Reviews

The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani

daintyrose24's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

bookph1le's review against another edition

3.0

I'm kind of on the fence about this book. While I liked some of what it had to say, particularly about the notion of the appearance of good or evil versus a person's substance, there were other things about it that bothered me. In particular, there was a thread of fat shaming I did not like, and I thought Tedros had some sexism he needed to work a little harder to overcome. Hopefully these things will be addressed in future installments, since the premise of this series does seem to be to deconstruct the sanitized and saccharine versions of fairy tales so many of us grew up on.

My other critique is I found parts of this book to be derivative. I felt a bit like I was reading some Harry Potter fanfiction taking place in an alternate universe. Who knows, maybe every fantasy middle grade novel set at a magical boarding school will feel something like this, but it didn't sit well with me.

Lastly, while I appreciated the themes of friendship, I never felt like Sophie and Agatha were a good example of friendship. Sophie straight up uses Agatha for most of the book, but when it counts Agatha is also on the verge of throwing her friend aside for a boy she doesn't really know all that well. There's some girl power in this book, but I guess I would have liked to see more of it. One of these days, I want to read a book where instead of arguing over the cute guy, the best friends look at him, shrug, and walk away while saying, "Meh. Our friendship is more important."

allysatannerrr's review against another edition

adventurous funny inspiring 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? It's complicated

5.0

annashiv's review against another edition

5.0

It wasn't what I was expecting. It was unpredictable, which can annoy me, and did, but it is also a good quality that I can appreciate. It was interesting and well thought out. It was mostly well-written, and I am interested enough that I may complete this series. I definitely want to see the movie whenever that comes out. My favorite character was Agatha, who unfortunately wasn't as big of a part as Sophie. I like Sophie alright, but I was always cheering for Agatha. I suppose I want Good to win. In any case, they are complex characters who come to new understandings about themselves and what it means to be truly good and truly evil. I can hardly wait to see what happens in the next book, though it may be some time before I read it.

i00sea's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad tense fast-paced

4.5

angelescibilsb's review against another edition

5.0

Love it!

dearreaderrep's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

book_dragon88's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

butterreadsbooks's review against another edition

5.0

I really enjoyed it! There were some plot holes but i mean its a middle grade book so you can’t expect perfection. But i was thoroughly entertained and couldnt put it down until i finished. Looking forward to reading the next one.

ryleeallison427's review against another edition

3.0

Was a little confusing at times but other than that a very enjoyable read.