Harry Potter, but if Hogwarts was actively trying to kill off all of its students.

This is a fun and mostly unique take on the magical boarding school sub-genre. It lacks the cozy comfort and noble good vs evil battle of Harry Potter and can’t match the eeriness and world building of something like the Gemma Doyle trilogy, but A Deadly Education mostly makes up for that with its humor and outstanding magical system.

It’s a different kind of book than most in its sub-genre. The way the school is structured is almost dystopian in a kill-or-be-killed way, but it maintains a light touch that is sorely absent from most dystopia.

The plot is a little disappointing. It’s tough to give meaning in this sub-genre when the students don’t really have an enemy. Sure, the school is trying to kill them (which is entertaining) and the enclaves are elitist (which is not), but without a tangible enemy, the good vs evil battle that we need to really get invested in a story like this is absent. I wonder if something like this will manifest later in the series. I hope so.

That aside, the book is mostly a good read anyway. Novik is still far better at writing humor than she is at writing action (as was the case in the Temeraire series), but the clever, unique workings of the magical system keep you invested even when the action sequences drag.

Galadriel (“El”) proves to be an intriguing and worthy heroine. What the magical system means for her specifically and how she reckons with that is one of the most interesting parts of the book.

The childish and insipid “I like you so I’m going to kick you and pull your hair” bickering between she and Orion gets tiresome and obnoxious, but her relationships with her friends and the other students are well drawn, sweet, and a little heartbreaking.

This book was amazing, I love the magic and the mechanics of how it works. I loved the horror of the school. I loved El.
Naomi Novik knows how to write fantasy. I found nothing missing or sup par in the book, She really is a master of the craft.
I have made a mistake because I need to know what happens and now I have to wait until June of 2021.

Deadly Education was a quick and delightful read. From the start it's clear that the Scholomance (a school for magical kids) is nothing like the wizarding schools in the fiction I grew up on. Here characters face mortal peril at every turn, and taking a shower or eating lunch can be a dangerous feat. El, the protagonist, is an unlikey hero in this tale, having been an outsider haunted by a dark prophecy her whole life. She's unlikeable and cynical from the very beginning, but is unafraid of speaking her mind and questioning the practices that favor the elite few and damn the rest of them. I'm excited to see where El's journey leads in the future of this series.

Absolutely excellent; I will be recommending this to everyone! Hilarious, inventive, diverse, delightful!

I was really looking forward to this book, but I have decided to not finish reading this book after discovering racist language.

I think it's well-written, but I did not enjoy the characters or the setting. I never got particularly invested in the story. It just wasn't for me, but I know we have library patrons who will want it due to the author's popularity.

The writing is really not working for me, the world-building is very info dumpey, and it just does not make a lot of sense. The world and the magic lack grounding for me and I just kept waiting for something to pull me into the story but it did not happen.

Thank you to Netgalley and Del Rey/PRH for the advanced copy of this book! I ended up buying a copy anyway because it was so gorgeous, but the advanced copy was a treat. (But seriously, the cover and art of this book is stunning. I highly encourage y’all to snag a copy of the physical book rather than the ebook, if at all possible.)

Naomi Novik is truly one of my favorite fantasy authors. Her works are startling and original, and her protagonists will stick with you long after you’ve finished the book. This new novel is no exception, though it’s remarkable different than Uprooted and Spinning Silver.

A Deadly Education follows El, a junior student at a deadly (duh), cutthroat school for magical children. The school is perilous, full of monsters that want nothing more than devour the magical children whole. El herself is just as dangerous—she has an affinity for destructive magic at apocalyptic levels. Although El tries to ignore her affinity, Scholomance is determined to give El as much deadly power as it can.

On the other side of this story is Orion Lake, the hero of the school, who has saved hundreds of lives from the monsters. After Orion saves El, the two form an uneasy alliance, though they’re as different as they can be. But Scholomance is growing deadlier by the second, and it’ll take a lot more than the two of them for their class to make it to graduation alive.

I think my mistake in this book was expecting it to be ANYTHING like Novik’s other works. I found myself waiting for El to be anything like Agnieszka from Uprooted, or for the plot to tend toward to fanciful and fairy tale-ish. She’s not, and it doesn’t. El as a protagonist is angry and rude and desperate to live. The environment of Scholomance is relentlessly creepy. The prose fluctuates between academic and casual and often runs through pages of angsty monologue without much dialogue or action. It is a GOOD book, but not at all what I was expecting. Still, despite my adjustment period, I found myself hooked and speeding through the last 100 pages to find out what happened.

