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Random House Publishing Group
Description
Enter a school of magic unlike any you have ever encountered: There are no teachers, no holidays, and no friendships save strategic ones. Survival is more important than any letter grade, for the school won't allow its students to leave until they graduate -- or die. The rules are deceptively simple: Don't walk the halls alone. And beware of the monsters who lurk everywhere. El is uniquely prepared for the school's dangers. She may be without allies, but she possesses a dark power strong enough to level mountains and wipe out untold millions. It would be easy enough for El to defeat the monsters that prowl the school. The problem? Her powerful dark magic might also kill all the other students. So El is trying her hardest not to use her power -- at least not until she has no other option. Meanwhile, her fellow student, the insufferable Orion Lake, is making heroism look like a breeze. He's saved hundreds of lives -- including El's -- with his flashy combat magic. But in the spring of their junior year, after Orion rescues El for the second time and makes her look like more of an outcast than she already is, she reaches an impulsive conclusion: Orion Lake must die. But El is about to learn some lessons she never could in the classroom: About the school. About Orion Lake. And about who she really is.… (more)
Media reviews
Library Journal (starred review)
The magic and mystery of this chillingly lovely novel will appeal to both YA and adult fans of J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books. . . . An unresolved ending leaves readers eager for the next installment.
BuzzFeed
I loved this book. It’s such a nail-biter, it’s funny, it’s thought-provoking, and it’s such a good read.
User reviews
LibraryThing member littlepauchok
I received this complimentary ARC in exchange for an honest review.
A Deadly Education is a fantastic and nail biting read! I highly recommend you pick it up if you enjoy character driven novels with detailed world building, and angry, no nonsense female characters ready to upset the status
Novik has created an intriguing, dark, and strange world in which students are trapped in a school that aims to kill them, unless they can escape their graduation. The setting alone creates a tense reading experience which led me to devour the book in a single day. (I needed to know if my girl El survived this batsh*t crazy school). The writing at first was a bit choppy and difficult to get into. At times it felt like a stream of consciousness, which can be annoying, but I've come to appreciate it and I think it fits the odd world that Naomi is building. This is nothing like Uprooted or Spinning silver. Both of which I enjoyed, but wasn't over the moon about. I think A Deadly Education is far better, and vastly more interesting than her other two books.
Our protagonist, Galadriel a.k.a El, is an angry, no nonsense, dark sorceress that I absolutely fell in love with. Like her namesake, she possesses immense power, but is resolved to follow a more gentle path of magic. Thus the challenge is born of trying to survive in a school that wants to eat her, when she could destroy it all with a flick of her wrist. In true Novik writing, she is a complex, feminist character through in through. She is like Hermione on steroids, but with a heavy dose of Nesta confidence. I thoroughly enjoyed her development over the course of the book, and the relationships she develops with the other amazing female characters (Aadhya and Liu) filled my heart with joy. Orion, like Harry Potter, but without the psychological trauma of being orphaned and forced to live in a cupboard is our reckless hero and alluded to love interest. I can't wait to learn more about his background especially after that ending! I appreciate that Novik does not make love the primary focus, but creates a slow burn, that is dialogue rich. I really hope these four enemies, to allies, to friends, band together to overthrow the school and overall magical hierarchy of their world.
Here's to hoping the sequel comes out soonish, because I'm going to need it ASAP.
A Deadly Education is a fantastic and nail biting read! I highly recommend you pick it up if you enjoy character driven novels with detailed world building, and angry, no nonsense female characters ready to upset the status
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quo.Novik has created an intriguing, dark, and strange world in which students are trapped in a school that aims to kill them, unless they can escape their graduation. The setting alone creates a tense reading experience which led me to devour the book in a single day. (I needed to know if my girl El survived this batsh*t crazy school). The writing at first was a bit choppy and difficult to get into. At times it felt like a stream of consciousness, which can be annoying, but I've come to appreciate it and I think it fits the odd world that Naomi is building. This is nothing like Uprooted or Spinning silver. Both of which I enjoyed, but wasn't over the moon about. I think A Deadly Education is far better, and vastly more interesting than her other two books.
Our protagonist, Galadriel a.k.a El, is an angry, no nonsense, dark sorceress that I absolutely fell in love with. Like her namesake, she possesses immense power, but is resolved to follow a more gentle path of magic. Thus the challenge is born of trying to survive in a school that wants to eat her, when she could destroy it all with a flick of her wrist. In true Novik writing, she is a complex, feminist character through in through. She is like Hermione on steroids, but with a heavy dose of Nesta confidence. I thoroughly enjoyed her development over the course of the book, and the relationships she develops with the other amazing female characters (Aadhya and Liu) filled my heart with joy. Orion, like Harry Potter, but without the psychological trauma of being orphaned and forced to live in a cupboard is our reckless hero and alluded to love interest. I can't wait to learn more about his background especially after that ending! I appreciate that Novik does not make love the primary focus, but creates a slow burn, that is dialogue rich. I really hope these four enemies, to allies, to friends, band together to overthrow the school and overall magical hierarchy of their world.
