Dazzling and brilliantly executed, The School for Good and Evil manages to be both heartwarming and seriously sweet. It's a middle-grade novel written by Soman Chainani, and it utilizes fairy-tale tropes to excellent effect –– it had me giggling for a while, because this is exactly the type of light-hearted, snappy humor that always makes me laugh. Sophie and Agatha, the two protagonists, represent why teenage girls shouldn't be taken lightly––they are characters that grow on you, and they are characters that grow with you. Like Shrek and other fairy-tale adaptations, The School for Good and Evil stays true to its roots. It's true that female villains are often the most delightfully wicked of all, and I especially liked how earnest Sophie's very turbulent, atypically teenage emotions were exploited––it was very real, and her motives were explained in a way that made sense. I think I would consider this a "light read," because it was coming-of-age and just very adorable, but––there was a lot of surprisingly hidden depth, lurking under the surface. Digging up the history and the world-building was enlightening, and the writing delves into answering some philosophical questions: What is the true nature of friendship? What even is "good and evil," exactly? What choices really matter in the long-run? We don't live in a world with castles and brambly forests and fairy-tale heroines, but that's the point––we can apply the lessons and questions from The School for Good and Evil and use it in our own worlds, in our own surroundings, in our own situations. I will tell you this: by far, the most important lesson that the School for Good and Evil strived to teach is that your nature is self-determined. We are not inherently good or evil, and we do not have to be what people expect us to be. We are more than capable of breaking out of our molds, and blazing our own paths into the future––in the real world, we can't travel back in time, but there is always (always!) room for change inside our souls.

This book is an absolute must-read because it is so well written and it has such an interesting story. Sophie and Agatha are best friends and complete opposites. Sophie is the prime example of beauty (and vanity) while Agatha is actually a witch’s child. They are taken to the School of Good and Evil, where young children learn to become heroic heroes and vile villains. The problem is that Sophie is taken to the Evil school while Agatha is taken to the Good school. Each side doesn’t think their latest recruit is worthy. Sophie and Agatha try everything to change the error, but nothing really works. The twists and turns this story takes will amaze you, until the finale shocks you. This book is a superb read and is part of a series. Get all of them for a great time!

This book is an absolute must-read because it is so well written and it has such an interesting story. Sophie and Agatha are best friends and complete opposites. Sophie is the prime example of beauty (and vanity) while Agatha is actually a witch’s child. They are taken to the School of Good and Evil, where young children learn to become heroic heroes and vile villains. The problem is that Sophie is taken to the Evil school while Agatha is taken to the Good school. Each side doesn’t think their latest recruit is worthy. Sophie and Agatha try everything to change the error, but nothing really works. The twists and turns this story takes will amaze you, until the finale shocks you. This book is a superb read and is part of a series. Get all of them for a great time!

Welcome to Gavaldon, a seemingly ordinary village surrounded on all sides by woods. But there is one part about this village that is out of the ordinary. Every four years, on the eleventh night of the eleventh month, two children are taken from their beds and spirited away. They are taken to the School for Good and Evil, where good children train at the School for Good to become princes and princesses, and where evil children train at the School for Evil to become villains and witches. One of the children is always kind and beautiful, while the other child is always ugly and odd. Sophie and Agatha are best friends, and they seem like the perfect pair to be taken this year. Sophie is the perfect candidate for Good, for she is 'kind' and beautiful, while Agatha is odd and ugly. But, when these two friends reach the school, Agatha is taken to Good, and Sophie is taken to Evil. Did the School Master make a terrible mistake... or was he right all along? In this entertaining story, Sophie and Agatha learn about love, hard work, friendship, and what it truly means to be good or evil. I loved, loved, loved, LOVED it, and once I started reading it I could never put it down. This is a great book to teach kids about staying true to themselves, and it has a great twist to the fairy tale stories that we all know and love. I highly recommend this to older elementary and middle school kids. Enjoy!

I loved this book!!!! It was funny, fantasy-ic? And I suggest you read or review this ASAP

“Sophie had waited all her life to be kidnapped.” I like this book! It seemed like a Disney-type story but with lots, I mean LOTS of action. And with the drawings? This should be Disney-fied. It’s the perfect middle-grade fantasy. There was action, adventure and love. Basically, this book is about these two girls, Sophie and Agatha. They live in a town where, every twelve years, two children get kidnapped by the “School Master” and go to the School For Good and Evil. This book was great! It was light and fluffy, just the type of book you want to read during final exam week. *Sigh* CHARACTERS- Sophie and Agatha were the two main characters. I really liked Sophie’s character development throughout the novel. And Agatha too! Making mistakes then learning from them is key for Agatha in this book. SETTING The overall setting for this novel is great! I really liked the ‘fairy-tale’ theme going on. To have how characters in fairy tales developed is very interesting to me… Overall, I liked this book. It was action-y and fairy-tale-y that I instantly fell in love with this one! Four stars from me! I received an early release copy of the paperback version of this book from DogoBooks, this has not influenced my opinion.

This was such an fantastic book. This book takes place back around the depression, where it was very hard to find work. Esther's father had the same problem, trouble on finding work, so her father decided to move to a farm, and Esther felt as if everything was falling apart, but she grew to love the farm. This is a book of many up's & downs, it's my personal favorite historical fiction book, and if your into historical fiction, loving characters and some of the best writing, read this book!

The Blackthorn Key... phew. Can I just say how much I loved this book? It had everything I wanted, mystery, suspense, adventure. Everything is carefully planned and detailed. And then there’s this big reveal at the end. And Kevin Sands’s writing is the absolute B.E.S.T CHARACTERS- Christopher was the best! He is such a strong and loyal friend. He was funny and smart. I really liked Christopher’s backstory; I especially liked how he thinks well of his master. Tom was hilarious! He is so kind and loyal to Christopher even when Christopher is off doing something stupid. Characters? Bravo! SETTING- I really liked the time period in this novel. The 1600’s is an era that is not mentioned so much in books these days. And London! Oh, I love how London is set out for this novel! In all, bravo! This book was AMAZING in many different ways. I am so glad I happened to stumble upon this book! 5 stars from me!