At this point I'll follow Naomi Novik's writing anywhere, no matter what the topic. With A Deadly Education, she takes a combination high-school-for-magicians and prison/gladiatorial battle approach. Here, the fight is to form alliances and look for any advantages to fight the monsters primed to sneak their way into the school to kill young magicians, in order to survive long enough to graduate with the skills to fight off the monsters in the real world. No teachers, no help other than what you can make and barter amongst yourselves. Really good and kept me up most of the night because I didn't want to stop reading. Fully realized world. There will be comparisons to HP due to the school setting, but it's playing a completely different game and is far, far better at it.

There are a lot of gaps here, but for some reason this book about a school where most students end up dead appealed to me. The Scholomance is a place, a school situated somewhere in the void - neither here nor there. There are no teachers, instead course materials appear and you will - somehow - learn. Students are brought to the school by some magical process, assigned a room they will live in for the next four years, and they left to learn the rules and how to survive. Why? Because monsters. Lots and lots of monsters.

Some alliances are necessary to survive, but our heroine El isn't the alliance type. Because she's a seriously bad person, per her grandmother. So when the school good guy starts being nice? You just know that's not going to go well.

I loved El's anger and rudeness, her suspicion of those around her. The setting is different, and the combination of the way the school operates and the students challenges will be even greater in the next book.

eARC provided by publisher.

I am obsessed with this book and loved it with all my heart and am deeply upset that I don't have the sequel right this now!

Have you ever read a book you knew was going to be 5 stars before you even finished chapter one? This was that book for me. From the very start, I loved El's grumpy voice, her terrifying school of wizardry, and its resident idiot savior Orion Lake. For all those who, like me, are absolutely obsessed with jock/tsundere romance, this one is for you.

Don't be fooled. This book is not very romantic. Emily Duncan was absolutely correct when she said the romance is exclusively comprised of two wizards yelling at each other. But I am easy to please. I love wizard love interests who yell at each other. The sass was endless and I cherished every hilarious moment of it.

I loved this book. I loved every single bit of it. Did I mention that? This is the third book I have read by Naomi Novik and this is without a doubt my favorite of the three. Naomi Novik excels at many things and one of those things is writing snarky witch protagonists. Galadriel Higgins is without a doubt the snarkiest and witchiest protagonist among those I have read from Novik. A sorceress of apocalyptic proportions, El has spent her life an outcast and her school years trying her absolute best not to accidentally murder her classmates. And right along with her apocalyptic powers come bad vibes. El has never been liked by a single person other than her mother her entire life. Our story opens on a diligent, friendless, grump of a witch only trying to get by in a hellishly dangerous school. As if the resident monsters weren't enough, El's gifts give her a natural aptitude for razing cities to the ground and turning everyone within a 1o mile radius into an army of dedicated minions. El's classmates have no idea what wort of world-ending power hides among them. To her classmates, El is merely a rude outcast. Enter Orion Lake.

Orion Lake is the school's resident hero. Similar to a certain Boy Who Lived, Orion spends his school years saving the populace from certain death by destroying every scary thing stalking the students day and night. After a few coincidental encounters fueled by Orion's white knight personality, the golden hero himself begins to follow our favorite snarky witch around like a monster-slaying puppy. Wizard love interests yelling at each other ensues. If I could have lived inside this book for 500 more pages I would have done it gladly. Be warned. You will not be able to put this thing down.

An instant new favorite for me, I'll be salivating for book 2 for the rest of the year. Darkly atmospheric, hilarious, and with an impeccable voice, this book has zero flaws and a hundred strengths. My lizard brain craves an immediate reread. Whether I can resist remains to be seen.

A fun, fast-paced read perfect for ages 15+. Naomi Novik introduces readers to the Scholomance, a school built to keep young wizards safe despite the fact that it also, more than occasionally, eats them. This deadly school is filled with maleficaria, monsters set on devouring the mana of the students and many of them seem particularly attracted to Galadriel (El for short). Our snarky heroine is in her junior year and her voice is both distinctive and refreshing. With hints of romance, supernatural action, and strong social themes, I believe this book will appeal to many.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing a copy of this book to review!