Here's to hoping the sequel comes out soonish, because I'm going to need it ASAP.
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LibraryThing member TheDivineOomba
Its been awhile since I read a book that manages to do something new with the genre, while having great characters with an actual reason for what they do. Yes, its fairly predictable, because all books like this are usually predictable. But it was done in an unpredictable manner. It even manages to
I also liked the diversity of the school - the author managed to make the students diverse, without loosing their cultural identities while being acccepted by everyone else.
The setup is also interesting - why send you kid to a dangerous school where they have a high chance of dying? Well, its still better than survival odds outside of the school.... Everything about this school is well thought out - from how the school is powered (the students fear), from why there isn't enough food (the amount of students were doubled, the food wasn't...)
It really is a fun book to read, and in a series I will be continuing.
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side-step the teenage relationships - with surviving always the most important thing.I also liked the diversity of the school - the author managed to make the students diverse, without loosing their cultural identities while being acccepted by everyone else.
The setup is also interesting - why send you kid to a dangerous school where they have a high chance of dying? Well, its still better than survival odds outside of the school.... Everything about this school is well thought out - from how the school is powered (the students fear), from why there isn't enough food (the amount of students were doubled, the food wasn't...)
It really is a fun book to read, and in a series I will be continuing.
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LibraryThing member murderbydeath
Let me get this out of the way right up front: the amount of introspective, meandering, narrative in this book is crippling. There is a 12 page scene devoted to El just walking the length of the book stacks in the school library. Granted, it's a magical library, and part of the point in this scene
And El is ... well, someone needs to tell El to pull her head out of her own ass. She's rude - unspeakably rude - to people who don't deserve it, and then bemoans in all her endless inner dialogs about how much she just wants friends, to be liked. The prophecy, in my opinion, isn't convincing enough a reason for her to act like such a bitch.
Saying all that, it's a heck of a good story. If I was irritated while reading it, it was because the Scholomance construct, how the school works, and the other characters were so fascinating, and I felt like the eternal inner-narrative and El's occasionally appalling rudeness got in the way of the greater story. When I wasn't drowning in El's attitude, I was having a rollicking good time with everything else.
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is the schools way of stretching space when it wants to, so this scene is effective at making the reader feel the interminable-ness of El's trip to the end of the row to see what's attacking the other kids, but while she had the benefit of adrenaline, I was just bored after 6 pages of it. And there are several further instances of the narrative just wandering away from the main subject or banging on way too long about one thing or another.And El is ... well, someone needs to tell El to pull her head out of her own ass. She's rude - unspeakably rude - to people who don't deserve it, and then bemoans in all her endless inner dialogs about how much she just wants friends, to be liked. The prophecy, in my opinion, isn't convincing enough a reason for her to act like such a bitch.
Saying all that, it's a heck of a good story. If I was irritated while reading it, it was because the Scholomance construct, how the school works, and the other characters were so fascinating, and I felt like the eternal inner-narrative and El's occasionally appalling rudeness got in the way of the greater story. When I wasn't drowning in El's attitude, I was having a rollicking good time with everything else.
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LibraryThing member foggidawn
A school for magic: like Hogwarts, except everything is trying to kill you. Monsters (maleficaria) pop out of the air ducts and lurk under cafeteria tables. About a quarter of your graduating class can expect to survive -- especially since "graduation" is simply a melee in a chamber below the
Novik's writing just gets stronger and stronger. El is so delightfully prickly, and all of the characters are so full and complex. The setting is unique (despite my opening sentence, not really Hogwarts-like at all), and there's lots of action and plot twists. I loved every minute of reading this book, and it will certainly be one of my top five this year. I can hardly wait until the next book in the series arrives. If you're a fantasy fan at all, don't miss this one.
