Scan barcode
cdt96's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore
Moderate: Body horror
Minor: Animal cruelty, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Violence, Abandonment, Animal death, Bullying, Classism, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Child death, and Murder
queer_bookwyrm's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
4 ⭐ CW: violence, murder, grotesque descriptions of monsters, swearing
A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik is the first book in the Scholomance series. This was a weird read for me. It started out slow and I felt like I wasn't going to like it, but it quickly turned around!
We follow Galadriel (El), a junior at the school if magic, the Scholomance. The Scholomance is a place where kids go to learn magic and hone their affinities so they can survivor graduation. Did I mention the school is literally trying to kill them? El is a bit of an outcast, people just don't like her, though she can't figure out why, but it might have something to do with the fact that her affinity is death and destruction. Unfortunately for her, she is a good person who wants to hurt no one, but is constantly plagued with mass destruction spells.
Out of nowhere, Orion Lake keeps saving her ass along with everyone else, making more and more monsters come out of hiding for a snack. Not only that, everyone thinks their dating, and El does not like it. El has some good character development, and I think Novik did a good job of relaying that, because I wasn't too keen on El in the beginning, but she grew on me. I thought her friendship with Aadhya and Liu was wonderful.
The beginning was very info-dumpy--there was a lot of information about out at you in the first third of the book. The magic system and world building of the school confused me for a bit as well, until I got used to it. I'm glad it came back around to capture my attention, because I was seriously thinking about not reading the next book, but now I will!
A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik is the first book in the Scholomance series. This was a weird read for me. It started out slow and I felt like I wasn't going to like it, but it quickly turned around!
We follow Galadriel (El), a junior at the school if magic, the Scholomance. The Scholomance is a place where kids go to learn magic and hone their affinities so they can survivor graduation. Did I mention the school is literally trying to kill them? El is a bit of an outcast, people just don't like her, though she can't figure out why, but it might have something to do with the fact that her affinity is death and destruction. Unfortunately for her, she is a good person who wants to hurt no one, but is constantly plagued with mass destruction spells.
Out of nowhere, Orion Lake keeps saving her ass along with everyone else, making more and more monsters come out of hiding for a snack. Not only that, everyone thinks their dating, and El does not like it. El has some good character development, and I think Novik did a good job of relaying that, because I wasn't too keen on El in the beginning, but she grew on me. I thought her friendship with Aadhya and Liu was wonderful.
The beginning was very info-dumpy--there was a lot of information about out at you in the first third of the book. The magic system and world building of the school confused me for a bit as well, until I got used to it. I'm glad it came back around to capture my attention, because I was seriously thinking about not reading the next book, but now I will!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Murder and Cursing
blissofalife's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
No love triangle, no real angst, believable interactions, developed relationships, solid world building without info dumping! It was a fun read that seemed to straddle the line of Hunger Games and Hogwarts. I can’t wait to read the next one!
4.75 because some of the grammar read weird to me and was a tad distracting at times.
4.75 because some of the grammar read weird to me and was a tad distracting at times.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, and Violence
Minor: Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, and Vomit
100acrewoodlibrary's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Cannibalism
readwithria's review
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
*review from 2022 reread*
A Deadly Education is full of magic, monsters, and mayhem. It’s smart, funny, and full of interesting world building and politicking.
I love this book so much. How Novik fits the magic into the world is so interesting, and how the school works makes it feel like another world entirely.
The characters are so fun, and everyone is so smart and so good at what they do. El is such a snarky MC, I love getting to see through her eyes and understand her worldview. Aadhya and Liu are such great friends (as far as friends go in the Scholomance) and Orion is such a lovably dummy. The whole cast of characters feel fleshed out and have real wants and needs that make the stakes feel even higher.
This book goes by fast, the first 250 pages is about two weeks and the next week goes by in barely 50 pages, but so much happens. I almost wish the timespan had been a bit longer, but I completely understand why it wasn’t. The chapters are also a bit long, this 313 page book only has 13 chapters in it! But I read this book in a day, and I couldn’t put it down. 4.5 stars (up from 4 on my first read, though it’s possible I wasn’t using the partial star system yet).
A Deadly Education is full of magic, monsters, and mayhem. It’s smart, funny, and full of interesting world building and politicking.
I love this book so much. How Novik fits the magic into the world is so interesting, and how the school works makes it feel like another world entirely.
The characters are so fun, and everyone is so smart and so good at what they do. El is such a snarky MC, I love getting to see through her eyes and understand her worldview. Aadhya and Liu are such great friends (as far as friends go in the Scholomance) and Orion is such a lovably dummy. The whole cast of characters feel fleshed out and have real wants and needs that make the stakes feel even higher.
This book goes by fast, the first 250 pages is about two weeks and the next week goes by in barely 50 pages, but so much happens. I almost wish the timespan had been a bit longer, but I completely understand why it wasn’t. The chapters are also a bit long, this 313 page book only has 13 chapters in it! But I read this book in a day, and I couldn’t put it down. 4.5 stars (up from 4 on my first read, though it’s possible I wasn’t using the partial star system yet).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail and Gore
Moderate: Cursing, Violence, Classism, and Blood
Minor: Vomit, Death, Death of parent, Child death, Colonisation, Animal cruelty, Blood, and Fire/Fire injury
muchadoaboutliz's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Violence
Moderate: Acephobia/Arophobia, Blood, Bullying, Cursing, and Death
Minor: Racism
nixieba25f's review
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Murder, Pregnancy, Racism, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Xenophobia
inkfingers's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
Moderate: Racism, Cursing, Death of parent, and Violence
Minor: Murder and Vomit
keen's review
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
So I came into this story excited... then less excited after hearing a lot of warnings about poor handling of races. I try to avoid most information about a book before I read it, only focusing on the plot and overall like/dislike ratio of a book. Learning about the controversy, unfortunately, made me focus more on it as I read, unable to focus on the book for what I thought about it.
