The School for Good and Evil

The School for Good and Evil, it sounds like a light breezy read doesn’t it? What it really is *flabbergasted for the right word* is well, downright MAGNIFICENT! I haven’t loved a book so much in a very long time, and I devour books like a maniac. It literally went above and beyond any expectation I could have conceived for it. I picked it up thinking: “This will be quite the fluffy fairytale,” but was blown away because it was nothing of the kind. Lets begin with the description: I love that it tells you exactly what The School for Good and Evil is about without giving away even an inkling of just how this tale is going to be delivered. This is a book that can definitely be enjoyed by fairy tale lovers of all ages. Especially if you don’t mind your fairy tales having a bit of a dark side. Not too dark mind you but just the right amount. Yes, JUST RIGHT!! There are wonderful comic moments, that I couldn’t help but smirk at. I felt like the author was making fun of so many things and it tickled me pink to no end. However, there are also some moments that tightened my chest and throat. You know what I’m talking about, that’s right when you are biting back the tears. I’m not normally a crier…I’m a laugh-er. So, I don’t think I can explain well enough why this book touched me so much. Also, it is full of beautiful illustrations! At least one for the start of each chapter. These added the perfect storybook touch. What surprised and absolutely delighted me was how much I loved all of the characters. I grew attached to all of them! From main, to sidekicks, to little supplemental characters. They were all given realism and depth of character that made each unique and memorable. My favorite is Hort…you’ll hear me gush about him again. *smirk* I was captured immediately by the wry sense of humor one of the main characters Agatha possessed. She looks like your typical fairy tale witch but somehow ends up in the School for Good! As you can see from the quote below. She is a snappy girl and I couldn’t help but love her. “Graveyards have their benefits,” Agatha said. “No nosy neighbors. No drop-in salesmen. No fishy ‘friends’ bearing face masks and diet cookies, telling you you’re going to Evil School in Magic Fairy Land.” Soman Chainani writes characters that we can see reflected back in ourselves. These are the children that we once were, or hey for those young readers, perhaps who they still are. I think he was delving deep trying to get his readers to challenge those childhood tropes of Good and Evil. Are you beautiful with flawless skin and impeccable clothes? Are you ugly with warts and foul body odor? Does eating lots of sweets really lead you down a road of sin and temptation? Well shucks folks, I MUST be Evil because I’m a total greedy gobbler! Prepare yourself for the “Evers” and the “Nevers” – that’s what these kids call themselves, for that’s how their stories go. But onto my favorite character Hort, of course he is a “Never,” attending the School for Evil. He was such a sad pathetic looking little guy, but he was excitable and friendly and hey he was Evil right, but he wasn’t – so what is he? This quote is when I first met him – and the little girl in me that loves the underdog had high hopes for him. He looked like a sinister little weasel. “The bird ate my shirt,” he said. “Can I touch your hair?” Sophie backed up. “They don’t usually make villains with princess hair,” he said, dog-paddling towards her.” Then in unexpected moments my heart would break…and frequently it was Hort that would do this to me. “Dad told me villains can’t love. That it’s unnatural and disgusting.” … “So I definitely can’t love,” Hort said. … “But if I could love, I’d love you.” If that isn’t sad…unrequited love, then blast I don’t know what is! Agatha sums up the best element of this tale for me and precisely how I feel about villains! They are a major part of what makes a story worth reading. Often I feel like some authors treat them just as a way to make the good guy look better or “grow” into that strong character that the reader wants to love. But me? I’m usually secretly rooting for the bad guy. “She had always found villains more exciting than heroes. They had ambition, passion. They made the stories happen. Villains didn’t fear death. No, they wrapped themselves in death like suits of armor! As she inhaled the school’s graveyard smell, Agatha felt her blood rush. For like all villains, death didn’t scare her. It made her feel alive.” ​​ The School for Good and Evil captures the true spirit of the human heart in so many ways that I was laughing, cringing, weeping and just dying to get to the end to know how this fairy tale would end. And now?…now I’m so sad that it’s over.​ I know this book will become a hearthstone in my library, one that I will read my own child when he gets older and that I will return to time and again. So consider this readers… "What’s the one thing Evil can never have…and the one thing Good can never do without?" P.S. There is already a film being planned for 2015! *squees in utter joy and runs off before I keep up with the spewings of love*

