The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani

The School for Good and Evil (School for Good and Evil, #1)

by Soman Chainani

THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL is now a major motion picture from Netflix, starring Academy Award winner Charlize Theron, Kerry Washington, Laurence Fishburne, Michelle Yeoh, Cate Blanchett, and many more!

A dark and enchanting fantasy adventure for those who prefer fairytales with a twist… The first in the bestselling series.

Every four years, two girls are kidnapped from the village of Gavaldon. Legend has it these lost children are sent to the School for Good and Evil, the fabled institution where they become fairytale heroes or villains.

With her glass slippers and devotion to good deeds, Sophie knows she'll join the ranks of past students like Cinderella, Rapunzel, and Snow White at the School for Good. Meanwhile, Agatha, with her shapeless black dresses and wicked black cat, seems a natural fit for the villains in the School for Evil.

But the two girls soon find their fortunes reversed – Sophie's dumped in the School for Evil to take Uglification, Death Curses and Henchmen Training, while Agatha finds herself in the School for Good, thrust among handsome princes and fair maidens for classes in Princess Etiquette and Animal Communication.

But what if the mistake is actually the first clue to discovering who Sophie and Agatha really are?

Reviewed by Silvara on

5 of 5 stars

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“Only once you destroy who you think you are can you embrace who you truly are”

 

I really liked Sophie for most of the book, but as we get to know Agatha better, she slowly started making me root for her. All the characters were fun and interesting to read about. I liked Hestia and Dot best of the secondary characters. And the illustrations that were all throughout the book were wonderful!

This is a middle grade book, but it does have a bit of darkness to it. There are also a lot of Good = beautiful, and Evil = ugly in the book. This is addressed fully towards the end, and in little bits here and there during the rest of the book. But it does have the theme for a lot of the book. Even if the theme is being poked at in a tongue-in-cheek way, it still might bother some people.

There were many funny moments in the book, where I had to laugh out loud or giggle to myself. There were also a few places that were just sad. You get pulled into the story and characters so deeply (at least I did!) that it's almost like your real friends are going through whatever is happening in the book.

The ending makes me want to run right out and buy the next book. I can't believe that's where it stopped! It's not exactly a cliffhanger, but it does make me want to read the next one right away. If you haven't read this yet, you need to!

This review was originally posted on Fantasy of the Silver Dragon

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 12 July, 2015: Finished reading
  • 23 August, 2015: Reviewed
  • Started reading
  • 23 August, 2015: Finished reading
  • 23 August, 2015: Reviewed