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school, full of the biggest and hungriest maleficaria who have been waiting all year for a good meal. El and her classmates (she doesn't have friends) have a year to go before that happens, but there's a problem: Orion Lake, the school golden boy, has been upsetting the balance of things by rescuing his classmates, so that a larger proportion of students are surviving, and a smaller number of mals are being fed. And now, he's turned his attention on El, convinced she might be a dark wizard capable of mass destruction (which, fair, although she never uses dark magic at all, because of that prophecy about her destroying the world someday, or whatever). Now, in addition to her usual unpopularity, she has Orion Lake trailing around after her to make sure she doesn't start eating other students or something. If he's not careful, people are going to start thinking that they're dating...Novik's writing just gets stronger and stronger. El is so delightfully prickly, and all of the characters are so full and complex. The setting is unique (despite my opening sentence, not really Hogwarts-like at all), and there's lots of action and plot twists. I loved every minute of reading this book, and it will certainly be one of my top five this year. I can hardly wait until the next book in the series arrives. If you're a fantasy fan at all, don't miss this one.
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LibraryThing member bookczuk
Pandemic read. My beef with this book is not because of all the brouhaha over possible racism (though the author did address this once she realized what she'd done, apologized, and the book was edited) but more that it just failed to engage me as a reader. Some of Novik's books are like that for
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me. I swallow some whole and adore them, others are just ok. This is one of the latter, and I doubt I'll read on in this series. The writing, however, is, as always, excellent in description and style. Show Less
LibraryThing member readinggeek451
This is an amazing book.
It's set in a magical boarding school--one in which everything is actively trying to kill the students, including some of the other students. The ones who aren't trying to kill you are you hoping that you'll die instead of them. Graduation consists of being dumped into a
El is something of a loner; no one much likes her, and everyone assumes she's doing evil magic. She just wants to survive long enough to show her worth and make alliances, which is the only hope she has to make it out alive. But when the class hero rescues her for the third time, her life changes. She's not grateful, oh no. Everyone else adores Orion Lake; El just doesn't want to look like she needs rescuing.
Wonderful characterizations, rich and surprising worldbuilding, and an unpredictable plot make for a winning combination.
It's set in a magical boarding school--one in which everything is actively trying to kill the students, including some of the other students. The ones who aren't trying to kill you are you hoping that you'll die instead of them. Graduation consists of being dumped into a
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hall full of monsters; roughly half of the remaining seniors manage to fight their way out every year. The rest get eaten.El is something of a loner; no one much likes her, and everyone assumes she's doing evil magic. She just wants to survive long enough to show her worth and make alliances, which is the only hope she has to make it out alive. But when the class hero rescues her for the third time, her life changes. She's not grateful, oh no. Everyone else adores Orion Lake; El just doesn't want to look like she needs rescuing.
Wonderful characterizations, rich and surprising worldbuilding, and an unpredictable plot make for a winning combination.
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LibraryThing member ShannonRose4
You have to find and trade for spells while simultaneously gathering enough energy to cast them, all while trying not to let the school you attend kill you before you graduate.
This is a wicked-fast paced tale that is akin to other beloved favorites but blasts off the doors, stands in the doorway
I loved this.
This is a wicked-fast paced tale that is akin to other beloved favorites but blasts off the doors, stands in the doorway
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only long enough to grab you by your shirt cuff, spins you around faster than you could've ever imagined and won't let you go. I loved this.
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LibraryThing member ShannonRose4
You have to find and trade for spells while simultaneously gathering enough energy to cast them, all while trying not to let the school you attend kill you before you graduate.
This is a wicked-fast paced tale that is akin to other beloved favorites but blasts off the doors, stands in the doorway
I loved this.
This is a wicked-fast paced tale that is akin to other beloved favorites but blasts off the doors, stands in the doorway
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only long enough to grab you by your shirt cuff, spins you around faster than you could've ever imagined and won't let you go. I loved this.
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LibraryThing member ut.tecum.loquerer
Great world-building. Interesting themes on inequity here.
LibraryThing member shelleyraec
In its simplest terms A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik could be described as a cross between Harry Potter and The Hunger Games, but this imaginative, darkly funny fantasy has a magic all of its own.
Galadriel ‘El’ Higgins is in her last term of her second last year at Scholomance, a sentient
In this first book of the Scholomance series, Novik has created an imaginative and complex world full of magic and monsters. I’m not going to even try to explain the details of how the school operates because discovering them for yourself is part of the fun. Suffice it to say, navigating every activity within the Scholomance from bathroom visits to classroom assignments is a matter of life and death. Such an intricate setup does result in a bit of info-dumping, but I think Novik tempers it by using the first person perspective.
It took me a little while to warm up to El, in the initial introduction she’s complaining about her life being saved and appears ungrateful and abrasive, she never really loses that edge, but it didn’t take long til I developed some empathy for her, and even grew to like to her quite a lot. El has some pretty good reasons for being who she is, not the least of which is being in possession of a magical strength that could level the entire school and everyone it.