"In the forest Primeval A School for Good and Evil Two towers like twin heads Once for the pure One for the wicked Try to escape you'll always fail The only way out Is through a Fairy Tale." When I first read about the School for Good and Evil, I had a feeling it would be my kind of book and couldn't wait to get my hands on a copy. I've always loved fairytales, and add in some magic with some adventure and fantasy and you have the makings of a classic. This book did not disappoint, it had my imagination running - picturing the settings and the characters. Oh and the characters! They made you want to keep turning the pages. They were quirky fun and full of spunk. "I don't know why people think princesses are pretty." Hester said picking a wart on her toe." Their noses are small. Like little buttons you want to pop off." Sophie and Agatha both had so much emotion, it was easy to be a part of them and feel their struggles and how they developed and changed throughout the story. The secondary characters were also really fascinating and were able to hold their own. The only con I had about this story, was that I kinda-sorta wished that some more the classroom settings in the book were described a little bit more. I found them interesting and intriguing. I mean a classroom made of ice? and another of sweets? That's awesome! I also have a love for books that have a school setting, so my con is more the selfish reader in me wanting more, a tiny detail that is far from a deal breaker for this book. Nevertheless, I completely enjoyed this book and fell in love with the characters. I cannot wait to find out what happens to Agatha and Sophie in the next book! Summary: At the School for Good and Evil, failing your fairy tale is not an option. Welcome to the School for Good and Evil, where best friends Sophie and Agatha are about to embark on the adventure of a lifetime. In a village called Gavaldon, two children are kidnapped every four years, no matter how the village prepares and protects - they're always taken. Sometimes two boys, or two girls, or sometimes one of each, but one thing never changes. One child is always good and beautiful and the other is evil and homely. They're taken away to be the heroes, royals or wicked villains of fairy tales like Snow White and her evil stepmother or Hansel and Gretel and the cannibalistic witch. They were all once top students trained at the School for Good and Evil. With her glass slippers and devotion to good deeds, Sophie knows she'll earn top marks at the School for Good and join the ranks of past students like Cinderella, Rapunzel and Snow White. Meanwhile, Agatha, with her shapeless black frocks and wicked black cat seems a natural fit for a villain in the School for Evil. They two girls soon find their fortunes reversed - Sophie's dumped in the School for Evil to take Uglification, Death Curses, and Henchman Training. While Agatha finds herself in the School for Good, thrust among handsome 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...

Sophie and Agatha are two girls from the same town. Every four years the schoolmaster abducts two children from the town and these children are never seen again. Or are they? The children of the village have noticed that some of the missing children are appearing in the new fairytale books that are issued once a year. Sophie is convinced that she is a shoo in for the School for Good and that she will become a princess. She is very vain and cares more for her appearance than she does for the feelings of others. Her friend Agatha has no delusions of being a princess. She sometimes thinks that the only reason that Sophie is her friend is to give her "good" points. On the night that the schoolmaster is supposed to make his selections, all the parents have done all that they could to make their children unattractive and difficult to obtain. Sophie's father has nailed her windows and door shut but she has unfastened them. Agatha joins Sophie and they are both whisked off to school. However, it does not turn out as Sophie thought for she is placed in the School of Evil and Agatha in the School for Good. This is book one in a series. I liked the dichotomy of the plot. It certainly had a lot of action. I'm not certain that this is truly a book for children. The moral ambivalence may be too much for them. Although the first book was entertaining, I'm not going to pursue the series.

