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ladypalutena's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
UPDATED REVIEW, 2024:
It's still a struggle to get through the first few chapters of the book. There's a fine line between "telling" everything and letting your readers stumble around until it clicks, and Novak rides the very edge of that line.
But once the world makes sense, you're still fighting El's personality until halfway through the book, and that's rough.
ORIGINAL REVIEW, 2020:
My First Impression Friday musings were correct: our main character, El (short for Galadriel), is snappy and rude with everyone she comes across, because she holds a giant grudge against the rest of humanity for not helping her when she was young and she encountered her first "mal" - creatures that prey on those with magical abilities. She knows that the only way to survive graduation (when the seniors are left on their own to fight against a horde of mals) is to form alliances with others, but she can't let her inner rage monster stop for just a second to give herself a chance of surviving.
It's still a struggle to get through the first few chapters of the book. There's a fine line between "telling" everything and letting your readers stumble around until it clicks, and Novak rides the very edge of that line.
But once the world makes sense, you're still fighting El's personality until halfway through the book, and that's rough.
ORIGINAL REVIEW, 2020:
My First Impression Friday musings were correct: our main character, El (short for Galadriel), is snappy and rude with everyone she comes across, because she holds a giant grudge against the rest of humanity for not helping her when she was young and she encountered her first "mal" - creatures that prey on those with magical abilities. She knows that the only way to survive graduation (when the seniors are left on their own to fight against a horde of mals) is to form alliances with others, but she can't let her inner rage monster stop for just a second to give herself a chance of surviving.
I think that's the worst part of the first half of the book for me - El is so stubborn and resistant to looking at anyone else in the Scholomance for help that when she does get friends, she pushes them away with all her might just so she won't look weak. In short, she is the angsty teen that I dreaded going into this book, and that I've spent most of the book screaming at to just let them help you, you know you're going to need it next year, why won't you just form an alliance now and leave them after you leave the school?
Without giving too much away, I am incredibly proud of the growth that El goes through during this novel. She changes from angsty teen to someone that I can almost respect, and she does it in small ways. It's not just a sudden "Oh, and then I was sweet and kind to everyone I came across" kind of thing. No, it's small, real-life growth instead of a reveal all at once that she's changed her entire life around.
A Deadly Education was supposed to be the first part of a two-part series, but Naomi Novik has recently said that it's turned into a trilogy (because we all know that when you write a book, it takes a mind of its own). I am incredibly excited for this trilogy, because this book is one of the better ones I've read this year. The issue with it being the first part in a series, and the first part of a series set in a world that's vastly different from anything the reader knows, is that a lot of the book is taken up with explanations. The first few chapters are a bit of a slog, with El explaining the details of every single thing she mentions, to the point where I was half glad of the explanation but half irritated at having to read a page-long explanation for every single new noun that El used. I'm hoping that now the first book is over, we won't be treated to nearly as many explanations in the following books.
When you use the word "wizard" when discussing a book, the first thing most people will think of is Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, because it's been ingrained in our heads and in pop culture so you can barely turn a page of a book without someone referencing Harry Potter. The Scholomance is not Harry Potter. There are no teachers, only creatures waiting to eat you if you do not pay attention. It's mentioned that over half of the graduating class does not survive their first three years, and then a further half of what's left do not survive graduation. It's honestly refreshing after the stereotypical "wizard boarding school" novels that I've read over the years. It's not trying to be the next Harry Potter. It stands well enough on its own, and I don't think the two are similar enough to even be mentioned in the same sentence.