El’s fellow classmates are a mixed bunch, as in any highschool there is a clear social hierarchy with groups, namely the children born in magical enclaves (communities), that have distinct cache and advantages, and ‘independents’, whose best chance to survive Scholomance is to gain an invitation to join an enclave, or form a strong alliance with other independent students. El is essentially friendless when A Deadly Education begins despite her best efforts so she’s shocked by the notice of Orion Lake, the hero of the much sought after New York enclave. Orion’s attention indirectly helps El to connect with several other students, most importantly Liu and Aadhya.
There is plenty of action in A Deadly Education given that a large number, and variety of, mal’s lurk everywhere eager for a tasty meal in the form of a careless or inattentive student. And as if monsters aren’t enough to worry about, the teens aren’t above sabotaging, or even killing, each other, and Scholomance itself is wholly indifferent to its charges survival.
Exciting, creative and fun, I found A Deadly Education to be an entertaining YA read, and I’m looking forward to the next book in the series.
Galadriel ‘El’ Higgins is in her last term of her second last year at Scholomance, a sentient
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school built in the void to educate the children of the magical community’, an education only one in four survive thanks in part to its gruelling and competitive nature, and the maleficaria who roam the halls. To make it to and through the school’s most deadly test, Graduation Day, the students need to make alliances, something which is proving difficult for El whose very being, not to mention her snarky and abrasive attitude, seems to repel her classmates. That is until the class hero Orion Lake saves her life for the third time.In this first book of the Scholomance series, Novik has created an imaginative and complex world full of magic and monsters. I’m not going to even try to explain the details of how the school operates because discovering them for yourself is part of the fun. Suffice it to say, navigating every activity within the Scholomance from bathroom visits to classroom assignments is a matter of life and death. Such an intricate setup does result in a bit of info-dumping, but I think Novik tempers it by using the first person perspective.
It took me a little while to warm up to El, in the initial introduction she’s complaining about her life being saved and appears ungrateful and abrasive, she never really loses that edge, but it didn’t take long til I developed some empathy for her, and even grew to like to her quite a lot. El has some pretty good reasons for being who she is, not the least of which is being in possession of a magical strength that could level the entire school and everyone it.
El’s fellow classmates are a mixed bunch, as in any highschool there is a clear social hierarchy with groups, namely the children born in magical enclaves (communities), that have distinct cache and advantages, and ‘independents’, whose best chance to survive Scholomance is to gain an invitation to join an enclave, or form a strong alliance with other independent students. El is essentially friendless when A Deadly Education begins despite her best efforts so she’s shocked by the notice of Orion Lake, the hero of the much sought after New York enclave. Orion’s attention indirectly helps El to connect with several other students, most importantly Liu and Aadhya.
There is plenty of action in A Deadly Education given that a large number, and variety of, mal’s lurk everywhere eager for a tasty meal in the form of a careless or inattentive student. And as if monsters aren’t enough to worry about, the teens aren’t above sabotaging, or even killing, each other, and Scholomance itself is wholly indifferent to its charges survival.
Exciting, creative and fun, I found A Deadly Education to be an entertaining YA read, and I’m looking forward to the next book in the series.
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LibraryThing member Kristelh
First book of a series by author of Spinning Silver. The book is a young adult read with romance. Not a favorite at all from the author. The setting is a boarding school and involves magic. A dark "Harry Potter" story.
LibraryThing member Shrike58
Although I've been looking forward to reading this novel since I heard about it, the reality is that I was a little underwhelmed overall. The short critique is that this feels like a long novella trying to escape from a short-to-medium length role-playing game manual. Still, I liked the POV
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character and the world well enough that I expect to be reading the follow-on books; they're just not going to be a high priority. Another problem might be that Novik apparently wanted to slant her story to a younger crowd than her editorial staff, leaving the book in an awkward no-man's land between YA and actual adult (whatever that means anymore). While I had some issues with the Dyachenkos' "Vita Nostra," that had the tone I would have expected for a dark magic school story for adults. Show Less
LibraryThing member SamMusher
My pitch to kids will be that it's basically what if Hunger Games and Harry Potter had a baby, only more original than that sounds. Unfortunately it also has the kind of endless exposition you can get away with when you're ostensibly publishing for adults. (Though I do think my students may like
But the last few chapters sucked me back in, and I'm hoping the 2nd book will be able to move at a faster clip now that we know how the world works. I ended up thinking it was kind of brilliant as a story about how to shift from fighting to win the system, to fighting the system itself. I've read a LOT of books on that theme -- Hunger Games was of course ever-present in my mind as I read this book -- but they mostly include specific villains as characters, who always end up a little cartoonish. In real life, though, the people who are fighting the system don't, like, have an actual yelling match with Donald Trump. It isn't even about him, or them. It isn't personal. This book's genius, in my opinion, was making The System an enclosed environment made of literal machinery and no one in charge except some historical wizard designers and the laws of magic. That's a fight I can relate to.
