A great book that I enjoyed tremendously. I can not wait until the next book comes out. Naomi Novik's first attempt at a YA and she hit it out of the park.

I loved the concept of the story a lot. Its my first Naomi Novik book but I find her writing gripping. It was fun and intriguing and I can't wait to read the sequel.
My 4⭐ are because it took me a while to get into it.

While I did enjoy myself, I found the story a bit lacking. My attention often strayed, which was mostly because of the plot not appealing to me. However, I am still very excited for the next installment, and will likely do a reread of this one next year!

Not your typical "magical school" story. This book was a bit crazy and lived from one horrible situation to the next. I did like how it put a twist on "evil" and how ultimately good things come from bad experiences. The characters are likeable and the story entertaining.

Thank you publishers and Netgalley for the copy in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to absolutely love this book, but I didn't. When I heard the pitch of “a twisted, super dark, super modern, female-led Harry Potter”, I was overwhelmed with joy and beyond excited for this read. I mean this book had so much potential to be a great novel, I just feel like it was not well executed. I found the story boring for the most part due to the infodumps. It left me disappointed.

I am not saying that I didn't enjoy it, because I certainly did. I just found it lacking in comparison with Novik's previous works. I will also be reading the sequel to find out what happens next for these characters. Hoping the sequel is an improvement!

I love the premise of this book with its Harry Potter meets The Hunger Games vibe, but I have to admit I struggled with the slow pacing quite a bit.

I love Novik, I think her fantasy worlds are well built and contain tenderly executed stories that feel fairly unique, even when theyre based on tropes or fairytales, and this was no exception. Thoroughly enjoyed this and am eager for the next books to release!

I enjoyed this book and its imagining of a wizarding school, which I interpreted as the vagaries of battling through adolescence. However, I was put off by the non own-voices perspective; it made me wonder if the author had done any sensitivity reads before publication. The criticism surrounding this book is legitimate; certain passages do perpetuate racial stereotypes and the multicultural cast list does feel tokenist at times.

It took me a while to get into this one, but after I took a break and then picked it back up, I tore through it.

The main character, Galadriel (yes, named after that elf), is a young student at a dark and mysterious school for kids who have "mana", which means they can perform magic. There's also malia, which is the necromantic form of magic. Everyone is convinced that El uses malia, is essentially evil. But she's just the innocent victim of a dark prophecy. For this, she's a loner. Her nemesis is a proper hero who tries to save all the students from the monsters, including El, who hates it because she thinks it gives her a poor reputation. They keep getting more and more entangled, however, in order to save the students at the school. On the way, El begins to trust others and make friends.

The school itself is a construct that sits in a void, and is full of magical monsters that live to eat the mana that lives in the magical students. Each graduating class has to run a gauntlet of the creatures because the machinery that cleanses the school of them has failed in the graduation hall. As the year passes, they get closer and closer to the bloodbath of graduation, and the alliances and competition heat up.

I found this a riveting magical boarding school novel (is that a subgenre, yet?) with interesting characters, fun banter, and exciting action.

This book is a darker, more menacing take on the magic school trope in fantasy. Novik also plays with the "chosen one" archetype in an interesting way. It was an engaging, fast paced read, and I can't wait until the sequel.

What is good about this book?
The premise was very good. I really love the Harry Potter series so I really wanted to read about this school of magic. The main character was intriguing I liked her personality, at least in the first pages. And of course, the cover, my congratulations to the cover designer, the book has a really cool cover.
It has a weak start but a good ending so I could tell it is worth to read it.

What is bad about this book?
The book has a slow pace, especially at the beginning. I felt that I didn't connect to the story.
I learnt about El, however, I wanted to know more about the school, the classes, the background but I didn't get it.
I got more school drama that I would like.

Given that I love UPROOTED and enjoy magic school settings, I had been eagerly anticipating A DEADLY EDUCATION, but I was disappointed. I actually did like the overall story and the dynamic between the two main characters (as well as the main character herself, once I got to better know and understand her). But there was SO MUCH exposition—it seemed there was more explanation than actual story—and the attempts at injecting some humor into the long-winded, rambling voice fell flat for me.