I learned of this book during Library Journal’s online Day of Dialog event. As in Naomi Novik’s previous novels Uprooted and Spinning Silver, here too Novik’s worldbuilding skills shine. Scholomance is rich with details that will appeal to many audiences. Fantasy and horror fans can enjoy the magic usage and monsters; young adult fans, the high-school-age characters’ emotional and social struggles. There are hints of flirtation and potential relationships that might satisfy romance fans. The supernatural action scenes might draw in reluctant readers who do like video games of a similar nature. Readers seeking deeper themes with their entertainment can appreciate how Novik uses the troubled world of the Scholomance to explore current issues in real societies such as the ultra-capitalist U.S.

Since this title is fiction, and its official publication date is not until September 29th this year, that is all I will say in this review in order to avoid spoilers. I believe this book would be a good purchase for libraries with readers in any of the interest groups I’ve mentioned.

What a fantastic read in an extraordinarily interesting world. I finished my ARC in 3 days - I hardly ever finish books in 3 days. I would recommend it to fans of Percy Jackson, Harry Potter, Six of Crows and similar books. My favorite part of this story is how it subverted my expectations of what a magical school should be. I may have to pick up the audiobook when it comes out because the character voice is dynamite. I love Novik's spin on the 'Hero' character archetype, it reminded me a bit of Rainbow Rowell's Simon Snow. I was very happy to learn that A Deadly Education is going to be the first installment of a trilogy, the rest of which, cannot come soon enough..

I received a digital review copy of A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik from NetGalley in exchange for a review.

Welcome to the Scholomance, a school for wizards ages 14-18, where there are no teachers, no adults, and no ways out except for death and graduation. The school is filled with maleficaria of various types, monsters set on devouring the mana (life/magic/energy) of the students, and surviving these ongoing attacks is part of the preparation for the gauntlet of the largest and deadliest maleficaria that stand between graduating seniors and escape in the graduation hall. As a junior, Galadriel doesn’t have to worry about graduation just yet, but she already has plenty to deal with: a prophecy that she might end the world; an aura that scares off anyone who meets her, which makes building a graduation alliance difficult; an affinity for magical destruction on a terrifying scale; and the fact that unlike everyone else in the school, she can’t afford to dabble in even the greyest of malia (dark magic) without risking going overboard and killing her fellow students. On top of this, Orion Lake, the golden boy of the school with a talent for slaying mals, is making a habit of saving her life and damaging her chances of getting into a wizarding enclave on a reputation of destructive ability and competence. The only possible solutions are to either kill Orion before he can cement her reputation for needing someone to save her, or use the rumors that they must be dating to finagle her way into the good graces of the enclave students who might be her ticket out after graduation.

I didn’t even know that I wanted this book, but here it is and I love it. I requested the ARC solely on the basis of adoring Novik’s previous books, even though I was initially iffy on the premise of A Deadly Education, which sounded a bit too much like Hunger Games meets Harry Potter. I should never have doubted Novik’s skills with narrative and world building. El is a dark queen in waiting who is steadfastly refusing the role the world seems to have chosen for her. Meanwhile, Orion Lake starts as your stereotypical oblivious hero, but latches on to El as the only person who has never treated him as special, much to her irritation and growing bafflement. Neither of them is happy with the roles the world has given them, although Orion’s unthinking acceptance of the status quo and obliviousness to social realities makes a nice foil to El’s hyperawareness of the systemic inequalities that carry the enclave students (rich, powerful, well-supplied, and guaranteed a safe place after graduation) through the Scholomance with minimal danger and leave students like El to make their way alone. The Scholomance itself is fascinating, both in its organization and the magical system that sustains it – effort equals magic and misery equals reward, so things like push-ups, crochet, and Sudoku puzzles can build energy for spells and if you go through something truly awful, you’re likely to receive something really good in compensation. The growing relationship between El and Orion is compelling without overtaking the focus of the plot. I like their dynamic, as two incredibly socially inept people navigating their way into accidentally caring about one another while sniping all the way. My only regret over getting the advance copy of A Deadly Education is that I am already impatient for the sequel and have that much longer to wait for it.

Review will be posted on Goodreads two weeks before publication and added to Barnes and Noble and Amazon after publication.

Received ARC from netgalley for review.

A little bit of Hogwarts, and a little bit of the Hunger Games, and a lot of something completely different. I'm ready for the next installment, now!

It's fun world building, and it's not for kids. I'd recommend for 15 and up.

This is my first Naomi Novik read and I have heard so much good about Spinning Silver, so I was excited to dive in.
A Deadly Education is a fun read with a fabulously grey heroine (she's destined to be bad, but tries so hard to be good) and a school you may not want to send your worst enemies to. I loved the magic and set-up, but struggled a little with the characters. Maybe it was the first person pov, but I didn't really care for Orion.
Overall it dragged a bit for me, but that could very well have to do with my current state of mind (and the state of the world). I am looking forward to re-reading and probably loving it more the second time.

