Genre: Fantasy fiction, Bildungsroman, fairy tale
Key Stage: KS3+
Rating: ★★★★
The School For Good And Evil by Soman Chainani (2013)
Book One in the fantasy hexalogy.
Every four years, the School Master steals away two children for the School of Good and Evil, never to return again. You’re either a perfect, beautiful Ever, or an evil, ugly Never. But when Sophie, a ‘princess’ is dropped into Evil’s tower, and Agatha, a goth who lived in a graveyard is dropped into Good’s tower, the two girls are sure there’s been some sort of mistake. How can beautiful Sophie be a villain? She’s determined to be a hero, while Agatha just wants to go home…
Written in dual narrative, this fairytale-themed story explores what being ‘good’ and ‘evil’ truly represents, and goes against the tide of classic cliches/stereotypes. A rich fictional history of how fairytales came to be, the ‘Storian’ who is a supposedly neutral pen that writes down our fairtales of today, and friends/nemesises- a villain and a hero. I’d say that this is perfect for anyone who likes twisted tales.
What’s interesting is how… unexpected the twists are. Betrayals, friendships, ‘true love’- all are altered and turned on their heads, again and again.
Reviewer: Muslimah, Year 9