I am the author of a fairy tale retelling myself and a scholar of fairy tales. The School for Good and Evil has the level of sophistication that I wish to achieve in my writing. Soman Chainani studied the genre at Harvard under Maria Tatar, who has written extensive research on fairy tales and children's literature, research that has informed my own writing. As such, I can assure readers that he is very familiar with fairy tales as a genre and manipulates the tropes and motifs excellently in this book. Many of the criticisms I am reading take issue with how beauty is considered a necessary quality in the School for Good, just as ugliness is in the School for Evil. They seem to think that the author is promoting these ideals, when in fact he is subverting them. Fairy tales as a whole are subversive, and Soman Chainani delves into that in a way that I have never seen in an MG book before. Chainani is not endorsing the good=beautiful ideal; he is challenging it by making it clear that there are issues with this outlook. Girls who are beautiful on the outside are not necessarily beautiful on the inside, and those who are not beautiful are not necessarily evil. Some have criticized that Agatha becomes pretty at the end, but I did not read it that way. I did not read her as having magically transformed into someone beautiful, but that she had made the decision to dress up for a party. I found it refreshing that she was not forced to dress up--no one tied her to a salon chair. She decided that she wanted to. That was her decision, and I thought it was a good message for girls that they don't have to dress up if they don't want to, but if they want to, then it's nobody else's business. This is not the only binary that Chainani deconstructs. By the end of the book, it is clear that the line between good and evil is not clear and that the division of the two with strict adherence to the boundaries between them is the oppressive plot of an evil, male force. No one is sure who is good and who is evil at the end, and that is the point! We do not see people who are 100% good or 100% evil in the real world, and the characters in SGE break free from the lie that such a binary exists. Other criticisms I have seen include that the book has too much sexualization. I can understand the confusion because the main characters state that only children over twelve are taken to SGE. However, there are four years between each kidnapping. This means that Sophie and Agatha are anywhere between twelve and sixteen. My reading of their behaviors and interests led me to believe that they were fifteen to sixteen, an age where young people begin exploring different ways to express their bodies. There is no actual sex, of course (barely even a kiss), but I would rest assured that the author is not sexualizing twelve-year-olds, not in the way that our modern day Princess Culture does. Chainani is challenging Princess Culture, and the parts that make readers uncomfortable are meant to! They are meant to make us examine the expectations that we place on young people today and realize that they are harmful. There is a romance subplot, but it is a distraction. The most important relationship is that between Sophie and Agatha, which struggles to survive in a place that is determined to keep them apart. One review suggested that the book is insensitive to LGBTQIAP+ people. I do not belong to this group, so I cannot speak for them, but even as a straight person I can see that there is an easy queer reading between Sophie and Agatha. As I said, I am not a member of this group so I cannot say whether it succeeds, but the tones are there. The environment of the SGE is not supportive of this group, but this goes along with the other elements about SGE that are supposed to make us uncomfortable; the attitudes at SGE in many areas are not right, and the characters fight against these attitudes about sexuality, beauty, and gender throughout the book. I encourage readers to look between the lines in this book. If you are giving it to a teen, take advantage of the parts that raise questions to have conversations about these topics. Why is good beautiful and evil ugly? Does it have to be this way? Why are the princesses told that they must have a prince? How does Agatha protest this idea? This book is far more intelligent than readers may believe, and I would take advantage of the opportunity to explore some of the new things that the author is writing! I'll acknowledge that the book is not perfect. Others have commented that there are pacing issues, and I can agree with that. I also question the author's choice to include Arthurian elements here as the Arthurian legends are not fairy tales. He likely had a reason, but it made me raise my eyebrows. These things recognized, I would say that the book succeeds in more ways than people see at first glance.

