend for as long as the student remains in the program. As the competition intensifies and students are slowly eliminated, only the top five will earn the prestigious title of Elite Guardian — powerful enforcers tasked with protecting the empire and rooting out traitors to the Force. The main narrative picks up with Yahshi at 15–16, as he enters this system that seems to reward secrecy, instability, and control. Over time, he must grapple with the cost of survival — and decide what kind of person he’ll become in the face of it all.

Kids, Not Warriors

The early chapters (specifically the prologue where Yashi is 13) are a standout for how refreshingly juvenile these characters are — in the most relatable way possible. Instead of hyper-competent teens plotting political assassinations or escaping shadow organizations, we’re watching a giant bully named China torment another kid’s sister. But there’s emotional complexity under the surface. China isn’t just a cardboard bully; there’s a weird, almost obsessive vendetta that hints at something darker. His victim, Quax, and his sister, Cal, respond in unexpected, morally ambiguous ways — culminating in a violent act (Cal finishes him off lol) that sets the entire story in motion.

What’s brilliant is how Mel lets the horror of that moment sit with the kids. Yashi’s stunned reaction (“What have you done?”) shows a conscience and inner voice that others seem to be shutting down. From the start, we see that Yashi isn’t just a passive observer — he’s a quietly cracking mirror reflecting the story’s deep themes of guilt and injustice.

The Fallout & Yashi’s Spiral (to lowkey going psycho)

As the main story skips forward two years from “the incident” (Chima’s death), we see how deeply it shaped Yashi. He’s now 15, isolated, and deeply changed. Once a top student, he’s become emotionally detached, obsessed with proving whether or not China would have become a killer — a way to retroactively justify Cal’s actions. These chapters show how trauma doesn’t just leave scars; it changes your logic, your friendships, even your goals.

Yashi’s dynamic with Quax (formerly his best friend) turns tense and paranoid, even resulting in Quax accusing him of sabotaging his exam scores. Meanwhile, his sister Cal, once viewed by Yashi as a peer, is selected at the Belladonna Academy and is praised so highly that it was as if she never murdered anyone at all.  She is now seen as a distant, inhuman figure, bolstered by the public image of being a hero. Yashi is conflicted with society’s behavior and in turn becomes a local scapegoat (read: stalker, burglar, straight up CREEP) to dig deeper. He’s so haunted by this incident that he becomes a total psychopathic weirdo while simultaneously throwing his future away. The way Mel contrasts these character arcs — some people move on, others rot inside — is so painfully relatable.

Yashi’s Dad: The Surprise MVP (…at First)

A personal highlight for me at the start is Yashi’s dad, Martu. Initially, he’s an almost comically wholesome figure: running a bread stall, allowing thieves to run off with stolen sourdough because “kindness will find its way back to you” or something, and constantly uplifting his spiraling son with affirmations like “You have great intuition!” He’s supportive even when Yashi breaks laws or fails his selection tests—an unexpectedly tender portrayal of unconditional love.

But that warmth takes a turn when Yashi is selected for the elite Belladonna Academy (since that’s what the whole book is about)—the most prestigious institution with rules that are strict but (to me at least) are surprisingly not as brutal as other books in this genre. Despite the academy offering his family wealth and security, Martu begs Yashi not to go, asking him to “pinky promise” he’ll stay. I laughed out loud at that point. It’s one of the more emotionally confusing moments because he doesn’t show a hint of being proud of his son, but Yashi’s the only family he’s got left so it makes sense. I guess. His protective nature feels less cute now— and a lot more ominous. I’ll leave it at that. 

Belladonna Academy as A Twisted Invitation

The reveal that Yashi is selected to train as a Guardian (everyone’s expected to find giving up decades upon decades of your life as something to jump for joy about because of all the perks and whatnot)— despite his test failures and (*coughs*) mental instability — flips the entire narrative. His obsessive stalking, his moral conflict, his emotional breakdowns? Apparently, that’s the exact kind of personality the Academy and the Force (where graduates work) values. They don't want heroes, they want the broken. Like Quax’s sister Cal, who is deemed as a legendary figure at an institution that notoriously never accepts women..

Yashi’s roommate Pinto is a comforting new presence, while Vell—the girl who steals sourdough from Yashi’s dad’s bread stall even if it doesn’t make much sense because she’s not from that town and steals “just to see if I can get away with it”— becomes a complex parallel to Yashi. She’s a fellow underdog, being the only girl selected out of 20, and her first impression is equal parts hilarious and gutsy. 

We also see that the selection process was manipulated — Quax’s score was intentionally changed just to study his reaction, and apparently that would determine his acceptance more than any score. It also raises a major critique I have for this book: if the outcome is pre-engineered, what’s the point of all the rigorous studying, stress, and exams in the first place? The illusion of meritocracy feels thin, and while that may be intentional commentary on institutional control, the book doesn’t always explore that tension as deeply as it could. Yashi even sneaks into the ONLY room he’s forbidden to enter—the quarters of the literal Guardians—and he’s barely even reprimanded. I expected him to be kicked out at that point. The rules are strict, but not even that scary and it lowers the stakes a lot for the reader. 

Final Thoughts: A Coming-of-Age Story Kinda Dressed in Dystopia

This book successfully does what many YA dystopias try to do — but rarely succeed at: it tells a story about becoming, not just surviving. Through Yashi, we see how trauma mutates into guilt, how guilt becomes identity, and how identity gets manipulated by systems of power.

Even the more over-the-top elements — like blood contracts, secret guardian societies, and battle trials — are tempered by the very human characters going through them. Mel resists the temptation to make anyone purely good or bad, and the result is a story that lingers, especially in the quiet moments. 

That said, not everything hits perfectly. The second half of the book is where most of the plot unfolds, and Yahshi’s internal journey becomes even more complicated. Notably, he was never forced to remain at the Academy — and yet he stayed. Despite his growing doubts, his emotional unraveling, and repeated brushes with failure, he continued pushing forward. Even after coming to terms with the truth about Cal — that she may very well be the ruthless killer he feared she was — and after that relatively weak mystery was resolved, he still didn’t walk away. Yahshi is a strange contradiction: someone seemingly at the mercy of fate, carried along by every shift in circumstance, yet also fiercely self-disciplined and unreasonably driven. That paradox made him difficult to connect with at times — his motivations felt hazy, and his actions often lacked emotional conviction. However, it was still compelling to watch everything unfold, especially because this book avoids plenty of common pitfalls YA faces (perfect main character, random love story, etc.) .

Rating: 3.75 / 5

Nightshade Academy stands out for its psychological depth, unique character arcs, and a willingness to explore moral ambiguity in a setting that’s more emotionally grounded than most dystopias. It’s a strong start to the Belladonna Trilogy—and given that it ends with a big reveal and somewhat cliffhanger, I’m genuinely excited to see where Mel Torrefranca takes it next.

This book is a must-read for fans of trauma-driven character arcs, thriller fantasy, and subtler dystopias. Highly recommended.