A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik
A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik
I thoroughly enjoyed Novik’s take on popular fairytales as told in Uprooted and Spinning Silver and was so excited when I saw “A Deadly Education” announced. I got even more than what I was expecting in this dark magical world and school that is very different than Hogwarts. Here, the school is only run by magic, not teachers, and rather than having a rare death, the school has a rare survival rate and very few graduates. Interested yet?
El, the MC, is not well-liked by her peers and deals with most situations by giving multiple sarcastic remarks and snark. This is not the best idea as without allies, she may not survive her senior year in a school with monsters looking to eat students daily. But technically, El could survive if she let herself turn to dark magic, it would only take slaughtering a few peers with the strength of magic she already holds. If you aren’t already trying to purchase this book, it isn’t for you, but goodness I was hooked!
El knows she is powerful, more powerful than most of her peers but she refuses to turn to dark magic. Which means when her life is saved by Orion Lake, a hero to the rest of the school, she instead hates him for making her seem like a damsel in distress. I was worried this would then become the typical YA romantic storyline, but thankfully El is strong and Novik had other priorities for her main characters. Later in the series it may be something different, and I am not someone to shy away from stories where characters eventually fall in love, but with how dark this world is, I’m glad Novik didn’t immediately force the characters into a love story.
El is witty in her banter with other characters as well as her narration and there’s just the right amount of humor to break up the terrifying moments with some pretty awful monsters. El is at times angry and bitter, but she has a right to be with the past she’s been dealt. Orion is at first annoying, clueless and somewhat a bulldozer of a hero, but he starts getting better and better as you get more of his story. I enjoyed the slow reveal of Orion and felt it made his character much more interesting. There are other great secondary characters that I can’t mention without ruining too much, but just know they are there.
There was a lot of info-dumping in this book, sometimes at awkward moments, that made it a little less magical. Although the information was helpful to understand the school itself or the inequalities and privilege so prominent in their society, I think there was a better way to give us this information rather than break up some intense scenes. I’m hoping that since most things have now been explained, the second book will be even better as it’ll just focus on the story itself. It was not enough to turn me off this series and I am excited to see what happens to El in her senior year and how many of her peers will graduate with her.
Synopsis: Scholomance, a school for the magically gifted where failure means certain death (for real) — until one girl, El, begins to unlock its many secrets.
There are no teachers, no holidays, and no friendships, save strategic ones. 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 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.