While I've read Novik's Temeraire series before, I hadn't read much that she'd written outside of those. I do enjoy her writing, but this story was very standard to me. I didn't particularly like/identify with any of the characters and it was a typical "magical school" story. Well written, but not sure if I'll continue the series.

First line: I decided that Orion needed to die after the second time he saved my life.

Summary: The Scholomance is a school for wizards. However, this is not your ordinary school. There are no teachers, monsters lurk around every corner and allies are more important than friends. El has spent her years here trying to stay alive, literally. And even though she has extraordinary powers she has to keep them in check otherwise she could destroy the school and everyone in it. With her reputation as a dark wizard and her grumpy attitude she has never made any friends but that all changes when Orion Lake decides to save her life, again.

My Thoughts: This book was crazy! The first few chapters had so much information, world building and magic system in it that it nearly overwhelmed me but I stuck with it. It was worth it! There are many books that are trying to be like Harry Potter but this takes it to another level. Monsters creep out of every nook and cranny. The school is forever changing. Fellow students may try to ally themselves with you or kill you. No teachers or even any adults are in the school. And graduation is a life or death situation.

Everything about this book was different and exciting. I loved the ending. It was thrilling and fast paced. I wish it didn’t have to end but it gave such a good cliffhanger that I am eagerly anticipating the next book. It cannot come soon enough!

FYI: Lots of death, violence and magic.

I will read anything Naomi Novik writes. Her stories are so imaginative and well-written that you just want to keep reading in those worlds, and the Scholomance is no exception. I LOVE the magical world Novik has created in A Deadly Education. The main character El is a snarky outcast with unimaginable (potentially dark) power. In her junior year at a school where the other kids hate her and the monsters are always trying to kill her, El is just trying to get by without causing mass death and destruction. But the closer she gets to Graduation, the more El realizes that she might need a few friends if she's going to make it out alive.

Welp. This is certainly a book.
I saw a review that said that they both loved and despised this book in equal measure and. I get it.
Let's start off by addressing the controversy surrounding the book. The passage involving locks is a racist stereotype. Full stop. It should also be noted that the author has apologized and promised to remove the passage for all future printings of the book. The other discussions around the representation of being bi-racial and the school's general multiculturalism are ones I am certainly not qualified for. At the bottom of this review will be links to multiple reviews from different perspectives surrounding the depiction of race in A Deadly Education. Please do read/watch them for a more holistic view. And check out other OwnVoices reviews beyond the ones I've linked.
Now, I think a discussion of this book's faults and merits has to start with characterization. I think it could be argued that many of the flaws in this book that lead to this controversy start with the flatness of all the characters besides El and Orion. They have very little definition/motivations/texture beyond their magical specialty and what language they speak and I will think very little of them beyond the book. Which is a poor writing choice because there are so many moments that would be more emotionally impactful if we did understand them more and care for them more.
I think many of the character moments are missed because this book is wholly preoccupied with introducing you to the world of the Scholomance. Naomi Novik tries to do something novel by dropping you into the world of this magic school far into the student's education. That's an idea that's cool in theory, but to catch you up, the book subjects you to pages long info dumps about the school's nature. And while the details are interesting and El's narration is distinct, I can't help but feel annoyed that we are still inundated with info dumps 70% into the book. That is not exaggeration or hyperbole; literally 70% through the book we are still establishing the rules of this school. Especially because a number of these ideas are repetitive. Like, we get it, the school is trying to kill them. While I think the world is quite intriguing, I think the book would've been better served by allocating some of that page space to the side characters' development.
With all of that being said, why am I still giving this book 3 stars with a laundry list of negatives? Because what this book is good at, it excels at. El is a grumpy little goblin, and she's definitely not going to appeal to everyone. But her voice and characterization are so strong that I couldn't help but keep reading the story. I am not qualified to speak on the biracial rep, so keep in mind that it has mixed responses. But every word of the book clearly felt like it was coming from El. And her dynamic with Orion? Book saving. Their sunshine to grump dynamic is so delightful to read. It really did keep me invested as I wanted to see what they would do next. And with the ending, I think there are many exciting directions it could go, especially with themes of fate and predetermination.
This is such a strange one to me. Because this is a book that is so clearly flawed and yet I am intrigued to read the sequel? Do your research, see how you feel about the criticisms, determine whether you think the author's apology was enough, and make your choice from there.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDbzjssY8EY