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it; I plan to shift my copy over to the school library to find out.) I love worldbuilding even more than the next nerd, but the first 2/3-3/4 of the book were like 1 line of dialog or action to a whole paragraph of world-explanation -- often stuff that I questioned how the protagonist would know, like unflattering episodes in the early history of the school.But the last few chapters sucked me back in, and I'm hoping the 2nd book will be able to move at a faster clip now that we know how the world works. I ended up thinking it was kind of brilliant as a story about how to shift from fighting to win the system, to fighting the system itself. I've read a LOT of books on that theme -- Hunger Games was of course ever-present in my mind as I read this book -- but they mostly include specific villains as characters, who always end up a little cartoonish. In real life, though, the people who are fighting the system don't, like, have an actual yelling match with Donald Trump. It isn't even about him, or them. It isn't personal. This book's genius, in my opinion, was making The System an enclosed environment made of literal machinery and no one in charge except some historical wizard designers and the laws of magic. That's a fight I can relate to.
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LibraryThing member jmoncton
The Scholomance is a school for children who have magical abilities, but this is no Hogwarts. There are no teachers at this school but the students are highly motivated to learn because in order to graduate, you have to survive and that is no easy feat in this school. It's important to form
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alliances with other students because danger lurks around every corner and the more allies you have, the more people there are to watch your back. I found the whole concept of this book to be incredibly clever with surprises lurking around every corner. Can't wait to read the sequel! Show Less
LibraryThing member phyllis2779
Great book. Slow reading but worth it for the originality
LibraryThing member KateHonig
Editing to add: While reading this book, I did not notice the racisim inherent in the book, but upon reading a few other reviews and article, I realized I was blind to what should have been obvious. I can no longer stand with the glowing review I wrote below, but I'm downgrading the stars I gave
I inhaled this book! It was amazingly fun, and I ended up staying up late to read almost all of it in one evening.
El goes to a school for wizards that is full of monsters trying to kill everyone. There are no teachers and only 1 way out (that's open once a year for graduation, and you have to run through the monsters to "graduate"). El is the daughter of a famous yoga & crystal wearing witch, but unlike her mom, there is something about El that rubs people the wrong way. It might be the fact that she's best a killing spells, or the prophesy about her bringing doom to all witches. The book follows El over the course of part of her Junior year as she becomes frienemies with Orion Lake who has decided to save every student at the school and is unsure if El is a good witch or a bad witch, yet somehow keeps saving her life.
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it, and will keep this as a reminder to myself to do better. I inhaled this book! It was amazingly fun, and I ended up staying up late to read almost all of it in one evening.
El goes to a school for wizards that is full of monsters trying to kill everyone. There are no teachers and only 1 way out (that's open once a year for graduation, and you have to run through the monsters to "graduate"). El is the daughter of a famous yoga & crystal wearing witch, but unlike her mom, there is something about El that rubs people the wrong way. It might be the fact that she's best a killing spells, or the prophesy about her bringing doom to all witches. The book follows El over the course of part of her Junior year as she becomes frienemies with Orion Lake who has decided to save every student at the school and is unsure if El is a good witch or a bad witch, yet somehow keeps saving her life.
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LibraryThing member N.W.Moors
If Harry Potter was written as horror books with a very snarky heroine, you might come close to A Deadly Education. I really enjoy Ms. Novik's writing regardless, but this is a great book. El is at the Scholomance, a deadly high school for magic. The percentage of people who made it beyond
I can't wait for the next book in the series. The cliffhanger ending left me in shock and desperate for more of the story. Just a great story!
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graduation is appalling, but El has a plan to get live through it. The plan didn't really include friends but suddenly El finds that other people aren't so bad.I can't wait for the next book in the series. The cliffhanger ending left me in shock and desperate for more of the story. Just a great story!
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LibraryThing member BethYacoub
A Deadly Education was one of my most highly anticipated books of the year and...
The premise: a dangerous magical (sentient) school populated by young (sometimes cut throat) magical kids (that live Lord Of The Flies style, policing themselves due to a lack of adult presence), the magical objects
I listened to this on Audible and the first thing that stood out was the narration. I wish I could gush or wax poetic about it but the truth is that the narrator, Anisha Dadia, was just Meh (and that's being generous). Her bland cadence nearly put me to sleep... frequently... and although it felt like the narration was the cause for the book's slow trudge uphill, it isn't fair to place the blame squarely in her lap. SO I'll have to blame Mrs. Novik for the book's lackluster tone/tempo... which doesn't feel good to say BUT by the end, the narrator did start to grow on me... so there's that.