I’m greatly looking forward to the next books in this series. I might reread this one again soon, bearing in mind what I know now. In a way, it’s really incredible that Naomi Novik can write such entirely different books, and be so damn good at it. 4/5 stars with a ton of excitement for book two!!

***Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***
This is Harry Potter meets Leigh Bardugo's Ninth House. There's magic and good vs. evil and a wonderful protagonist who is snarky and fun. I flew through this book and cannot wait for more!

While I really loved it, let's get what I didn't love out the way.

The singling out of dreadlocks as a hairstyle that is dangerous and could be infested with monster, specifically a bug like thing that lays eggs, is racist. Yes, the school is trying to kill them, but it was the only hairstyle singled out and one predominately worn by Black people when the author is white is not a good look. There are probably several other microagressions that I'm just not aware of as a white person. So, just go in knowing there's probably going to be a couple of problematic things. Okay, moving onto what did work.

I read this in barely over twenty-fours hours, which is something I haven't done in a long time. The plot was well paced and fast, the characters were liekable, and I loved El's voice. Her voice and sarcasm were what drew me in and kept me reading. The cram with much world building into a little over 300 pages is an impressive feat. Bravo on that.

It was dark and deadly and gross and monstrous and also freaking hilarious. It made my black heart happy. The comparisons to Harry Potter of course are there and are earned. A deadlier and darker Hogwarts is a very apt description of this book, and though it is being marketed as an adult book, and the tone and voice are adult, it will have crossover appeal to older teens.

I am really upset that I now have to wait for book two, especially with that slight cliffhanger.

This was a surprisingly therapeutic 2020 book for me.  
I play D&D with friends, and in one campaign I play an assassin rogue (soon to be an assassin/barbarian).  Other characters in the group will solve puzzles, talk to people, look for clues.  My character is the one that is turned to when we reach the "eff it, kill everything" stage of things.  And that, ladies and gentlemen, is this book.  
Our heroine, El, is a half-Indian Welsh high school junior trapped at a sentient boarding school. There are no teachers, so it's a "school" in a very monastic, independent study sort of way.  Except the school is also crawling with monsters that want to suck the mana/magical life force out of students.  And graduation means descending into the bowels of the school to make a mad dash past all the biggest, baddest monsters towards the exit.  
Early on in the book, we realize El has the capability and power to turn very evil very, very easily.  Her own family prophesied her as a great destroyer.  Under the influence of her lawful-good mother, she is trying very hard to avoid that.  
The first third of the book follows clique politics pretty closely, but, on the other hand, cliques are a survival strategy here.  After that, I tore through the book and wanted a sequel as soon as it was done.

I may have expected too much from this book. It was poorly executed with its weak writing and stodgy characters. Steadily, reading this became more of a chore than something enjoyable.

Everyone knows the story of Harry Potter and his time in Hogwarts. The friends he made, the home he created. Well this is not Hogwarts, this is Scholomance where every corner holds a deathly lesson. El has survived this long by keeping to herself and keeping a low profile. Until she becomes involved with the golden child Orion and all her plans are destroyed. A Deadly Education is a dark and magical adventure into one of the most dangerous schools you will encounter. Novik gives readers a mature and deadlier version of Harry Potter by taking the perspective of the supposed villain. El is struggling to make it through her education because of her past but refuses to fail. She is smart, witty and vulnerable. She is the outcast sorcerer we have been waiting for. The structure of the book is fluid and follows an unconventional educational outline. With all the freedom the students have, it seemed rather slow when it comes to action. Instead of structured classes and a dark lord, the students have to compete against themselves to succeed. With this premise, I would have expected a little more action and back stabbing to occur, it is "high school" after all.

Thank you to Penguin Random House for the gifted review copy!

This book was definitely not what I expected. The first few pages were okay but after a while I felt like I didn't really understand what was going on. There was a lot of info dumping and there was a lot that I'm still not really sure I understand. I switched to audiobook at some point in the beginning to help me get through the story.

I didn't really like any of the characters. Not the main one or any of the others really. I just never felt connected to them or really interested. I found the story to be really strange too. There were a lot of instances where I was kind of lost and was trying to piece certain things together. I was expecting something with a bit more magic I guess? I also didn't feel like there was much of a story to follow. I wasn't sure where the plot was going until the last 20% or so when things started to actually happen. There were also some comments that made me a bit uncomfortable. The last line in the book made me a tiny bit curious but this overall just wasn't my cup of tea.

Seeing some of the racist language and way of talking about other characters in the book I will not be reading more of this title nor will it be one that I highly recommend to others.