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3585134911?book_show_action=true&from_review_page=1

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3288687021?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=2

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3578404120?book_show_action=true&from_review_page=1

This is a hard one for me to review. On one hand, I found it incredibly original, fun, intriguing, and I loved our protagonist (antagonist?), El. On the other, it was a true slog to get through - the worldbuilding was extensive and exhaustive, and that didn't always work for me. I found myself scrambling to find passages of dialogue and action sequences. It all makes sense as a whole - we're only getting El's perspective, after all, and we are getting what she finds important which IS all of the worldbuilding, which, in her case, is just survival - but as a reader, it wasn't always easy.

I was going to give it two stars (an "okay" book) and not read the subsequent book, but then I really enjoyed the last couple pages and action sequences as well as the budding friendships and relationships finally being shown on page, plus THAT LAST SENTENCE (!). I realized that this is a three star read for me, and I will definitely pick up the next one.

Inventive take on the magical British boarding school. I think it would be a great addition to a high school or public library collection.

Como a Ju falou na 1º resenha de nossa parceria com a Random House Internacional (leia clicando AQUI), de quem recebemos esse eARC (Advance reading copy: algo como “uma cópia de leitura avançada, ou seja, o livro ainda pode sofrer alterações antes de ser publicado), também gostaria de explicar que essas resenhas terão um formato diferente: por serem ARCs, não haverão quotes, já como os livros podem sofrer essas mudanças antes de serem comercializados. Gostaríamos de agradecer profundamente a Editora pela editora de agora sermos parceiros.

Dito isso, vamos ao que importa realmente: o livro!

Galadriel Higgins, ou, como ela mesma se permite ser chamada, El, é a filha de um grande feiticeira que já estudou na Scholomance também, assim como seu pai – mas este morreu porque é assim que a Scholomance funciona e para sair de lá, ou você se forma ou você é morto na cerimônia de graduação. Foi assim que ela nem ao menos conheceu seu pai, e agora, estudante do lugar, você descobre porque ela não tem nenhum amigo: a culpa é dela mesma porque El é terrivelmente mal humorada, ranzinza e até mesmo desagradável. Mas calma aí que temos motivos para a nossa protagonista ser assim.

El tem 16 anos e desde os 14 decidiu se juntar a Scholomance, mesmo sabendo que foi o lugar aonde seu pai morreu. O lugar em si funciona sozinho: sim, é isso mesmo que você leu, não há professores e cada aluno tem o que precisa para aprender seus feitiços e ter sua educação voltada para suas habilidades. Existem bibliotecas específicas, alunos aprendem línguas que já estão até esquecidas e, principalmente, existem os enclaves, que são basicamente grupos de feiticeiros que se unem porque estando com os outros é mais seguro do que ser sozinho, já como há monstros chamados maleficaria (ou simplesmente Mals) que aparecem para os alunos e se alimentam deles Sim, isso mesmo. Mortes são comuns no lugar, o que te faz perguntar por que alguém iria querer ir para aquele lugar, certo? Eu sei que eu me perguntaria. A verdade é que os adolescentes feiticeiros podem morrer dentro da Scholomance, mas fora é ainda pior, já como os Mals tem preferência por feiticeiros adolescentes, então basicamente é aquela escolha: ficar com sua família e sempre tentar fugir da morte ou ir e… também tentar fugir da morte. Por isso os grupos se tornam tão importantes assim.

El tem todas as características que falei cima porque algo em seu passado a marcou: ainda criança, sua bisavó previu um possível futuro catastrófico para ela. El própria sente que sua magia é sombria e caótica, e a previsão de sua bisavó somente fez as pessoas temerem a garota e nem ao menos se importarem se ela estava viva ou não quando um Mal a atacou. É algo bem intenso para um primeiro livro, mas me chamou a atenção e me fez gostar mais ainda na narrativa.

E na outra ponta de El, temos o personagem masculino principal: Orion Lake é basicamente o aluno modelo que vive para caçar e matar os Mals, cuidando de todos que estão próximo dele. E ele fez o pecado de justamente salvar El. Duas vezes. Claro que ela está de saco cheio de ser salva por ele, e é claro que o destino tem outros planos para os dois.