The technical: Sadly, I have to admit that this book, with such high expectations placed upon it, was a bit of a letdown. The world building was grand. The characters were interesting and the writing was good but the pacing was slow slow sloooow. Then there was the unholy mother-load of info dumping. The copious amounts of info dumping Novik did ( in the beginning) was borderline overwhelming. Now, this gal can stand (or even appreciate) an info dump here and there BUT, like everything else in life (except for an abundance of Love or cash), it's only good in moderation. Mrs. Novik is usually a lot more subtle with how she integrates all of the technical aspects (writing + character development + world building + pacing) BUT this book felt like all tell and no show. I expected this to be action packed and unfortunately I was sorely disappointed... especially during the first half. The next 1/4 was better but it still was a bit of a slog. The last 1/4 ratcheted up the intensity nicely, managing to save what looked like an imminent crash and burn. That would have made me sad because it would have been the first Naomi Novik book fail for me. It felt a bit like a take 'em or leave 'em kind of situation but I'd definitely take a weak beginning ---> a strong ending over the reverse any day of the week. The very last 5 minutes were both satisfying and had a slight plot twist... two great attributes that were instrumental in jump starting the slow paced Little Novel That Could.
Overall:
The first half of this highly anticipated read felt like taking Benadryl before bed. I nearly chucked it into the DNF pile, a grievous act for a Novik book, but I persevered and I'm happy that I did. For me, the narrator nearly ruined the entire experience. SO, not only do I think you should give this book a go, I also suggest enjoying this one the old-fashioned tactile way.
~ Enjoy
The premise: a dangerous magical (sentient) school populated by young (sometimes cut throat) magical kids (that live Lord Of The Flies style, policing themselves due to a lack of adult presence), the magical objects
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the students build and wield as well as the other school residents... a cornucopia of vicious monsters called Mals. There are magical groups, all over the world, like the Enclaves in Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments also called Claves. The school kids fight for spots in the Claves (or simply to survive) because the Claves have nearly limitless magical juice to share AND when fighting the things that go bump in the night, it's just common sense to travel in magically gifted packs. I listened to this on Audible and the first thing that stood out was the narration. I wish I could gush or wax poetic about it but the truth is that the narrator, Anisha Dadia, was just Meh (and that's being generous). Her bland cadence nearly put me to sleep... frequently... and although it felt like the narration was the cause for the book's slow trudge uphill, it isn't fair to place the blame squarely in her lap. SO I'll have to blame Mrs. Novik for the book's lackluster tone/tempo... which doesn't feel good to say BUT by the end, the narrator did start to grow on me... so there's that.
The technical: Sadly, I have to admit that this book, with such high expectations placed upon it, was a bit of a letdown. The world building was grand. The characters were interesting and the writing was good but the pacing was slow slow sloooow. Then there was the unholy mother-load of info dumping. The copious amounts of info dumping Novik did ( in the beginning) was borderline overwhelming. Now, this gal can stand (or even appreciate) an info dump here and there BUT, like everything else in life (except for an abundance of Love or cash), it's only good in moderation. Mrs. Novik is usually a lot more subtle with how she integrates all of the technical aspects (writing + character development + world building + pacing) BUT this book felt like all tell and no show. I expected this to be action packed and unfortunately I was sorely disappointed... especially during the first half. The next 1/4 was better but it still was a bit of a slog. The last 1/4 ratcheted up the intensity nicely, managing to save what looked like an imminent crash and burn. That would have made me sad because it would have been the first Naomi Novik book fail for me. It felt a bit like a take 'em or leave 'em kind of situation but I'd definitely take a weak beginning ---> a strong ending over the reverse any day of the week. The very last 5 minutes were both satisfying and had a slight plot twist... two great attributes that were instrumental in jump starting the slow paced Little Novel That Could.
Overall:
The first half of this highly anticipated read felt like taking Benadryl before bed. I nearly chucked it into the DNF pile, a grievous act for a Novik book, but I persevered and I'm happy that I did. For me, the narrator nearly ruined the entire experience. SO, not only do I think you should give this book a go, I also suggest enjoying this one the old-fashioned tactile way.