Wow. This was such a beautiful story. If you are looking for a new YA fantasy series, I cannot recommend this highly enough. And it's the author's first book! I am impressed. The two main characters are endearing, and their adventure is one that should not be missed. Two young friends are spirited away to a magical world where fairy tales are real and there is a school to train children to become the next great princess or terrifying witch. But when the bright and beautiful Sophie ends up in the School for Evil and the dark and awkward Agatha ends up in the School for Good, the girls are sure a terrible mistake has been made. But has it? I am a great lover of children's literature (and fairy tales). Since Harry Potter, there have been some excellent offerings in the genre: Brandon Mull's Fablehaven books and the Percy Jackson series stand out in my mind. I think The School for Good and Evil can stand with the best of those, and might actually be even better. You know when you read a story whether it has real magic behind it or not, and I knew that I was reading something special as I watched Sophie and Agatha's story unfold before me. The girls are wonderful characters. I loved watching their strange friendship as it took unexpected turns. Just when I thought I knew what was going to happen, the author surprised me. Part of the magic of the story is how much you love and identify with a character, even as she's making choices that make you want to shout into the pages of the book, "No! Don't do it!" Good and Evil are anything but black and white in this story. I was surprised at the sensitivity and depth that the author tackled these ancient themes with. What makes a person a hero? What makes them a villain? How do you tell one from the other? This book also has a lot of humor. I laughed out loud at times. It's as charming and fun as a magical school ought to be, despite the dangers that face the students. I thoroughly loved The School for Good and Evil. It had everything you could want from a fantasy story: friendship, magic, heart, danger, adventure, romance... all leading up to a climax that genuinely surprised me, and one of the most satisfying endings ever. Final Grade: A

Bottomline: Not reading more of the series. That said, I did not hate this book, but I did not love it either. What I liked: Agatha. I liked her loyalty, her generosity of spirit, her determination, and more. Agatha looks like a young witch who would fit right in at the School for Evil, but she is dropped into the School for Good which is filled with wannabe heroes, Prince Charmings, and beautiful Princesses. (Meanwhile, Sophie with her beautiful princess hair and aspirations to land Prince Charming is dropped into the School for Evil.) I liked the concept of the village of readers that keeps the fairy tales vibrant. Things that I didn’t like: The fate of children who do not excel at the school to be relegated forever to roles as either lesser characters or inanimate objects in fairy tales might have been creative, but it was distasteful. The book is much longer than it needed to be, and the slow pacing made it feel longer. There is nothing I love more than a long book that sweeps you away into a rich, well-populated story that you never want to leave. This book was not that kind of story for me. I was more than ready for it to end. Overall, the message seemed simplistic. This book and this series are incredibly successful which is why I bought the book. You may love it like the thousand of enthusiastic reviewers and purchasers. I am sorry that I did not.

(This review was written by a twelve year old girl, by the way.) I like this book, and the sequel, a lot. I sure wish the fandom was bigger and more people knew about it though! It deserves much more recognition than it has. Also, I will try to state the pro's and con's of this book and series. If you want to buy this book for someone else, it best suits a middle school audience but I read when I was eleven so perhaps late elementary school if the child is mature. Summary: (contains spoilers.) There is a town called Gavaldon that might be in a medieval setting in the middle of Woods Beyondt. No one ever tries to leave because if you do, you either die right away, or walk around in what is seemingly a circle and end up back home. In that town lives a beautiful early teen girl named Sophie with emerald green eyes and blonde hair. She reads fairy tales and adores making beauty potions and the color pink. All the boys chase her, but she feels like she deserves much better than everybody else. She wants to find a Prince Charming. If you happen to walk through the cemetery, you will come across the seemingly abandoned house of Agatha. Agatha prefers to be alone with her cat so she can write poetry in peace and quiet. Every four years something comes and takes two young teenagers, one pure, and one wicked. They are never seen again, except the children claim that they see them in their fairytale books several years later, but the adults reject this idea because it is nonsense. Sophie is finally old enough to get chosen and she is the only person that wants to in all of Gavaldon. In order to compete against all the other good boys and girls Sophie does several things to persuade the thing to choose her, and the main thing she does is make friends with Agatha. Agatha wants to be left alone most of the time, and gets really ticked off by Sophie testing her beauty remedies on