Title: The School for Good and Evil (The School for Good and
Evil #1)
Author: Soman Chainani
Genre: Fantasy, Middle Grade, Children, Young Adult, Fairy
Tale, Adventure
Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books
Pages: 488
“The first kidnappings happened two hundred years before. Some years it was two boys taken, some years two girls, sometimes one of each. But if at first the choices seemed random, soon the pattern became clear. One was always beautiful and good, the child every parent wanted as their own. The other was homely and odd, an outcast from birth. An opposing pair, plucked from youth and spirited away.”
This year, best friends Sophie and Agatha are about to discover where all the lost children go: the fabled School for Good & Evil, where ordinary boys and girls are trained to be fairy tale heroes and villains. As the most beautiful girl in Gavaldon, Sophie has dreamed of being kidnapped into an enchanted world her whole life. With her pink dresses, glass slippers, and devotion to good deeds, she knows she’ll earn top marks at the School for Good and graduate a storybook princess. Meanwhile Agatha, with her shapeless black frocks, wicked pet cat, and dislike of nearly everyone, seems a natural fit for the School for Evil.But when the two girls are swept into the Endless Woods, they 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 amongst 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…? (More from Goodreads)
This book is an unexpectedly enjoyable read- and I don't say
that a lot about middle grade books which are so blatantly, well, middle-grade. The cover alone is very childish- or well out of my age range, at least- and I can't help but love it.
The plot is actually good. I could totally sink myself into this book and finish it in one go (which I did). One huge gripe I had is the whole overly-blown romance thing involving, well 12-year-olds. Some of the romance elements feel a bit too grown-up for tweens. I have no problems with tweens being a little precocious, especially because that's what I expect from storybook heroes, but come on... For risk of spoilers I won't go deeper into this, but the whole situation got absurdly ridiculous at one point.
Then again, I might have read the book wrong and they're actually older, who knows. I was slightly distracted by other matters.
The book wasn't perfect from the beginning, because the beginning was a bit of a drab series of banter for me. It did build momentum once we were being transported into The School for Good and Evil (SGE for short) and events started unfolding, and proved it wasn't just a fun, fancy narrative. There were twists and turns. SGE is an elaborate place, and a lot more could be built out of it than what it is now.
I have a thing for books featuring special schools, particularly large ones with many fun secrets- probably because of Hogwarts. Make no mistake, I want this to be my next Hogwarts. It probably would not live up to Hogwarts' reputation, but with a movie in the making, who knows for sure? The illustration of the two schools in the map at the beginning of the book shows that a lot could be made out of the school. More secret chambers, and other rooms and nooks and crannies we didn't know of. I want the Evers and the Nevers to utilise the school to its maximum potential, and I want Soman Chainani to detail it all. I mean, he's not exactly there for my beck and call but a girl can dream.
It was a thrilling ride through the book. After House of Secrets- bought because I was misled by a blurb written by J.K. Rowling herself- I became all too hesitant to read YA books meant for even younger children, particularly those bordering on middle grade, involving middle-grade characters. But again, this was an unexpectedly, terribly good read. I couldn't admit it to my friends' faces, particularly because they looked so skeptical when I picked this book up ('That looks very childish!') but that's the fact.
The sequel is already out, and had I found it in my past two trips to the bookstore after finishing this, I would have gotten it. Good thing I didn't go to the bookstore that most probably has it!
The plot is actually good. I could totally sink myself into this book and finish it in one go (which I did). One huge gripe I had is the whole overly-blown romance thing involving, well 12-year-olds. Some of the romance elements feel a bit too grown-up for tweens. I have no problems with tweens being a little precocious, especially because that's what I expect from storybook heroes, but come on... For risk of spoilers I won't go deeper into this, but the whole situation got absurdly ridiculous at one point.
Then again, I might have read the book wrong and they're actually older, who knows. I was slightly distracted by other matters.
The book wasn't perfect from the beginning, because the beginning was a bit of a drab series of banter for me. It did build momentum once we were being transported into The School for Good and Evil (SGE for short) and events started unfolding, and proved it wasn't just a fun, fancy narrative. There were twists and turns. SGE is an elaborate place, and a lot more could be built out of it than what it is now.
I have a thing for books featuring special schools, particularly large ones with many fun secrets- probably because of Hogwarts. Make no mistake, I want this to be my next Hogwarts. It probably would not live up to Hogwarts' reputation, but with a movie in the making, who knows for sure? The illustration of the two schools in the map at the beginning of the book shows that a lot could be made out of the school. More secret chambers, and other rooms and nooks and crannies we didn't know of. I want the Evers and the Nevers to utilise the school to its maximum potential, and I want Soman Chainani to detail it all. I mean, he's not exactly there for my beck and call but a girl can dream.
It was a thrilling ride through the book. After House of Secrets- bought because I was misled by a blurb written by J.K. Rowling herself- I became all too hesitant to read YA books meant for even younger children, particularly those bordering on middle grade, involving middle-grade characters. But again, this was an unexpectedly, terribly good read. I couldn't admit it to my friends' faces, particularly because they looked so skeptical when I picked this book up ('That looks very childish!') but that's the fact.
The sequel is already out, and had I found it in my past two trips to the bookstore after finishing this, I would have gotten it. Good thing I didn't go to the bookstore that most probably has it!
~My Rating~
5 out of 5 Storybooks!
★★★★★
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