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A review by ashlightgrayson
A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I haven't read a book with a magic school setting since I read The Magicians Trilogy a few years ago and I'm so glad I picked this up. We follow Galadriel as she introduces us to the world of the scholomance where high school aged students must attend and survive until graduation. While at the school, they must defend themselves from monsters and the sentient school itself. With the amount of dangers within the school, you might wonder why the students go there at all. However, the school is apparently the safest place for these magical teenagers. This part of the setting reminded me of Percy Jackson and the way that the demigods in that world are more protected within camps than they are in the outside world. There are pages of dense information about the world within the book. This may bother readers who don't appreciate info dumps in their books. I personally appreciated it because the information is given by Galadriel (our main character) and I like her sarcastic and witty tone. It gave me insight into her personality, life experiences, and intelligence which helped me understand her personality and decisions throughout the book.
There was a lot of discourse online pertaining to racial/ethnic representation in this book which I will address here. Galadriel is half Indian on her father's side, and white British on her mother's side. (Mild spoiler following)Galadriel's father died at a young age before she was born and she did not spend any extended time with her Indian family. Secondary to this, Galadriel does not have a strong connection to her Indian heritage. I saw many reviewers see this as a weak point for Indian representation within the narrative of the story. I beg to differ on this point because I feel that those who took this position are gatekeeping the identity of people of color. I will explain further, just bear with me. I am an American first generation Latinx individual who has grown up in a diverse Latinx community. I am fluent in Spanish because my parents are fluent and I grew up with a strong cultural connection to my parent's heritage. I have friends who are also first generation Latinx who do not speak Spanish and are much more far removed from their Latinx culture than I am. Despite our differing experiences with our respective cultures, their experiences are as valid as mine. Not speaking Spanish doesn't make them less Latinx. I think the same applies to a character like Galadriel. The erasure of her experience because it does not fit what others believe should be the experience of someone of Indian ancestry is exclusionary. Therefore this is not a criticism I can say I support.
On the other hand, there is a passage in the book that I was in the original first printing that I do deem to be racially inappropriate. This passage referred to magical creatures who have a propensity to make nests on the scalps of students with thicker hair. The eggs eventually hatch and cause paralysis making the victims easy prey. Hence, the danger. The problem is, dreadlocks were used as an example of a hairstyle that should be avoided for this reason. As I'm sure many people know, there is a long standing history of hairstyles popular within black cultures all over the world being discriminated against. In the U.S. army, for example, dreadlocks/locks were banned for personnel in uniform up until a few years ago. I remember listening to a white celebrity commentator opine that a black celebrity's dreadlocks smelled unpleasant when said celebrity wore dreadlocks to a red carpet event. Obviously a lot of this kind of commentary stems from discrimination and racist rhetoric that has existed for generations (Disclaimer: I am American and Afro Latinx, so I am speaking from that perspective and cannot speak for others on this, only from my own experience). I felt this passage was unnecessarily discriminatory and offensive and did not add any relevant information to the text. The author in response to criticism issued an apology and made a commitment to remove the passage from future printings from the book. I believe that her response was appropriate and I hope that this will not occur again in future works. (Whether the apology is accepted or not is up to the other members of my community who were the target of the offense. Personally, it is one of the best apologies and responses I have seen from an author, so I'm willing to give this author another chance.) I will not be commenting on that further since it is not directly pertinent to the book review. I mention it because I believe it was important to note this since it may deter someone from picking this book up.
Regarding the characters in general, I appreciated that the school feels as diverse as I would expect for an international magic school. Students have different accents, nationalities, cultures, and connections. The side characters have personalities and backgrounds that stand out and it made me appreciate their relationships to Galadriel throughout the story. There is good representation of female relationships in the story with the girls supporting one another
Galadriel and Orion have a particularly interesting dynamic that seems to swap their gender roles in many ways. Galadriel has a colder exterior and is rude and blunt most of the time. As the story goes on and you spend more time with her thoughts it is clear that her cold exterior is a defense mechanism that she has developed in response to her experiences. This explains her disposition to be an unpopular loner which is usually a demeanor attributed to boys or men in fiction. Orion, in contrast, is quite popular and well connected with other students and has a strong sense of responsibility to act as a savior to others.We later learn that he is not hunted down by monsters the way the other students are which makes it much easier for him to catch them off guard and protect others. He seems like a good natured person to begin with, but I'm sure this level of protection contributes to his willingness to put himself at risk. The level of danger for him will always be lower than that of another person. He knows this and takes advantage of it, I think. For all of Galadriel's rudeness, Orion meets this with good natured humor and teasing witty banter. He is also a kind person overall, which makes it hard for Galadriel to find things to hold against the poor guy. He is kinder and more willing to sacrifice himself with others that Galadriel, which I have found to be characteristics more often attributed to women/girls.