her. Originally Sophie's only reason for being nice to Agatha is to get her Happily Ever After, but then she becomes her real friend. One day the thing comes and takes Sophie and Agatha, but they are both confused when Agatha goes to a glass palace with rainbow towers full of fairies, while Sophie gets dumped in a castle that's more of a black wasteland. Sophie sees a handsome boy named Tedros that all the girls admire. Agatha hates him. Sophie takes advantage of poor Agatha. Basically, Tedros ends up thinking that they are both evil until he gets to know Agatha better and then he falls in love with her and she starts to realize she actually likes him, too. Then Sophie becomes very jealous and wreaks havoc on the school, killing some and hurting others. Then, Sophie reveals that though Agatha is her nemesis, she is still her best friend. Sophie tells the Good that they have acted selfish and bad and turns them ugly like their insides at the moment, except for Agatha. Then she addresses the Evil, who have been just and fair and helpful and turns them beautiful, like their insides at the moment. Then after letting them think, Sophie turns them all back. After all this, some things happen that almost kill Sophie. But as we should know, true loves kiss doesn't have to be from your significant other. In this case, it was from Sophie's best friend, Agatha. Then they get to go back home for a while and Book Two begins. Pro's: The book teaches you about inner beauty and there is much more than good being perfectly good and beautiful and evil being completely wrong and ugly. They have backstories, too. Cons: Tedros can be a jerk at times and is very self-absorbed and kind of sexist but Agatha teaches him his lesson. Good alternatives for this are the Ever After High series, The land of Stories, Grimnastic Girls, and Whatever After if your child is into more fluffy Disney-type fairy tales. If they like darker, sometimes creepy, Grimn kind of folklore with a hint of crude humor I would suggest this, Coraline, Percy Jackson, Doll Bones, and The Books Of Elsewhere. Hope this helped!

This is a great story BUT and it’s a big but, it has really bad messages for girls which concerns me for girls reading independently. The story centers on two girls who find themselves taken from their small village and put in a magical school. The Good school trains students to become the heroes of the story (or their helpers) and the Evil school trains villains (or their henchmen). In their village Sophie is a pretty girl, and she knows it, so she believes she’s destined to be a fairy tale princess and belongs in the Good school. Agatha is looked down upon and Sophie is equally sure that Agatha will be a witch and belongs in the Evil school. Of course we learn Sophie is not meant for the Good school and does not handle that gracefully. Agatha has never been sure of herself and doubts her outer appearance so she is just as confused to find herself in the Good school. The girls and their fellow students wonder about the girls seemingly being in the wrong schools. Plus how can a princess be friends with a witch? This is where the story excels by going against stereotypes. We learn that beauty is really what’s inside and not about outer appearances. Agatha learned she really is beautiful as she is and that she does not need to be a conventional blonde princess. Unfortunately in the process of getting there the author chooses to say really inappropriate things in a books aimed at a young audience. There are multiple references to girls only having value if they are thin. One character says you should never eat breakfast so you don’t get fat which is the kind of messages that are sent repeatedly throughout this book. Obviously this is a dangerous message to be sending to girls. There is too much risk today of girls taking this kind of messaging to heart and adding to problems of insecurity or encouraging dangerous dieting or eating disorders. When I was considering this book for my daughter I saw no warning anywhere about this. Thankfully I read it aloud to my kids do I could edit as I was reading the many times something inappropriate was written. This makes it a problematic book to review. I would strongly recommend against having a girl read this book independently. If you read it aloud you could edit or stop and discuss the problematic messages. I think the author intends to point out that beauty is what is on the inside but too often had characters only obsessed with their looks, particularly their weight. As this story is a journey it may not be clear to a reader that the characters are wrong as they are never corrected. As a story overall it was fun. I enjoyed reading it and found myself reading extra chapters to my kids because I wanted to know what happened next. There was an interesting cast of characters, like the inclusion of King Arthur’s son and not just conventional story characters. I bought this story for my fairy tale loving daughter but her older brother, who hates all things princess, got hooked too. He liked the darker aspects and the evil school and requested I not read it aloud without him. My daughter was not a big fan of the darker parts but they balanced out enough that it didn’t bother her too much. Luckily the story usually goes back and forth between the two girls and their schools in each chapter so the darker parts don’t last too long. Again a fun story but a big concern about the messages that are sent.