But first, let's focus on my general feelings of the book, I found it enjoyable. It was slow at first, and for a bit I went to read some other books before speeding through it. I enjoyed the main characters, Galadriel, for being this snarky "I'm not like other girls" teenager. Surprisingly. Usually I hate those types of characters. The real fun of it came from how it contrasted the world she's in: a school that wants to kill her and she's responding to it nonchalantly. Thankfully, that doesn't stick throughout the story. It is made clear that her snark isn't healthy. It's also made clear that her school life is giving her some serious trauma that she has gotten "comfortable" with.
I'm not a fan of teenage romances. I'm not a fan of misunderstandings either. Surprisingly, I didn't have an issue with either here. The romance isn't really a romance, just a misunderstanding everyone outside of it. It's not focused on more than it needs to be either. It has a purpose in the plot and character development, which I appreciate.
Now, to get to my comments on the controversies. Honestly, I didn't have any issues with the book. I can only speak as a black person, so take my opinion with a grain of salt, because there's A LOT of cultures mixing in this book. Children from all over the world are sent to this school, and the author makes sure you remember that.
My Kindle version was updated, so there's no mentions of the dreadlocks passage that many were unhappy about. I found a passage of the book on Google, which I can both see and can't see the issue with. The safety of how you style your hair is a cause for concern in the setting. If your hair is long, it's easier for the monsters to grab onto it as an advantage. As such, hair of all kinds is cut short, and materials to do so are valued. Hygiene problems are an issue every character in this book faces, because the school is not set up well for that. HOWEVER, if that wasn't expanded on, it is weird to focus on dreadlocks as being an issue instead of long hair in general.
I also heard of criticism over the main character not being in touch with her Indian heritage. Which is... weird? There's a whole backstory to why that's the case, but even so, plenty of people aren't in touch with their heritage for all sorts of reasons. It honestly offends me to hear a complaint that boils down to "She's not X enough," which is something I've struggled with in my life. I'm a black person, but I've been told I don't "act black," as if there's a defining way to act black. Additionally, I avoid my Jamaican heritage because that's from my dad's side and it has negative memories for me, similar to Galadriel's trouble with the Indian side of her family.
Aside from that, I can't actually comment on how well other races are described in the book. Truly, the worst part was a black girl with beaded braids. It reminded me of the kind I had when I was a kid, and how I got a concussion every time I moved my head even an inch. Shame on you, Naomi Novik, for resurfacing such a painful memory. (This is all a joke.)
For a better explanation on how I viewed the book, this post from Reddit was lovely: https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/j8o7om/so_naomi_noviks_a_deadly_education_is_accused_of/
But first, let's focus on my general feelings of the book, I found it enjoyable. It was slow at first, and for a bit I went to read some other books before speeding through it. I enjoyed the main characters, Galadriel, for being this snarky "I'm not like other girls" teenager. Surprisingly. Usually I hate those types of characters. The real fun of it came from how it contrasted the world she's in: a school that wants to kill her and she's responding to it nonchalantly. Thankfully, that doesn't stick throughout the story. It is made clear that her snark isn't healthy. It's also made clear that her school life is giving her some serious trauma that she has gotten "comfortable" with.
I'm not a fan of teenage romances. I'm not a fan of misunderstandings either. Surprisingly, I didn't have an issue with either here. The romance isn't really a romance, just a misunderstanding everyone outside of it. It's not focused on more than it needs to be either. It has a purpose in the plot and character development, which I appreciate.
Now, to get to my comments on the controversies. Honestly, I didn't have any issues with the book. I can only speak as a black person, so take my opinion with a grain of salt, because there's A LOT of cultures mixing in this book. Children from all over the world are sent to this school, and the author makes sure you remember that.
My Kindle version was updated, so there's no mentions of the dreadlocks passage that many were unhappy about. I found a passage of the book on Google, which I can both see and can't see the issue with. The safety of how you style your hair is a cause for concern in the setting. If your hair is long, it's easier for the monsters to grab onto it as an advantage. As such, hair of all kinds is cut short, and materials to do so are valued. Hygiene problems are an issue every character in this book faces, because the school is not set up well for that. HOWEVER, if that wasn't expanded on, it is weird to focus on dreadlocks as being an issue instead of long hair in general.
I also heard of criticism over the main character not being in touch with her Indian heritage. Which is... weird? There's a whole backstory to why that's the case, but even so, plenty of people aren't in touch with their heritage for all sorts of reasons. It honestly offends me to hear a complaint that boils down to "She's not X enough," which is something I've struggled with in my life. I'm a black person, but I've been told I don't "act black," as if there's a defining way to act black. Additionally, I avoid my Jamaican heritage because that's from my dad's side and it has negative memories for me, similar to Galadriel's trouble with the Indian side of her family.
Aside from that, I can't actually comment on how well other races are described in the book. Truly, the worst part was a black girl with beaded braids. It reminded me of the kind I had when I was a kid, and how I got a concussion every time I moved my head even an inch. Shame on you, Naomi Novik, for resurfacing such a painful memory. (This is all a joke.)
For a better explanation on how I viewed the book, this post from Reddit was lovely: https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/j8o7om/so_naomi_noviks_a_deadly_education_is_accused_of/
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, Violence, Death, Murder, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Bullying, and Body horror
Moderate: Vomit and Racism
Minor: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Xenophobia, Toxic relationship, and Cursing
dana_kuku's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Child death, Death, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Murder, and Physical abuse
Minor: Death of parent, Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexual violence, Slavery, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Violence