If you are looking for something different from your magic-using series, this is the book for you. It is something entirely new (at least to me), and it is something I am very much looking forward to finishing. I am a little worried that with a strong of a first book that this one is, that the next two (or the ending!) will be a tragedy, like what happened with the Inkheart trilogy (I love the first book, tolerated the second, and can't stand the third). Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to pre-order The Last Graduate.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Violence, and Death
lucystolethesky's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
fast-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Child death, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Classism, Bullying, Animal death, and Gore
Minor: Pregnancy, Animal cruelty, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Bullying, Body horror, Islamophobia, and Cultural appropriation
amandaboyer's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Child death, Murder, Death, Gore, Violence, and Death of parent
passionatereader78's review against another edition
challenging
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? It's complicated
4.0
What a book! The details are fantastic. The way the author takes time to describe all of the creatures in the school is beautiful. The way she unfolded this story was enchanting. Galadriel is attending the school of Scholomance. She needs to learn spells to survive in the world. This school is the most dangerous place for students. They must watch out for monsters and horrible creatures. They should never be alone. The school is magic and provides the students with what they need at a practice of course. Orion is fearlessly Saving his fellow students from the creatures in the school. He's attracted to Galadriel and becomes her personal Bodyguard. Plunging into danger at every turn. He belongs to the New York coven which Galadriel wants to join.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Classism, Child death, Death, and Vomit
Minor: Pregnancy and Death of parent
hzamrzla's review against another edition
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
While I loved the world of this book and the possibilities it presented, the story itself was weirdly paced. I felt like it spent a LOT of time building up to a major, menacing reveal, and then the climax was told with the same weight as the rest of the story, the ending felt abrupt and jarring, and overall, it just seemed like a lot of buildup for not much payoff.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism
Moderate: Bullying and Violence
Minor: Sexual assault, Animal cruelty, Child death, and Emotional abuse
One scene is not a sexual assault, but a pretty blatant sexual assault parallel. It was the only thing in the book that really gave me pause.tbd's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Abandonment, Child death, Murder, Classism, and Vomit
Minor: Abandonment
emmhardt's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
A surprising and refreshing magic system, with a battle royale world where none of the kids are actually interested in fighting each other to stay alive. Galadriel was an incredibly compelling main character with a magnificently written interior life.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, and Child death
wordsofclover's review against another edition
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? It's complicated
4.5
El is a student in the Scholomance - one of the deadliest schools in the world for those born with magical powers. In the Scholomance, every day could be your last as students are faced with the prospect of being set upon by all kinds of monsters that live within the walls, and the only way of leaving is on Graduation Day. El has managed four years on her own but as her Junior year is almost up, she begins to grudgingly accept some new friendships and alliances that come her way and might help save her life.
This was a really fun audiobook listen - the pacing of the book is quite fast and action-packed with some kind of monster fight happening every couple of pages (even if it's just Orion blasting a few away from El's head) and while I did find there was a lot of information coming my way about how the school worked as well as manna vs malia, I think I understood almost all of it.
The magic school setting is a fun one as this particular setting is different to other kinds of schools in just how dangerous it is. There are no adults or teachers present, the school provides all the education the students need in different topics with the library presenting the students the books they need or want for certain things (or sometimes the spells the school wants them to know). I did have to suspend some disbelief in how any parents would be okay sending their children to be locked away for 5 years in a place that has an extremely high mortality rate but that's just the way this world works.
El as a character is very good - she's really smart and powerful but there's a prophecy about her being able to bring about world destruction - and the way the school reacts to this power of El's is quite funny in many ways. She's snappy and well able to take care of herself but during this book we see moments of vulnerability within her, and ways in which she is a normal teenage girl.
There's not a lot of general teen angst or romance in this book because the students have a lot more to be worrying about but there was a moment near the end of the book that some of it came in and I actually really loved it as it was a lovely, light moment at the end of a book that had been fairly dark - both between El and Orion, and her two girlfriends.
I really liked this, and I'm moving straight onto the next book as it's a fun world to be in for a while.
This was a really fun audiobook listen - the pacing of the book is quite fast and action-packed with some kind of monster fight happening every couple of pages (even if it's just Orion blasting a few away from El's head) and while I did find there was a lot of information coming my way about how the school worked as well as manna vs malia, I think I understood almost all of it.
The magic school setting is a fun one as this particular setting is different to other kinds of schools in just how dangerous it is. There are no adults or teachers present, the school provides all the education the students need in different topics with the library presenting the students the books they need or want for certain things (or sometimes the spells the school wants them to know). I did have to suspend some disbelief in how any parents would be okay sending their children to be locked away for 5 years in a place that has an extremely high mortality rate but that's just the way this world works.
El as a character is very good - she's really smart and powerful but there's a prophecy about her being able to bring about world destruction - and the way the school reacts to this power of El's is quite funny in many ways. She's snappy and well able to take care of herself but during this book we see moments of vulnerability within her, and ways in which she is a normal teenage girl.
There's not a lot of general teen angst or romance in this book because the students have a lot more to be worrying about but there was a moment near the end of the book that some of it came in and I actually really loved it as it was a lovely, light moment at the end of a book that had been fairly dark - both between El and Orion, and her two girlfriends.
I really liked this, and I'm moving straight onto the next book as it's a fun world to be in for a while.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Child death and Death of parent
beccaand's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Child death, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: Murder and Death of parent
Minor: Animal death
torturedreadersdept's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Gore, Classism, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Cursing, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Dysphoria, Grief, Pregnancy, and Vomit
Minor: Suicide