The most important component of the relationship between Galadriel and Orion is that they are the only people that really treat each other as equals compared to everyone else they interact with. Most of the time other students are seeking approval from Orion and in turn are scorning Galadriel because they are afraid of her (for reasons revealed throughout the novel). Their interactions are entertaining and also serve as a gateway for Galadriel to meet others and become open to being more vulnerable with others. Orion is also most emotionally open with Galadriel and we get more insight into his character through her. Their relationship is interesting and I think it's nice to see how they help each other become better people. They are both lonely in very similar ways and their relationship to each other buds from this mutual loneliness. It's an interesting dynamic and I'm looking forward to see how it develops in future books.
This was a very enjoyable experience and I can't wait for the next book. I want to learn more about the monsters in this world and what the future holds for this group of students we are following. If dark magic and interesting characters that subvert expectations are things you like, this book might be for you.
There was a lot of discourse online pertaining to racial/ethnic representation in this book which I will address here. Galadriel is half Indian on her father's side, and white British on her mother's side. (Mild spoiler following)
On the other hand, there is a passage in the book that I was in the original first printing that I do deem to be racially inappropriate. This passage referred to magical creatures who have a propensity to make nests on the scalps of students with thicker hair. The eggs eventually hatch and cause paralysis making the victims easy prey. Hence, the danger. The problem is, dreadlocks were used as an example of a hairstyle that should be avoided for this reason. As I'm sure many people know, there is a long standing history of hairstyles popular within black cultures all over the world being discriminated against. In the U.S. army, for example, dreadlocks/locks were banned for personnel in uniform up until a few years ago. I remember listening to a white celebrity commentator opine that a black celebrity's dreadlocks smelled unpleasant when said celebrity wore dreadlocks to a red carpet event. Obviously a lot of this kind of commentary stems from discrimination and racist rhetoric that has existed for generations (Disclaimer: I am American and Afro Latinx, so I am speaking from that perspective and cannot speak for others on this, only from my own experience). I felt this passage was unnecessarily discriminatory and offensive and did not add any relevant information to the text. The author in response to criticism issued an apology and made a commitment to remove the passage from future printings from the book. I believe that her response was appropriate and I hope that this will not occur again in future works. (Whether the apology is accepted or not is up to the other members of my community who were the target of the offense. Personally, it is one of the best apologies and responses I have seen from an author, so I'm willing to give this author another chance.) I will not be commenting on that further since it is not directly pertinent to the book review. I mention it because I believe it was important to note this since it may deter someone from picking this book up.
Regarding the characters in general, I appreciated that the school feels as diverse as I would expect for an international magic school. Students have different accents, nationalities, cultures, and connections. The side characters have personalities and backgrounds that stand out and it made me appreciate their relationships to Galadriel throughout the story. There is good representation of female relationships in the story with the girls supporting one another
Galadriel and Orion have a particularly interesting dynamic that seems to swap their gender roles in many ways. Galadriel has a colder exterior and is rude and blunt most of the time. As the story goes on and you spend more time with her thoughts it is clear that her cold exterior is a defense mechanism that she has developed in response to her experiences. This explains her disposition to be an unpopular loner which is usually a demeanor attributed to boys or men in fiction. Orion, in contrast, is quite popular and well connected with other students and has a strong sense of responsibility to act as a savior to others.
The most important component of the relationship between Galadriel and Orion is that they are the only people that really treat each other as equals compared to everyone else they interact with. Most of the time other students are seeking approval from Orion and in turn are scorning Galadriel because they are afraid of her (for reasons revealed throughout the novel). Their interactions are entertaining and also serve as a gateway for Galadriel to meet others and become open to being more vulnerable with others. Orion is also most emotionally open with Galadriel and we get more insight into his character through her. Their relationship is interesting and I think it's nice to see how they help each other become better people. They are both lonely in very similar ways and their relationship to each other buds from this mutual loneliness. It's an interesting dynamic and I'm looking forward to see how it develops in future books.
This was a very enjoyable experience and I can't wait for the next book. I want to learn more about the monsters in this world and what the future holds for this group of students we are following. If dark magic and interesting characters that subvert expectations are things you like, this book might be for you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Racism
Attempted murder