Reviews with content warning for Toxic friendship - A Deadly Education

While neither original nor profound, Naomi Novik's A Deadly Education makes for an enjoyable subversion of magical school tropes popularized by the less than admirable J.K. Rowling. Galadriel is also a charmingly reluctant protagonist and I'm eager to see how she continues to grow as a character.

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_nem_'s review against another edition

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adventurous dark informative mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I very much enjoyed this book. I liked the way the description of the world was woven in when it was relevant to the story. It was slightly confusing at the beginning but I quickly got into the story and the location. It's a very interesting concept and set up and nothing like any school I have read about before. The narrator, El, is not written to be a likeable character and I did sometimes find her decisions frustrating but I wanted to know how they turned out. Having a powerful MC that then has their own struggles because of it was also a refreshing thing to read about.

I feel like some people will love this book and some people will hate it but if you like description and a detailed back story, I think you'll like it.

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berglindsh's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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greatu's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny lighthearted tense fast-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

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foreverinastory's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

I'm still debating my rating because there was an overtly racist statement, which has been addressed by the author and changed for future printings, but I still don't like that it hasn't been updated in the audiobook. Plus besides that I was still so confused by the whole premise of this book, like why would anyone want to go to this school??

Rep: Indian female MC. Various students from all over the world. I wish I could be more specific but I already forgot everyone...

CWs: Blood, bullying, child death, confinement, death, fire, injury/injury detail, gore, toxic friendship (of side character), violence. Moderate: Addiction, drug use and abuse by side character, murder.

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soundlysmitten's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

The premise of this story is unlike any I’ve ever read and I think the author built a brilliant world for such a narrative. I was a little disappointed to find a lot of details relayed through info dumps. But for a story without a clear plotline which takes place in a confined setting, I seldom found it boring. It’s a rather tense read and though the action seems paced pretty well, the chapters are longer than I personally like. Still, any issues I took note of felt minor and didn’t negatively impact my experience much.

When I first started reading, I thought I was going to hate the book because I found the main character extremely annoying. El’s hostile narration can get repetitive fast, but the way she holds herself makes sense once you learn how her experience differs from others. So I’m glad I kept reading. Truly, I was so happy when things started to look up for El, you’d think she was a real person 😹

My favorite part of the book was the dynamic between El and her allies. The development of their relationships is heartwarming as it marks El's first experience of social acceptance and support.

El and Orion have an amusing kind of chemistry, her being really smart but somewhat of a jerk and him being totally nice but a bit of a moron. And as for Aadhya & Liu, they're probably the most genuine chicks El could’ve made friends with, so I really enjoyed how that played out too.

I also appreciated the ethnic and financial diversity of the different characters and think the author did a good job mirroring certain real world inequalities that are perpetuated by the corrupt social systems we’ve established.

All in all, I'd say give this one a shot. It won't be for everyone, but no book is!

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