~ Enjoy
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LibraryThing member quondame
This is a good one! The magic user's school with a bite and no friendly faculty pulling for you and monsters ready to make a meal of the the weaeker or unwary student so that only about half make it to their senior year, and graduation is a killing ground. Galadriel is not the lady of light her
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name would suggest, in fact, well, you'll learn.... Show Less
LibraryThing member jjmcgaffey
Novik has done it again - a fascinating story, with complex, intriguing characters...in yet another type of world. Not a fairy tale, not alternate history...urban fantasy, maybe? Outside the school, apparently, there are wizards and ordinary people and the latter don't see magic at all. Inside the
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school - the only place we actually see in this book - everyone is a wizard, of varying ability. This is no Hogwarts, though - the place itself is magic, and learning happens without any teachers. And students die, when monsters, or other students, attack them. Galadriel (El) is an extremely powerful wizard with an affinity for mass destruction; she's working hard, all the time, not to go dark (if only because that's a quick death sentence). Orion is a powerful wizard with an affinity for killing monsters ("mals"); he's spent all his life saving people from them. When they start working together, they find an unexpected friendship growing up - complicated by the rules and customs of the Scholomance. It's a great story, on a lot of levels - the world, the people (more than El and Orion), the challenges, everything. I usually dislike stories of manipulators. Here, El is sometimes trying to manipulate things - but more often, she is manipulated by circumstance, or others don't think the way she's trying to manipulate them into thinking (more realistic, too). The only problem with this book is that it ends on a cliffhanger. The current problem is solved...probably...but a new one has arisen, and the book ends. The next one is out later this year...I'm eagerly awaiting it. Show Less
LibraryThing member jillrhudy
Galadriel ("El" for short) is a potenial "dark witch of apocalyptic proportions" enrolled in the Scholomance, a school for witches and wizards. El's power attracts endless hordes of hungry monsters, so she can't stay with her mum in a yurt in a Welsh commune. All El wants is a clean room a quiet
Naomi Novik's new YA fantasy, "A Deadly Education," starts off with weird jargon, but all becomes clear as you roll with it. At first the book is a chuckler, full of humorous dialogue as El angrily rejects both the irritating fellow student Orion who seems to have a crush on her and the inequality of the whole school setup, in which legacy students from powerful wizard enclaves have all the advantages. El hates this whole scene and angrily rejects it, along with her destiny as the chosen one (to destroy everything with her dark powers).
"A Deadly Education" is a high school clique drama with monsters and an oddball anti-romance, until El finds a mysterious spell book in the library—or does the book find her? In this quirky cast of reluctant allies, El is by far the most reluctant, but she slowly transforms from an outcast into a leader. The book bolts full steam into band-of-gritty-survivors territory, and an epic battle ensues. The message: only those who challenge existing structures can see their way clear to creating new ones.
A fun read, plot-driven and short on explanations, sometimes a too bit short for my taste: I was confused about the battle plan at the beginning of the epic battle. Not in the same class as the author's brilliant "Uprooted," but with YA it's good to dial it up a notch, and I liked it as much as "Spinning Silver." El is a spunky and relatable teenaged witch, and her stream-of-consciousness couldn't be more entertaining. Recommended for teens and adults who like their fantasy light and funny.
I received an advanced readers copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher and was encouraged to submit a review.
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spot in the library to study without being disturbed, and most of all, to be left alone. Sarcastic, rebellious, and downright pissed off, El is more Lizabeth Salander than Hermione Granger. Naomi Novik's new YA fantasy, "A Deadly Education," starts off with weird jargon, but all becomes clear as you roll with it. At first the book is a chuckler, full of humorous dialogue as El angrily rejects both the irritating fellow student Orion who seems to have a crush on her and the inequality of the whole school setup, in which legacy students from powerful wizard enclaves have all the advantages. El hates this whole scene and angrily rejects it, along with her destiny as the chosen one (to destroy everything with her dark powers).
"A Deadly Education" is a high school clique drama with monsters and an oddball anti-romance, until El finds a mysterious spell book in the library—or does the book find her? In this quirky cast of reluctant allies, El is by far the most reluctant, but she slowly transforms from an outcast into a leader. The book bolts full steam into band-of-gritty-survivors territory, and an epic battle ensues. The message: only those who challenge existing structures can see their way clear to creating new ones.
A fun read, plot-driven and short on explanations, sometimes a too bit short for my taste: I was confused about the battle plan at the beginning of the epic battle. Not in the same class as the author's brilliant "Uprooted," but with YA it's good to dial it up a notch, and I liked it as much as "Spinning Silver." El is a spunky and relatable teenaged witch, and her stream-of-consciousness couldn't be more entertaining. Recommended for teens and adults who like their fantasy light and funny.
I received an advanced readers copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher and was encouraged to submit a review.