Eu sei que parece somente mais outro livro de escola de feiticeiros e bruxaria, mas não, não é. A construção do mundo aqui é nada menos do que meticulosa em seus mínimos detalhes, e é tão bem descrito que muitas vezes se torna até mesmo cinematográfico, enquanto a autora cuida de responder perguntas que parecem obvias para o leitor, porque como uma escola vai funcionar sozinha, certo? Porque cada aluno cuida de si mesmo e faz suas coisas ou morre.

Outro ponto que preciso deixar claro é a representatividade que o livro tem. Desde El (que sim, tem esse nome por causa dos livros “O Senhor dos Anéis” – sim, dos livros, não dos filmes!) a diversos outros personagens que permeiam a narrativa, o livro traz personagens de diversos lugares, e isso fica bem claro já como os Enclaves são normalmente de cidades, tendo o de Londres como um dos mais antigos.

Mas, pra mim, o livro me ganhou pela El. O livro é todo em primeira pessoa e quebra a barreira da narrativa, já como El chega até mesmo a falar diretamente com o leitor. Ela é sarcástica, ranzinza, chega até mesmo a ser grosseira, mas também é o tipo de personagem que você entende porque é assim já como ela implode diversas vezes e você lê isso, sentindo a dor da personagem. Há passagens que ela sente vontade de chorar, mas se controla porque precisa mostrar que é forte já como é rejeitada por muitas pessoas, o que é bastante doloroso de se ler.

O livro é o 1º de uma série e o final deixa claro que podemos esperar mais da Scholomance e, sinceramente, eu quero ler e saber o rumo que a história irá tomar porque o livro flerta com o terror ao descrever os Mals – sério mesmo, há uma variedade imensa deles e do tipo que te faz imaginar como ele seria esteticamente. A tensão está presente em cada um dos alunos e você pode ler isso saltando as páginas, afinal, o colégio já pode ser difícil o suficiente, agora imagine se você correr o risco de morrer. Mas, é como aquela máxima: as melhores coisas são as mortais, e para se formar na Scholomance ou você estuda o suficiente para se formar e sobreviver ou você não sairá de lá. A escolha parece fácil de ser feita.

Thanks for the free book, Penguin Random House International.

DNF @ 152 pages

uh...I wish to be rid of the crushing disappointment that's been crushing my chest since I tried reading this book, was bored among other things and ultimately decided to put it down for my own sanity and happiness.

The good:
- The premise. That's it. This book, from the synopsis, sounds absolutely brilliant. A magical school that no one fails and survives? A girl with an affinity for mass destruction? Succeeding at the cost of annihilating everyone else? Sign me up. Because of all of the above this was one of my most anticipated releases of the year and I was ecstatic to be sent an early copy.

The bad:
- This book is boring. I read 152 pages of it and all those pages were basically a very VERY wordy way of repeating the synopsis. I got nothing from those pages that the synopsis didn't already supply aside from more characters and mysterious creature and a better look at how the school functions. But none of that deserves to take up half the book, and none of it is enough to make for a captivating story. I read all of that and I still had no idea where the plot was headed or if there was a plot to begin with.
- The appropriation and lack of research. I genuinely do not think there is any excuse to be appropriating Mana from polynesian folks in the year of our lord 2020 when they have been advocating for years that fantasy media stop doing that, because it is extremely disrespectful. It is not my place to comment further on this but I highly encourage you to research and look for Polynesian folks' opinions and words on the matter.
- The very stereotypically white written biracial main character. And by that I mean that El, the main character, checks all the boxes for everything white authors do wrong when they write biracial main characters with a white parent. She's completely cut off from the Indian side of her family and is even rejected by them and the only time she even acknowledges her heritage it is in regards to when she needs the languages in relation to her magic. I don't know why white authors thing biracial characters are "POC lite" but that's really not how it works.
- The little to no research. The couple times we got a mention to El's heritage, the author just threw anything that sounds even vaguely Indian to her into this book and hoped for the best. and it showed in the lack of nuance in the way all of it was written. This also makes me circle back to the use of Mana as well as it being called "the current trend" when it comes to magic on page 8.

I was made aware that the author has apologized for the mess that came out of this book a couple weeks ago, but I haven't looked into it so I don't know if the apology is any good. So do with that information what you will.