Agatha glaubt nicht an die Gerüchte, dass die immer wieder verschwindenden Kinder aus ihrem Dorf, an eine Schule für angehende Märchen-Figuren gebracht werden. Sie versucht sich das Ganze rational zu erklären - Bären & Co sind für sie verantwortlich, schließlich hat es noch nie jemand durch den Wald geschafft. Es gab immer nur dieses Dorf. Was soll da also schon sein? Sophie hingegen träumt seit Jahren davon, entführt zu werden, um eine Märchenprinzessin zu werden, einen Prinz zu finden und ihr Happy End zu erleben. Auch sonst könnten die beiden kaum unterschiedlicher sein. Agatha hat dunkle, kurze Haare, schaut grimmig drein, wohnt mitten auf einem Friedhof, brauch eigentlich nur ihre Katze und ist sonst lieber für sich. Sophie hat wallendes, blondes Haar, ist schön, anmutig und bemüht sich, den Menschen etwas Gutes zu tun - jedenfalls, was ihrer Meinung nach etwas Gutes ist. Für alle im Dorf steht fest: Agatha wird mitgenommen, sie ist die perfekte Hexe. Sophie selbst ist davon überzeugt, dass sie die einzig wirkliche Prinzesson in ihrem Dorf ist. Als die beiden dann tatsächlich in der Schule für Gut & Böse landen, finden sie sich auf genau der anderen Seite wieder. Sophie soll eine Hexe werden und Agatha eine Prinzessin. Nicht nur die Beiden können es nicht glauben, auch ihre Mitschüler wollen sie nicht unter sich akzeptieren. Das kann nur ein Misverständnis sein. Doch der Schulleiter macht keine Fehler... Ich hatte, bevor ich das Buch kaufte bzw anfing, eine Sorge: es ist ein Kinderbuch, kein Jugendbuch - das kann entweder total toll sein oder einfach zu kindisch. Aber die Geschichte klang einfach so herrlich, genau nach meinem Geschmack. Vor Allem natürlich diese unübliche Einteilug der Beiden. Also musste ich das Buch einfach haben. Sofort. Daher hab ich auch direkt dazu gegriffen, als es da war und was soll ich sagen? Meine Sorge war absolut unbegründet. Schon nach den ersten Seiten war ich total begeistert von der Geschichte und die Begeisterung wuchs mit jeder Seite. Ich muss mich wirklich beherrschen, nicht zu viel von der Geschichte zu verraten denn ich hätte so viel über dieses Buch zu sagen, aber ich werde nicht viel über die Charaktere und den Verlauf schreiben, denn ich finde, das muss man einfach komplett selbst entdecken. Die Welt, die der Autor aufgebaut hat, hat mich aber auf jeden Fall direkt in den Bann gezogen. Selten konnte ich mich in ein Buch so verlieren. Ich mag das märchenhafte gerne und die Idee mit den zwei getrennten Schulen fand ich ja so wie so schon gut und die Umsetzung brachte es auch genau so rüber, wie ich mir erhoffte. Besonders begeistert hat mich der eigentlich nachdenklich stimmenden Hintergrund. Was ist gut, was ist böse? Wo setzt man die Grenze? Ist man gut, wenn man Gutes tut? Oder zählt die Absicht und der Gedanke dabei viel mehr? Was würde man selbst tun? Und wie viel hat das Äußere damit zu tun, der erste Blick? Kann man sich ändern? Ich habe zwischendurch wirklich sehr viel drüber nachgedacht, denn ich konnte mich mit beiden Protagonistinnen identifizieren, je nach Situation, auch wenn Sophie ein wirkliches Prinzesschen sein kann (im negativen Sinne). Da kamen einem schonmal tiefgründigere Gedanken, obwohl die Geschichte keinesfalls irgendeine riesige Moralkeule bereithält, die irgendwem ins Gesicht schlagen soll. Auch der Humor kommt in der Geschichte nicht zu kurz, ich musste öfter grinsen und sogar lachen. Verpackt auf sympathische, dezente Art, die einfach nur herrlich zu lesen ist, aber nicht Überhand nimmt und der Geschichte den nötigen Ernst lässt. Ebenfalls gab es auch dramatischere Momente und die Spannung wurde zum Ende hin auch deutlich spürbar. Fazit: Eine wunderbare, märchenhafte Geschichte. Ein Kinderbuch, dass nicht nur für Kinder einen großen Lesespaß zu bieten hat. Humor, Freundschaft, die Grenzen zwischen Gut und Böse. In dieser Geschichte fehlte es mir an nichts, auch wenn der Verlauf einiger Dinge teilweise(!) etwas berechenbar war und das Ende etwas hoppla-hopp. Die Erzählweise ließ mich das aber vergessen und ich war mittendrin in der Geschichte. Ich liebe es und hoffe, es wird überzesetzt, damit noch mehr Leser ihre Freude daran haben können.

