Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

68 reviews

myaphrodiite's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

4.0

‘a deadly education’ is set in a boarding school for magically gifted students. the downside is in this school failure = death, not very inspiring huh? 

in this school survival is more important than anything, due to the school not letting students leave until they graduate..or die. 

el, the main character of this story is a student determined to rebel against what the school wants to make her, which is evil. 

this book is magical and dark with lots of tension and suspense, it’s a good read that i would recommend to anyone. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Gore, Murder, Child death, Death of parent, and Blood

Minor: Bullying and Fire/Fire injury

chalkletters's review against another edition

hopeful inspiring tense 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? No

5.0

When A Deadly Education was introduced as ‘a nasty magic school’, I was worried it would be another Witchsign; I couldn’t have been more wrong. The tone and the characters are completely different, and while both books have similar themes, A Deadly Education delivers friendship overcoming the odds far more effectively. 

The Scholomance is a dangerous place which thrives on inequality, but nothing about A Deadly Education is delivered to grind the reader down. Instead, El’s savviness, self-knowledge and pragmatism are immediately captivating. Naomi Novik creates an amazing contrast between El and her non-privileged peers who have to be smart to survive versus the 'enclave kids’ who can coast on generations of magical alliance. 

El’s character development is awesome, and ties seamlessly in to an action-packed plot. It’s rare that a moment of intense self-discovery will also be an attempted murder, but Naomi Novik manages it. Against the background of self-interest and betrayal, El’s developing friendships shine particularly brightly. While there is a romance, it doesn’t overshadow the platonic relationships.

Even though El’s mother never appears 'on stage’, their relationship is beautifully portrayed. Gwen Higgins is the goodest of good witches, but the mother-daughter bond isn’t all unconditional love and endless support; it’s complicated and realistic and oh, so fantastic to read about. 

It’s always a good sign when there’s enough plot going on that the reader can make guesses about a situation and be wrong. No detail of the plot felt wasted or cumbersome, and Naomi Novik manages to set-up such a brilliant cliffhanger that even if you know there is one, you probably won’t guess what it’s going to be. 

A Deadly Education was a complete joy to read, despite the darkness of the world and setting, and I can hardly wait to move on to the next book in the series!

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Content Warnings

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Animal death, Blood, Death, and Death of parent

takarakei's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

A bit less dark academia than I was expecting. The world building is a bit confusing, you kind of just have to go with it. Since it's a series, I hope that a lot of things will be much more fleshed out and deepened in the subsequent books. I really loved the MC's mom ~haha. There's a bit of dry humor throughout. Minor romance subplot. I will be continuing the series, but I am expecting a lot now from the next books.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

Moderate: Bullying, Classism, Death, and Death of parent

Minor: Grief, Pregnancy, and Racism

emilyplun's review against another edition

adventurous 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Violence, and Death

Minor: Fire/Fire injury

black_cat_iiix's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Bullying, Classism, and Death of parent

mariareviews's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny reflective 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

Orion and Galadriel officially hold my whole heart. Their names are so well thought I love it. The whole concept of The Scholomance is so well thought and I like the way it connects with the scholomance folk tale. 
I’m a bit disappointed because it took me quite a while to realise that this book’s part of a series (that’s my fault honestly) and I refuse to read the second book until the third one is out. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Classism, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Violence and Murder

Minor: Drug use, Death of parent, Bullying, Grief, Violence, and Stalking

mikaelaandherbooks's review against another edition

adventurous 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

5.0

I could kick myself for not picking this one up sooner - there was so much I enjoyed and loved from this, especially the main character and the friendships that developed! I also really appreciated that this world has a magical school for kids but it isn't exactly a dream, and magic is cool, but it also has major consequences to it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Violence

Moderate: Murder, Bullying, and Death of parent

Minor: Grief

phoebemurtagh's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Death of parent, Death, Bullying, Child death, Classism, Forced institutionalization, Violence, Vomit, Murder, Gore, and Body horror

Moderate: Abandonment and Racism

tinybluepixel's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Body horror, Classism, Gore, Blood, and Violence

Moderate: Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Racism, Death of parent, and Murder

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

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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