A review by stormwise
A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

adventurous dark funny tense medium-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This was such a fun read! Dark humour and detailed worldbuilding might not be everyone's cup of tea but I absolutely loved it. 

Our main character, Galadriel "El" Higgins (don't ask about the name) is a really interesting character, a teenager who has the potential to become the most powerful dark sorceress in the world and who is DESPERATELY fighting against her destiny. Her development throughout the novel was fantastic -
the friendships she gains in particular are heartwarming and I can't wait to see more of these characters in the sequels. 

This isn't just a "magic school" fantasy novel - the students are fighting to survive without compromising their morals, forced to make sacrifices and difficult choices every day. There is an underlying theme of classism and class mobility that leads to a satisfying finale that sees the students challenging the status quo in an effort to improve not only their own lives but the lives of future students as well.


I did find that there was a lot of info dumping, especially in the first chapter and the pop culture references felt a bit odd in a setting so detached from reality. However, I love complex world building and I got a good laugh out of the references so I can't complain! 
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