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A review by queer_bookwyrm
A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
4 ⭐ CW: violence, murder, grotesque descriptions of monsters, swearing
A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik is the first book in the Scholomance series. This was a weird read for me. It started out slow and I felt like I wasn't going to like it, but it quickly turned around!
We follow Galadriel (El), a junior at the school if magic, the Scholomance. The Scholomance is a place where kids go to learn magic and hone their affinities so they can survivor graduation. Did I mention the school is literally trying to kill them? El is a bit of an outcast, people just don't like her, though she can't figure out why, but it might have something to do with the fact that her affinity is death and destruction. Unfortunately for her, she is a good person who wants to hurt no one, but is constantly plagued with mass destruction spells.
Out of nowhere, Orion Lake keeps saving her ass along with everyone else, making more and more monsters come out of hiding for a snack. Not only that, everyone thinks their dating, and El does not like it. El has some good character development, and I think Novik did a good job of relaying that, because I wasn't too keen on El in the beginning, but she grew on me. I thought her friendship with Aadhya and Liu was wonderful.
The beginning was very info-dumpy--there was a lot of information about out at you in the first third of the book. The magic system and world building of the school confused me for a bit as well, until I got used to it. I'm glad it came back around to capture my attention, because I was seriously thinking about not reading the next book, but now I will!
A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik is the first book in the Scholomance series. This was a weird read for me. It started out slow and I felt like I wasn't going to like it, but it quickly turned around!
We follow Galadriel (El), a junior at the school if magic, the Scholomance. The Scholomance is a place where kids go to learn magic and hone their affinities so they can survivor graduation. Did I mention the school is literally trying to kill them? El is a bit of an outcast, people just don't like her, though she can't figure out why, but it might have something to do with the fact that her affinity is death and destruction. Unfortunately for her, she is a good person who wants to hurt no one, but is constantly plagued with mass destruction spells.
Out of nowhere, Orion Lake keeps saving her ass along with everyone else, making more and more monsters come out of hiding for a snack. Not only that, everyone thinks their dating, and El does not like it. El has some good character development, and I think Novik did a good job of relaying that, because I wasn't too keen on El in the beginning, but she grew on me. I thought her friendship with Aadhya and Liu was wonderful.
The beginning was very info-dumpy--there was a lot of information about out at you in the first third of the book. The magic system and world building of the school confused me for a bit as well, until I got used to it. I'm glad it came back around to capture my attention, because I was seriously thinking about not reading the next book, but now I will!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Cursing, Murder