THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL by Soman Chainani

Book One in The School for Good and Evil series
Publication date: May 14th, 2013
Publisher: HarperCollins
Number of Pages: 488
Date read: , 2013
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Magic, Romance, Magic
Source: ARC from Netgalley
Format: Ebook




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(Description source: Goodreads)

“The first kidnappings happened two hundred years before. Some years it was two boys taken, some years two girls, sometimes one of each. But if at first the choices seemed random, soon the pattern became clear. One was always beautiful and good, the child every parent wanted as their own. The other was homely and odd, an outcast from birth. An opposing pair, plucked from youth and spirited away.”

This year, best friends Sophie and Agatha are about to discover where all the lost children go: the fabled School for Good & Evil, where ordinary boys and girls are trained to be fairy tale heroes and villains. As the most beautiful girl in Gavaldon, Sophie has dreamed of being kidnapped into an enchanted world her whole life. With her pink dresses, glass slippers, and devotion to good deeds, she knows she’ll earn top marks at the School for Good and graduate a storybook princess. Meanwhile Agatha, with her shapeless black frocks, wicked pet cat, and dislike of nearly everyone, seems a natural fit for the School for Evil.

But when the two girls are swept into the Endless Woods, they find their fortunes reversed—Sophie’s dumped in the School for Evil to take Uglification, Death Curses, and Henchmen Training, while Agatha finds herself in the School For Good, thrust amongst handsome princes and fair maidens for classes in Princess Etiquette and Animal Communication.. But what if the mistake is actually the first clue to discovering who Sophie and Agatha really are…?

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“She had always found villains more exciting than heroes. They had ambition, passion. They made the stories happen. Villains didn't fear death. No, they wrapped themselves in death like suits of armor!

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“I’m not a princess!” she snapped, fixing her collar.
“If you say so,” the prince said, eyes drifting downward.Agatha followed them to her gashed legs, waterfalls of brilliant blood. She saw blood blurring— Tedros smiled.
“One . . . two . . . three . . .”She fainted in his arms.
“Definitely a princess,” he said.” 

The first thing that attracted me to The School for Good and Evil was the amazing cover! It's so gorgeously detailed and it picturesquely depicts the dual natures of the schools perfectly! The thing that made up my mind about having to read this novel was the blurb, so mysterious and intriguing...

Sophie is incredibly beautiful in appearance and she knows it too, she befriended the town's strangest girl, the one who lives in the cemetery, Agatha. Sophie knows the town's legend of children being kidnapped, two every four years who end up the focus of fairy tales, one a princess or hero, one a villain  and this year Sophie hopes it her turn to be whisked away to become a princess and she sees Agatha as the sure pick for the School for Evil. Agatha, though, would rather just be left alone. 

Sophie's wish comes true, well... partially anyway, upon arriving at the school there seems to be a mix up about which girl belongs in which school, but is it really a mistake?

I really like Agatha's character, she's unconventional, a little strange, but completely strong and wholly defiant. Sophie is another matter, she is obsessed with becoming a princess, and obsessed with getting her prince. The story is told from Agatha's point of view, as well as Sophie's and another third point of view, but I won't tell you whose... surprise is always fun.

Every character is interesting, even the secondary characters are given their own motives and emotions that you actually get to experience throughout the novel, these insights really expand the story and add so much more meaning to the ultimate plot. Plus, some such characters who you may not think it possible of in the beginning, do become endearing, quite unexpectedly so. 
 The plot itself is gripping and Oh So intriguing, The School for Good and Evil really is a novel you can just keep on reading. I love a novel that conveys some kind of deeper meaning and The School for Good and Evil absolutely delivers, showing what it really means to be Good, that things are always so clearly defined, it dispels stereotypes and depicts the true meaning of friendship! 

The story takes twists and turns and brings you along with it by way of being incredibly descriptive, so much so that you can picture the story the whole time you're reading. Chainani's writing style brilliantly creates settings, such descriptive writing also may happen to result in temporary blurry vision (my eyes slightly welled up at certain points).
I half didn't want to finish the story, it's an easy read that is BEYOND easy to enjoy! When I got towards the very end I actually could not believe there were so few pages left, I just kept thinking 'where have you gone?' 

I have to say: I LOVED the ending, it really wasn't something that I quite expected but Chainani really pulled it off well and now I am really invested in ALL of the characters and am desperately awaiting A World Without Princes!


“What's the one thing Evil can never have...and the one thing Good can never do without?” 

I rate The School for Good and Evil Five out of Five!!