What's good and what's evil? Find out. This story will take you along without letting go. English is my second language, I found it hard to understand all. Kindle helped a bit with translation and Wikipedia.

This was an amazing, magical, epic, mind bending, adventure of a book. If I had to create a tagline for it, I would say it is like Once Upon a Time for middle graders. Although there was a couple things that surprised me considering this is labelled a middle grade book. First was the length of the book; it is almost 500 pages! This seems a bit long for the average middle grade book, but I was perfectly alright with it. Second, was just how dark this book actually was. For a middle grade novel there was quite a bit of killing, murder and just all around darkness. Let's start with the cover for this book. In case you can't tell I really have a thing for a beautiful cover. And the cover for this book doesn't disappoint! It really gives you a glimpse into this world of fairytales and just how different the two Schools really are. The bridge connecting the two Schools under the title, shows the divide between Good and Evil as well as Sophie and Agatha, Or at least, that's what I like to think. I also really liked the illustrations in the novel, it really added to the story. Most of the time our imaginations have to dream up the people, places, and objects of the world we are introduced to in books, but the illustrations help us along in that front which I really appreciated. Especially since there is some pretty intricate world building going on in this novel. ****** PLOT SPOILERS AHEAD ****** The plot was not quite original in that it brought the protagonists into the fairytale world from the normal world, but what was original was that you have the "good girl" sorted into the School for Evil and the "evil girl" sorted into the School for Good. Although I could tell right from the beginning why Sophie belonged in Evil and Agatha belonged in Good. While Sophie only concentrated on being pretty, getting her prince, and getting into the school she thought she was destined for; Agatha was focused on helping Sophie, and getting them both back home. Even though Sophie abandons her and betrays her multiple times, Agatha forgives her and still helps her until she realizes Sophie never wants to go back home like Agatha does. I knew from almost the beginning of the book that the School Master was the Evil twin, mainly because everyone thought he was the Good twin. I was thoroughly creeped out though by how the School Master who is an old man (even though he had a young face) wanted his true love to be a student and a child. And although it turned out to be a wrong theory, I though Professor Slader was the Good twin who had lost the fight. I was surprised to find out that the Good twin had actually been killed, but possessed Slader's body to help. It was sad to see Professor Slader die in the end though, since he was my favourite adult character in the book. I was quite annoyed with all of the adult figures in the book. Why didn't the teachers of each school just sit the girls down at the beginning and tell them they were sorted into the school they were supposed to be in? The girls waste so much time trying to change schools because none of the adults set them straight. Sophie was the character who annoyed me most at first, but only in certain ways. It's not like she isn't hardworking. She sure put a lot into her beauty regimen, especially when they were in Galvadon. And it isn't like she's not ambitious, cause she had the goal of being taken by the School Master and did all in her power to make sure it happened. Those qualities I could admire in Sophie. But once she got to the fairytale world it was like she expected everything to be just handed to her. She thought she belonged in the School for Good, and that someone would just come bring her to the School if she said it enough. Also her mindset of if I'm pretty, I will end up with my prince. She put all this effort into making herself beautiful, but not into making a relationship with the boy she is supposedly in love with. I also really disliked how Sophie thought of Agatha as more of her henchman than a friend. Sophie is very selfish and when she finally realized she's not going to get what she wants she claims Agatha stole everything from her when nothing was really hers to begin with. I can empathize with