The School for Good and Evil (The School for Good and Evil, Book 1)

By Author / Illustrator

Soman Chainani

Genre

Fantasy

Age range(s)

11+

Publisher

HarperCollins Publishers

ISBN

9780007492930

Format

Paperback / softback

Published

06-06-2013

Synopsis

A dark and enchanting fantasy adventure perfect for those who prefer their fairytales with a twist... The first in the bestselling School for Good and Evil series.

Every four years, two girls are kidnapped from the village of Gavaldon. Legend has it these lost children are sent to the School for Good and Evil, the fabled institution where they become fairytale heroes or villains. With her glass slippers and devotion to good deeds, Sophie knows she'll join the ranks of past students like Cinderella, Rapunzel, and Snow White at the School for Good. Meanwhile, Agatha, with her shapeless black dresses and wicked black cat, seems a natural fit for the villains in the School for Evil.

But the two girls soon find their fortunes reversed - Sophie's dumped in the School for Evil to take Uglification, Death Curses and Henchmen Training, while Agatha finds herself in the School for Good, thrust among handsome princes and fair maidens for classes in Princess Etiquette and Animal Communication. But what if the mistake is actually the first clue to discovering who Sophie and Agatha really are?

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Reviews

The School for Good and Evil was not what I was expecting when I picked it up! This is a funny, frightening, fast-paced twist of a story about the fairy tales that we have all grown up with (I have placed it in the fairy tale category, but could also be called fantasy).

Sophie and Agatha live in a village at the edge of a forest called Galvadon. Every four years, two children are taken into the forest, never to return. They are placed in the school of Good and Evil. One to be a witch/wizard, the other a princess/prince. However, if you don't make the grades, you could just become a mouse that changes into a footman or a pumpkin that turns into a coach! Hope you get it so far!

Once in the school, you cannot escape, your only way out is through a fairytale! When Sophie and Agatha are taken to the school, Agatha wants to leave, she feels she doesn't belong there and she didn't want to go to the school in the first place. However, Sophie wants to stay, to find her prince and be constantly beautiful and good; this is what she has been waiting for her whole life. What do you do; stay with your friend or leave her behind?

My first impression was that the book would be about friendship, trust and loyalty. I was right, but this delightful book is so much more. It has action, violence, witches, and fairy tale beasts all wrapped up together with lots of humour from the characters. If you ever wanted to find out where Cinderella came from or how Sleeping Beauty's prince learnt how to be strong and brave, you need to read this book, it really is a lot of fun.

There are a lot of characters and some readers may find this confusing as even I at times had to dig deep to remember who some of the characters were. However, this did not stop me from enjoying this fast paced read, with its beautiful writing and memorable main characters that will surprise you. I'm now looking forward to seeing how the story continues.

The School for Good and Evil has 488 magically written pages that are suitable for 11+ readers. It would also be great for book clubs. There is a website for the books that contains trailers, quizzes etc, that could be used for readers to interact with as they read along. Take a chance - I'm sure you will not be disappointed.

488 pages / Ages 11+ / Reviewed by Linda Brown, school librarian