A review by arachne_reads
A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

adventurous dark funny fast-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? Yes

4.5

I deeply enjoyed Novik’s examination of power and privilege here, highlighting how different the experience of the Scholomance is between the “haves” vs. the “have-nots.” I strongly identified with El’s slowly rising rage at the situation, her frustration with the New York Enclave kids like Chloe and Orion who seem oblivious to their own advantage, who El knows will likely survive because of those advantages. I really want to see where Novik takes this trilogy. The world building is solid: Novik seems to have carefully thought out  why powerful wizards in a world very like our own would leave a small mark, so that the outlay of social and historical forces would stack as they have in our own history. I often find fantasy that centers on “our world but with wizards” fails to consider how that would have entirely changed history—Novik gives us the tools here to suspend disbelief, a pressure on wizards to remain small and hidden that feels much more plausible than I’ve seen in other works, even ones I dearly love. That’s pretty satisfying.