Sophie though since I am a romantic at heart, and I want my Happily Ever After too. All she wants is to be happy with her one true love, which she has a really hard time accepting may not come true for her. The last thing that annoyed me not only about Sophie but about almost all of the characters in the book was when after the Circus, Sophie loses it and she kills all of the wolves and faeries. And afterwards everyone basically just forgives her and says you're still Good. She may still have some Good in her but after killing all of those innocent past students she certainly has Evil in her too. No one even thinks to mention it later either. Agatha on the other hand I liked a lot more but I still had my problems with her too. Agatha at the beginning is such a downer. I know she's in a new world and she's uncomfortable but she was on an adventure! Why not make the most of it? Agatha does learn eventually and starts to learn both Good and Evil studies which I'm sure will help her in the future. The other thing is that because Agatha considers herself inferior, she let Sophie take the lead and mistreat her all the time. Not only that but she always come back for more until Sophie completely betrays Agatha's wish and dream of going home. Agatha does make a comeback though by realizing her own self worth and standing up for herself. I think my favourite line of Agatha's is when the Evers turn into Evil and Agatha says "being Good is not being pretty, but having Valor and Honor." To me, Agatha embodies those sentiments as does Sophie somewhat when she saves Agatha's life at the end of the book. I really appreciated at the end where Sophie said "who needs princes in our fairy tale?" I would be really happy if this turned out to be more of a modern fairytale where Sophie and Agatha ended up together. I really like the two of the, together and I think they make a good couple. They support each other while at the same time push each other to grow as people. It was Agatha's true love's kiss that saved the dying Sophie and woke her back up as opposed to Tedros. The prince Tedros actually annoyed me as a character, the more we got to see him in the book. At times he seems to be trying to do the Good thing, but others he just lets his emotions instead of reason reign. He seemed less like the fairytale prince he was supposed to be and more like the vapid, shallow rest of the crowd that the Evers had become. I adored how no one in the book is truly just Good or Evil, that we all are a mixture of both. I also thought it was an ingenious twist in the story to have Sophie turn the Nevers into Good and the Evers into Evil. This showed all of the children who thought they could only be one or the other that they are capable of both. I loved how it was the two "Readers" who changed fairytale land and all of the children at the two schools. They changed how the kids view themselves and others. I loved the cliffhanger ending of our two main characters being thrown back to their home in Beyond the Woods. Has their fairytale ended and the Storian moved on to another? Is the next book going to be about the girls making their way back to school? And what about the aftermath? There's not two separate schools anymore, and if no one looks Evil (gross) and Good (beautiful), does that mean everyone is average looking now? Overall this book is a magical coming of age story about finding who we really are, set in lushly built world where characters strive to break free of their destined roles. I definitely recommend this book to everyone to read because there is something for everyone to take away from this book. A well deserved 5 out of 5 stars. I look forward to reading the other two books in this trilogy.

Me encantó este libro! No sientes que estás leyendo y todo es muy emocionante, lo acabé en una semana. dicen que el libro es para más chicos pero a mi de 16 años me entretuvo mucho, es de todas las edades.

The writing style of the book and the storyline are magnificent. I LOVE the ending and every chapter in this book just leaves me wanting more! This book is one I revisit so often, and it is very enjoyable for anyone who loves fantasy books based on older fairy tales. The extra content in this book for fans who've read the whole series is such a great addition to this version of the first book! It develops more of the story and ending absolutely brilliantly. I highly recommend it.