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 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.

Magic. Monsters. Graduation? Welcome to the Scholomance, where your best chance of survival depends not only on passing your exams but how well you use every advantage you can by gathering spells, making deals, and forming alliances. And always, always, staying on guard. With a smart, determined heroine who has massive dark power at her fingertips, this is one magical adventure you won’t want to miss.
#ADeadlyEducation #NetGalley

This is frequently going to be compared to Harry Potter, but the similarities end after magic school. This is no Hogwarts. The Scholomance is an extraordinarily deadly school that, in a sense, is trying to "eat" its students. This is a school where doing well on exams and submitting homework on time is literally life or death. Add to that untold numbers of starving monsters that are attracted to magic as well as a lack of teachers or adult caretakers, I would say this is more of a Hunger Games type situation. The students have to bargain knowledge, talents, or the promise of future payoff to make deals within the school for supplies, an exchange of spells, or acceptance into an enclave (which is basically a faction).

Enter El, short for Galadriel, our awesome, very snarky, main character. She is an extraordinarily powerful witch who has the potential to become a dark sorceress capable of unimaginable evil. Because of this, she is almost universally hated and left alone which makes her experience at the Scholomance much more dangerous. Her goal is to demonstrate her value to the most powerful enclaves in the school and hopefully impress an invitation to join from one of them. Making that difficult for her to pull off is Orion, the beloved hero of the school and member of the most coveted enclave.

I couldn't put this down! I loved El, her internal growth, and her desire to remain good despite the intrinsic nature of her powers and the school itself constantly pushing her towards evil. I enjoyed watching her eventual friendship with Orion form, and how, because of her own experiences, she was able to see past the golden boy image to his vulnerability. She also made amazing friendships with two other girls from her year through hard work and a consistent demonstration of trust.

I can't wait for the second book in the series! In the meantime, I'm going to check out more of Naomi Naovik's catalog.

Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy!

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik
This is the first Naomi Novik book I have read and I can not wait to read her other books. The description for this book sounded interested but I was a bit iffy on it for the first few chapters and didn't really know what to expect. However, after those first few chapters I was completely hooked. The characters quickly grow on you and before I even realized it had happened I found myself tearing up for our protagonist and rooting for her all the way. The book features a diverse and interesting cast and the story moves along quickly and kept me throughly engaged. I am eagerly awaiting the second book now!
A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik will be published September 29, 2020.
Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey Books for the eARC.
#ADeadlyEducation #NaomiNovik #NetGalley # DelReyBooks

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is actually the first book by Novik that I have ever read, and now I’m ready to dive into more. I blew through this one and definitely struggled to put it down. The Scholomance makes Hogwarts look tame. The school for teen wizards is literally suspended in a black void that will drive you mad if happen to slip into it. Plus, there are monsters literally everywhere trying to eat you. Want some food? Look for monsters first. Need to go to class? The buddy system is a must and you never want to be the first in. And in this school, being in with the right group can save your life, literally. In the midst of all this is the main character, Galadriel or El to those who know her well, which is not many. El is surly and sarcastic, but somehow still endearing as she struggles to survive a school that seems determined to either take her out or make her the worst version of herself. El’s constantly fighting an inner struggle not to succumb and take the easy path, which for her include mass murder and mayhem and the struggle is made harder when the Scholomance is sending her spells only built for destruction even when she asks for a simple cleaning spell. While she struggles to stay in one piece and not go to the dark side, she also tries to navigate school cliques and teenage friendships in this oh so delightful environment. This is one that I thoroughly enjoyed reading and I look forward to exploring more of Novik’s books.

I read this as fast as I could and then almost immediately read it again. It's that good. It's Harry Potter mixed with Sunshine (Robin McKinley), Dexter, and a monster-killing video game, with all the brilliant plotting and character development of Novik's previous books. It's Galadriel's ring-rejection speech from Lord of the Rings in the form of a coming-of-age novel. It's the best book I've read this year and I'm planning to spend the rest of the year telling other people to read it.

