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soffi_ramirez 's review for:
A Deadly Education
by Naomi Novik
Okay, I'll start by saying: I can see how this is NOT going to be for everyone. The way of narration is slow paced and full of description; like... FULL of description. Probably it'll bore many people out and that's ok.
Another thing that I had to basically educate myself while writing this review: the controversy regarding the racism in the book. I won't say "this is racist" or "this is not racist", because even though I'm not white, where I come from discrimination is more into other aspects than race and because I can't tell you how to feel; people's visions and feelings about it are valid and I won't be one to step on them. During my reading, I didn't felt anything grotesquely racist and the way she portrayed people from different background and races was interesting; it wasn't deep at all, mainly naming languages and places more than cultures. Since the main character is not exactly social (all but that actually) she barely name other people by their name and refrains herself to mention enclaves by their origin place. Could the portrayal be better? Yes. Could it be deeper and more thoughtful? Probably. Did it affect the story for me? No, I think the exploration that the author made was into the difference between enclave and non-enclave kids and power dynamics based on survival. Can it affect someone else's experience with this book? Maybe, so take it under consideration if that can be triggering for you.
Now, onto my opinion!
I REALLY liked this book. As I said, the amount of description in this book is unreal, but for me, it helped me to get grounded in this new reality. How the magic was depicted was something I really liked and the lengthy descriptions of the Scholomance and they way El would gather her own mana was really cool. The dangers were real, the beginning a little slow, yes, but I felt rewarded from it.
El as a main character was really unlikeable at first for me. I was like 'yeah yeah, poor you, no one likes you bc everyone thinks you're bad, boo hoo' because it came as repetitive in a moment. For me, it was really like we got it El, chill. But maybe because of it, her slow development felt nice when she achieved some milestones, especially with the supporting cast.
Now, supporting cast. Quick for Orion, I don't know if he's supposed to be Jesus or to rub us in the wrong way (due to that illegal cliffhanger of the ending), but he was like... okay. Whom I really liked was Aadhya; you rock! She had her set of rules very clear from the beginning and she was not only a good ally, but also a great artificer and was smart in the way to connect with people in useful ways (networking is the word?). And then came Liu, who at the beginning for me it was kind of meh, but then her subtle plot made me root for her, even if her subplot wasn't as deeply explored as I'd had liked. Maybe for book 2? Even Chloe was kind of okay, especially at the last part of the book, so you're ok in my books girl.
Was this a flawless book? By no mean. Did I enjoyed it? A lot, especially afterEl's fight with the maw-mouth . I'll be definetely waiting for the second book and I'm glad I have Owlcrate's special edition because it is beauuutiful.
Also, great nod at LotR.
Another thing that I had to basically educate myself while writing this review: the controversy regarding the racism in the book. I won't say "this is racist" or "this is not racist", because even though I'm not white, where I come from discrimination is more into other aspects than race and because I can't tell you how to feel; people's visions and feelings about it are valid and I won't be one to step on them. During my reading, I didn't felt anything grotesquely racist and the way she portrayed people from different background and races was interesting; it wasn't deep at all, mainly naming languages and places more than cultures. Since the main character is not exactly social (all but that actually) she barely name other people by their name and refrains herself to mention enclaves by their origin place. Could the portrayal be better? Yes. Could it be deeper and more thoughtful? Probably. Did it affect the story for me? No, I think the exploration that the author made was into the difference between enclave and non-enclave kids and power dynamics based on survival. Can it affect someone else's experience with this book? Maybe, so take it under consideration if that can be triggering for you.
Now, onto my opinion!
I REALLY liked this book. As I said, the amount of description in this book is unreal, but for me, it helped me to get grounded in this new reality. How the magic was depicted was something I really liked and the lengthy descriptions of the Scholomance and they way El would gather her own mana was really cool. The dangers were real, the beginning a little slow, yes, but I felt rewarded from it.
El as a main character was really unlikeable at first for me. I was like 'yeah yeah, poor you, no one likes you bc everyone thinks you're bad, boo hoo' because it came as repetitive in a moment. For me, it was really like we got it El, chill. But maybe because of it, her slow development felt nice when she achieved some milestones, especially with the supporting cast.
Now, supporting cast. Quick for Orion, I don't know if he's supposed to be Jesus or to rub us in the wrong way (due to that illegal cliffhanger of the ending), but he was like... okay. Whom I really liked was Aadhya; you rock! She had her set of rules very clear from the beginning and she was not only a good ally, but also a great artificer and was smart in the way to connect with people in useful ways (networking is the word?). And then came Liu, who at the beginning for me it was kind of meh, but then her subtle plot made me root for her, even if her subplot wasn't as deeply explored as I'd had liked. Maybe for book 2? Even Chloe was kind of okay, especially at the last part of the book, so you're ok in my books girl.
Was this a flawless book? By no mean. Did I enjoyed it? A lot, especially after
Also, great nod at LotR.