A review by kingcrookback
A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

adventurous dark medium-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
I went into this without knowing more than the back cover blurb. I'll admit, within the first few chapters, I was tempted to put it down. The heavy exposition threw me off, and I'm no longer in a place where I really care about stories about characters in high school--or, you know, Novik's fantasy equivalent of. Even now, I'm more of a mind to class this as YA. But I grew used to the exposition, and I grew to really like El as it became clear that her anger and her abrasiveness actually stems from a deep love of humanity--a love that El feels but never receives from anyone but her mother. I appreciated the theme of doing and being good being an active and ongoing choice, not a default. And I appreciated the fact that Novik constructed El as understanding the motivations behind the selfish choices that other characters make, even though they endanger her and despite the fact that she doesn't agree with them.

I did notice things that others have criticized, namely Novik's dodgy handling of race, which I felt was more ignorant than anything else. I have also heard that she's listened to that criticism and readjusted in the next book, so there's that. Interesting, given that the enclaves and the apportionment of enrollments in the Scholomance work as a very good metaphor for classism and neo-imperialism.

Anyway, yes, I will be checking out The Last Graduate once it's available at my library and once I've taken a long enough break to ensure that I don't burn myself out on the series.
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