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LibraryThing member AmphipodGirl
This is a magic school novel with a difference. There are no teachers and the school is an enormous machine inhabited by monsters and has no intention of letting most of its students get out alive. El is an outsider, irritable and resentful and trying to figure out how to make alliances that will
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help her survive graduation. Orion Lake keeps saving her life and she's had it up to *here* with that. Show Less
LibraryThing member krau0098
Series Info/Source: This is the first book in the Scholomance series. I got this book as a gift for Christmas.
Story (4/5): This story was fairly simple but well done. We basically spend most of the story watching El and her classmates try to survive the Scholomance, a deadly rotating “safe”
Characters (5/5): The characters in here are amazing. They are all very complex and I love how they innately have certain tendencies/abilities that they are often trying to fight against. I especially loved El, she is born innately evil but works her butt off to not be so, despite it being a much tougher path. She was incredibly intriguing and I loved every minute of reading about her.
Setting (5/5): I absolutely loved the Scholomance, this was such an interesting idea and soooo intriguing. The pictures in the front cover of the book really helped the reader to visualize the Scholomance because the concept is a bit hard to describe. I enjoyed every minute in this setting and am curious about the broader world.
Writing Style (4/5): I did think the start to this was a bit rough. In the first 15-20% of the book the story was a bit choppy, I had trouble engaging with El, and just trouble picturing the monsters and what was going on. Things picked up pace and became much more engaging as we got further in. I still had some trouble visualizing the monsters throughout. It would be awesome to have some sort of guide to these different monsters in the next book; there were a lot of them and I had trouble keeping them straight.
My Summary (4.5/5): Overall there was a lot I enjoyed in this book and a few things that could have been better. I loved the characters, the setting of the Scholomance and the magic system. The plot was a bit thin and the story started out a bit slow and hard engage with. However, in the end, I enjoyed it and plan on reading the next book in the series. Novik has been a bit hit and miss for me. I loved “Uprooted”, did not like “Spinning Silver” and I enjoyed the first couple “Temeraire” novels but then got kind of bored with that series. I am curious to see how she continues with this series.
Story (4/5): This story was fairly simple but well done. We basically spend most of the story watching El and her classmates try to survive the Scholomance, a deadly rotating “safe”
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place for child magicians. The story starts out a bit slow and some of the things going on were hard to visualize, but as the story continued it really picked up pace and I began to really love it. Watching El navigate both politics and vicious monsters was exciting and intriguing. I also loved the magic system presented here.Characters (5/5): The characters in here are amazing. They are all very complex and I love how they innately have certain tendencies/abilities that they are often trying to fight against. I especially loved El, she is born innately evil but works her butt off to not be so, despite it being a much tougher path. She was incredibly intriguing and I loved every minute of reading about her.
Setting (5/5): I absolutely loved the Scholomance, this was such an interesting idea and soooo intriguing. The pictures in the front cover of the book really helped the reader to visualize the Scholomance because the concept is a bit hard to describe. I enjoyed every minute in this setting and am curious about the broader world.
Writing Style (4/5): I did think the start to this was a bit rough. In the first 15-20% of the book the story was a bit choppy, I had trouble engaging with El, and just trouble picturing the monsters and what was going on. Things picked up pace and became much more engaging as we got further in. I still had some trouble visualizing the monsters throughout. It would be awesome to have some sort of guide to these different monsters in the next book; there were a lot of them and I had trouble keeping them straight.
My Summary (4.5/5): Overall there was a lot I enjoyed in this book and a few things that could have been better. I loved the characters, the setting of the Scholomance and the magic system. The plot was a bit thin and the story started out a bit slow and hard engage with. However, in the end, I enjoyed it and plan on reading the next book in the series. Novik has been a bit hit and miss for me. I loved “Uprooted”, did not like “Spinning Silver” and I enjoyed the first couple “Temeraire” novels but then got kind of bored with that series. I am curious to see how she continues with this series.
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LibraryThing member seitherin
Delightfully quirky
A tale of being "mal" adjusted and still being the kind of friend you want to have.
A tale of being "mal" adjusted and still being the kind of friend you want to have.
LibraryThing member thereserose5
The magic system is very interesting despite some info-dumping happening throughout. Also there is some racism and classism happening in this book that is hard to ignore.
Awards
RUSA CODES Reading List (Shortlist — Fantasy — 2021)
Premios Kelvin 505 (Finalist — 2022)
Dragon Award (Finalist — 2021)
Lodestar Award (Nominee — 2021)
The A.V. Club best books (2020)
Los Angeles Public Library Best of the Year (Fiction — 2020)
Original publication date
2020-09-29
Local notes
Scholomance, 1
DDC/MDS
| Fic SF Novik |
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