Okay, let me start with this. THIS BOOK IS WEIRD AF!!! I think I barely understood like 40% of the stuff that was going on 😂🙈 I DESPERATELY need a glossary in the next book(s) for all the words and weird creatures because next to nothing is explained whatsoever 😅 Still, the idea is cool and the sarcastic main character and the banter between the students kept me going! But like.. GLOSSARY PLEASE

I have decided not to finish reading this book after discovering a serious microagression directed towards Black people regarding dreadlock.

Um, you're going to need to read this. A dark school of magic, no adults and no way out until graduation, designed to protect the susceptible young wizards from all the malevolent creatures that want to eat them. Despite the heavy spells guarding the school, the students are still in constant danger. Do a perimeter sweep before sitting down at a lunch table; visit the bathroom in pairs to watch each other's backs; hope you make it out alive. Don't get too attached to anyone.

El (short for Galadriel) is in her junior year, surviving just barely - she's a loner, with no real friends to help keep her safe. She's prickly and harboring a secret, and this annoying boy keeps SAVING HER LIFE, damn it. She's going to have to do something about this.

I thought it was brilliant and fun and transporting in the way a story like this should be. The worldbuilding. The character development and the way the tables slowly turn for El, how she come to find her place in the school. It's exciting but also really moving, which is a difficult balance to strike. I was a bit on the fence for Novik’s other books, but can’t say enough good things for the start of her new series.

You know it's bad when the book isn't even out yet and you're already mad the series is unfinished.

I've heard a lot of praises for Naomi Novik's previous works. Close bookish friends always recommend her books to me. That's why I was looking forward to reading this novel when I got the pre-approved digital galley from the publisher. This was my first Novik's book, and maybe I set my expectations too high. I badly wanted to love this book, however, it did not quite work for me.

Reading the synopsis, the premise was really interesting and promising. It seemed to lean toward hight fantasy meets dark academia. The setting was heavily inspired of the Scholomance, a fabled school of black magic which was run by the Devil. There was no doubt that the world-building was very remarkable. It was apparent that the author put massive effort to develop such complicated world and magic system. However, the info-dumping made the pacing too slow. Most times, I didn't really mind info-dumping especially at the beginning of the story since it was necessary to explain the world to the readers. Unfortunately, even the action scenes and between dialogues were interrupted by long expositions. Because of this, the build up and excitement felt bland and flat.

I didn't see much character development. The main character, Galadriel "El" Higgins, was anti-herione. When most protagonists were destined to save the world, El was destined to cause chaos and destruction. She was sarcastic and a little too mean most to everyone so I was not fond of her character. Over time, she grew on me slowly.

Overall, A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik has an interesting premise that I'm sure others will find enjoyable much more than I did. Its cliffhanger ending hooked me for the sequel, so I might pick that one once it is released. If you're curious about this book, I suggest you should give it a try.

3/5 stars!

If Hogwarts was enchanted to run itself but Salazar Slytherin got to do the final round of edits and decided to build in a little Hunger Games — with the odds only ever in the favor of the powerful and privileged — you'd have the basic setting for A DEADLY EDUCATION by Naomi Novik.

Then, generations later, our Slytherclaw protagonist El (who is Welsh and Indian and gives me snarky, darker Katniss vibes) shows up. She is definitely powerful (though nobody knows it). But she isn't privileged. At least not in the way that the major enclaves understand it. She's just trying to survive junior year while keeping the dark powers within her leashed so she doesn't destroy, well, everyone and everything — the monstrous mals who keep coming for her and all the students who happen to be in the way. It's incredibly difficult work, but she's determined. Most days. Except when Gryffinpuff golden boy Orion Lake keeps playing the hero and "saving her life." That gets a little old and makes her more murdery than normal. Still. Head down and graduate. Except ... everyone's odds of graduating keep getting worse and worse...

A Deadly Education is exposition heavy at times with an almost stream-of-consciousness narration, but it's so good! I'm not sure I've read a more detailed, believable account of a system of magic or a magic school. Not only is it a fantastically built magical world, but it's also an international one with exceptional cultural diversity rep and acutely relevant observations about privilege, cliques, personal choices, and more. You wouldn't expect it in such a setting, but there's also a healthy dose of adorkable relationship awkwardness — between both friends and "more" — to lighten the dark humor.

Content notes: death of a parent, both light and dark powers, constant mortal danger, gruesome monsters, inequitable systems of sacrifice and privilege, stabbing, murder, cliffhanger

My thanks to @NetGalley and @delreybooks for a digital ARC.