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disneygirl08's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
yanners's review against another edition
1.0
Let’s put this out on the table—this wasn’t good.
What I was expecting: an all-out war pitting Good against Evil, maybe even throw in a school of morally grey, resulting in a centennial of smoldering rivalries and boiling animosity, with forces of Evil ultimately crushing Good and upturning any semblance of fairytale endings we grew up with, in the process crushing the dreams any little girls had in becoming a princess that summons birds and squirrels
What I got: interminable endless torture with an unrelenting migraine like the sort you get from a hangover
Suffice to say I was disappointed. The plot was in shambles because it was ending yet not ending and ending and still not ending. We started off simple with a tale of the two brothers and Aladdin before it spun off into an entire Dune’s worth of developments with sibling betrayal (the most anticlimactic kind) introducing other random players like Hook and Marialena or what’s-its-name and Fala and a whole bunch of people.
The three main characters blossomed into a whole cast just jostling for the limelight that it got really confusing and dreary to read because there were five different POVs scrambling to update me on what I missed while I journeyed with Rafal to the bottom of the ocean, or watched Aladdin become some lovestruck hero sidling up to his girlfriend like no other. That's right, Aladdin had devolved from his debonair thieving ways to become some wish version of a Ken doll. He's besotted with a goody-two-shoes princess who I've never heard of before and was the gayest Disney character there ever was in the first fifty pages. Meanwhile, James Hook is a sniveling coward who tries to be a pirate but fails superbly.
We're occasionally reminded of the Storian with nifty summaries thrown in at the beginning of chapters like "The pen maintains the balance between Good and Evil. Without love, the balance would be disrupted. The pen sent Aladdin to the wrong school as a test for our brotherly love".
I'm chalking this up to a blunder (as most .5 books usually are) because I've already borrowed the next book in the confidence that fantasy would never let me down no matter what.
Well it did.
1.5 stars
What I was expecting: an all-out war pitting Good against Evil, maybe even throw in a school of morally grey, resulting in a centennial of smoldering rivalries and boiling animosity, with forces of Evil ultimately crushing Good and upturning any semblance of fairytale endings we grew up with, in the process crushing the dreams any little girls had in becoming a princess that summons birds and squirrels
What I got: interminable endless torture with an unrelenting migraine like the sort you get from a hangover
Suffice to say I was disappointed. The plot was in shambles because it was ending yet not ending and ending and still not ending. We started off simple with a tale of the two brothers and Aladdin before it spun off into an entire Dune’s worth of developments with sibling betrayal (the most anticlimactic kind) introducing other random players like Hook and Marialena or what’s-its-name and Fala and a whole bunch of people.
The three main characters blossomed into a whole cast just jostling for the limelight that it got really confusing and dreary to read because there were five different POVs scrambling to update me on what I missed while I journeyed with Rafal to the bottom of the ocean, or watched Aladdin become some lovestruck hero sidling up to his girlfriend like no other. That's right, Aladdin had devolved from his debonair thieving ways to become some wish version of a Ken doll. He's besotted with a goody-two-shoes princess who I've never heard of before and was the gayest Disney character there ever was in the first fifty pages. Meanwhile, James Hook is a sniveling coward who tries to be a pirate but fails superbly.
We're occasionally reminded of the Storian with nifty summaries thrown in at the beginning of chapters like "The pen maintains the balance between Good and Evil. Without love, the balance would be disrupted. The pen sent Aladdin to the wrong school as a test for our brotherly love".
I'm chalking this up to a blunder (as most .5 books usually are) because I've already borrowed the next book in the confidence that fantasy would never let me down no matter what.
Well it did.
1.5 stars
starry2013's review
adventurous
dark
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
3.5
caitlinxx05's review against another edition
4.0
I’d first like to say that I haven’t read the series this goes with and in all honesty, I don’t plan to read it either. But even so, this book HITS.
Nothing is as it seems (or is it?) and every character has you rooting, either for their victory or downfall. I loved the storyline, and even if I saw the twists coming, I still kept reading eagerly. It’s unique, yet brings up well-known fairy tale characters twisted to be as we know them, while still not at all.
The only bummer for me was that the ending doesn’t sketch a clear picture of the future, only to find out tHERE’S A SECOND BOOK?? I have too many questions not to read that one, so on we go..
Nothing is as it seems (or is it?) and every character has you rooting, either for their victory or downfall. I loved the storyline, and even if I saw the twists coming, I still kept reading eagerly. It’s unique, yet brings up well-known fairy tale characters twisted to be as we know them, while still not at all.
The only bummer for me was that the ending doesn’t sketch a clear picture of the future, only to find out tHERE’S A SECOND BOOK?? I have too many questions not to read that one, so on we go..
m0rdred_the_fallen's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-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
5.0
De todos los personajes posibles para aparecer como el protagonista, Aladin no es a quién hubiera esperado y menos en el lado del bien. Me refiero a que pensé que todo el rollo iba a ser que alguien hechizó al Cuentista para destruir la Escuela del Bien y el Mal, o cuando menos cobrarse algún resentimiento con alguno de los Directores.
Admito que Garfio me pareció al inicio una adición innecesaria, incluso hasta boba, pero cuando se da el torneo entre Siempres y Nuncas fue cuando todo cayó en su lugar.Aunque ahora quiero ver como los personajes que se llevó tienen sus aventuras en Nunca Jamás contra Peter Pan.
Dentro de todo una de las lecturas más amenas y disfrutables que he tenido en un buen rato.
Admito que Garfio me pareció al inicio una adición innecesaria, incluso hasta boba, pero cuando se da el torneo entre Siempres y Nuncas fue cuando todo cayó en su lugar.
Dentro de todo una de las lecturas más amenas y disfrutables que he tenido en un buen rato.
matteahayn's review
adventurous
hopeful
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
3.0
sonicdamage2019's review against another edition
fast-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
2.75
am83r's review against another edition
3.0
Fast paced and entertaining. Got a bit tired of it, but I love the series “The School for Good and Evil” which is the reason I bought and read this book.
jasonlaw77's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75