This book got on my radar because of the Day of Dialog webinars, when the author said she was most curious about the body count in the Harry Potter books. Imagine, if you will, that this book is essentially about witches whose school is actively trying to eat them. The book looks like it's being marketed for an adult audience, but it is solidly Young Adult, due to the pacing, the ages of the main characters (juniors in high school!), and the overall plotting. It takes place at a magical boarding school!

Thank you to Ballantine and Netgalley for this digital ARC.

So this was one of those hard to put down books and I look forward to volume 2. I loved the dark world which the author has created. I think the nature of our main character who is trying to possibly trying to change her fate is very good. I cannot recommend this book enough. It was a great book that those who want the intersection of Harry Potter and the Magicians will love.

I was really excited to read this because I loved Spinning Silver and Uprooted, and this book is so different that I was a little slow to warm up to it. I found the beginning a little confusing and could have used a bit of explanation of mana and malia to get me started, but it all became clear as I read. I was also slow to warm up to El because she is aggressively unlikable, or seems to be, until we start to get a glimpse of who she might be if she didn't have to fight for every single scrap of safety and even the barest forms of comfort. I never fell in love with her the way I did Miryem or Agnieszka, I did start to understand her and root for her.

The diversity of the characters in this book is really handled in an interesting way that allows for some unusual treatment of the issues of class and race. The Scholomance is an international school with students from all over the world. The privileged come from enclaves, and students from the same enclave tend to stick together inside for mutual protection and benefits, while those from non-enclave families are forced to form alliances or be picked off by the dangerous creatures that roam the school. So while there is a New York enclave and a London one, there are also powerful enclaves from non-western countires, and the result is that no particular culture feels centered in the way that usually happens. El is unique in all of this because she in not from an enclave, but her mother is well known for being a Welsh healer. El keeps her mother's identity a secret because she has an inherently opposite nature that causes people to instinctively dislike her, and having them also be confused and disappointed by her because she's not like her mother would be too much. She also has to spend most of her energy fighting the negative energy she attracts and trying to disprove (to herself) her great-grandmother's prophecy that she is evil and will destroy the world.

I have seen some discussion about whether it was appropriate for Novik to write a half-Indian character, and whether white authors see bi-racial characters as an "in" for writing "out of their lane." I won't presume to speak to that, or to the specific question of why Novik chose to write a character with this particular heritage, but I will say it feels important to me that this character was not white for a specific reason. If El had been written as white, this could have easliy been held up as a story of how "white people suffer from discrimination too" or how being poor and white is "just as bad" as being black or brown. El is never presented as representing specific aspects of Indian culture because she didn't grow up in it, although she does learn and study the language of her father's family. Instead she seems to embody an intersection of many different ways a person can find themselves on the wrong end of systemic injustice as well as people's personal biases and instinctive dislike of her because of who she inherently is. She has received and internalized the constant message that everything about her is wrong, with only her mother fighting to contradict that idea, for her entire life.

My favorite parts of this book are about how El has to work to stop seeing every personal interaction as a bargaining session in which she struggles to offer anything that might balance out how awful she supposedly is. She really doesn't fit in anywhere until she slowly assembles a small group of real friends and very tentatively learns to trust them and the idea that they value her in a way that isn't transactional. Unfortunately I think this is shown less successfully with Orion, the potential hate-to-love interest, than with her other friends. I would have liked to see a little more complexity and depth in Orion's character so I could feel more invested in their budding relationship. While El is adept at recognizing his privilege and showing it to him, I'd like to see more of him really processing that information and talking about it at least a little. However, overall I think this is a good start to a series and I'm excited to read the next book.

The Scholomance is a secret school for young wizards that exists slightly in the real world but mostly in the void. Wizards are kept inside the school for four years as their dorm rooms rotate downwards in an ever-more-dangerous spiral. Attendance at the Scholomance, however, is not free; it feeds off of those that fall prey to the resident monsters.

Galadriel is a young wizard who has been marked with an affinity for death and mass destruction. She has worked hard over her three years in the Scholomance to keep knowledge of her true power a secret from her classmates. As Galadriel and her class approach graduation, she befriends class hero Orion Lake and has a harder and harder time keeping her secret.

This is the beginning of what will be a series by Naomi Novik, and I can't wait for the next book. The characters are likable, complex, and interesting. The story is dark enough that it doesn't feel like a child's tale, and Naomi Novik's world-building is (once again) superb. I do prefer Novik's fractured fairytales, but that comes simply down to personal genre preference. "A Deadly Education" stands up extremely well to Novik's previous work and will be a delight to read for anyone who needs a little magical excitement in their lives.