A review by elly29
A World Without Princes by Soman Chainani

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

2.5

I'm over this series. There's a lot of back-and-forth action, and moments of dramatic tension that don't feel so dramatic. And, so many missed opportunities. I liked the first book because it made the choice of friendship over romance; I wanted this book to end with being able to have friendship AND romance, but nope. 

The choice to transform the schools of Good and Evil into the schools for Girls and Boys felt like a continuation of the reductive binary that the fairytale world thrusts us into. I was along for the ride last book, when it seemed to offer a critique of good/evil, and that we all have a little good and a little evil in us. (But then there was switching sides, which got complicated and confusing.) This was written 10 years ago, but I don't think the girl/boy binary will age well. So,
Sophie takes a potion that turns her into a boy, and she becomes besties as a boy with Tedros
, and what could've been a beautiful exploration of gender turned out to be... blah at best, and at worst a complete elision of the trans experience.

Like I said, no more of this series for me, because I don't feel like I get a solid moment of climax, or of growth and reflection, or that there will ever be an ending to these books.
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