Wednesday, 21 October 2020

THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL – A WORLD WITHOUT PRINCES by Soman Chainani

“‘There is an uneasiness that remains after your best friend tries to kill you…’ Best friends Sophie and Agatha are back in Gavaldon, living out their Happily Ever After, but Agatha is missing her prince. In a moment of weakness she makes a wish, which once more opens the gates to the School for Good and Evil. Agatha and Sophie are sucked back into the world they escaped from – but everything has changed. War is brewing between the School for Girls and the School for Boys. Can this Ever After end happily for anyone?”

What is the book about?

Agatha and Sophie are back in Gavaldon and they both seem happy living out their Happily Ever After with each other, but Agatha feels empty inside missing her prince. Once more the girls are pulled back into the world they escaped from, all because of a wish Agatha now regrets. But everything in the School for Good and Evil has changed. Agatha and Sophie are trying to return home all over again but it has proven impossible with the new Dean overhearing every word. Agatha and Sophie are back where they started trying to win the Trial by Tale but their lives are now on the line. Will the girls return home together or will their fairy-tale ending be rewritten?

What were your initial thoughts on the book?

As soon as I had finished the first School for Good and Evil book, I immediately grabbed the second book to start reading it. I had really liked the first book and although it didn’t end on a big cliff-hanger I still wanted to read more. Once I had read the blurb I wanted to read it even more than before because of all the questions going through my head. I wanted to know why the school had changed to the School for Girls and School for Boys and if Sophie and Agatha would still end up together, so I began to read it. Just like the first book, this one started right away and didn’t have any recap or too much description like most books so it got me hooked right away, an just like the first book this one had an important part that would change the ending but you wouldn’t see it coming.

Who was your favourite character and why?

Unlike in the first School for Good and Evil book, I found that I liked both my favourite characters equally. Although I think that Agatha and Sophie made mistakes I think that they both made the same amount of mistakes as the other. I think that it wasn’t right for Agatha to want to ruin Sophie’s happy ending by sending her back to Gavaldon alone as she should have considered Sophie’s feelings but I also think that Sophie shouldn’t have tried to prevent Agatha’s happy ending. Even though Sophie felt as though Agatha was abandoning her she should have tried to understand that everyone is different and that maybe Agatha wasn’t happy being with just her for the rest of her life. Agatha and Sophie were also good at some parts and that is what made me really like them. I found the fact that Sophie agreed with turning into a boy was really brave and that Agatha was also really brave when she went to the School for Boys without Sophie’s acknowledgement to try and stop Tedros from trying to kill her.

What was your favourite part of the book and why?

My favourite part in this book was the Trial by Tale, I know that this Trial goes over quite a few chapters but I fell as though those last chapters were the best parts. I really liked them because all the little clues that Agatha and Sophie had pieced together were finally coming together and I was able to understand why the Dean had been able to enter the school again and why she was a part of Agatha and Sophie’s story. I think that the best part of the Trial was at the end when the villain of the story was revealed and the two girls were pulled in different directions because it answered the questions that I had and left a bit of suspense for the next book.

What was your overall impression of the book?

Overall I loved the book just as much as the first, it was amazing and from the very first page I found myself wanting to read on. I also found that every chapter was full of action and that it immediately started with Sophie and Agatha planning something or their adventure beginning, even though it might not be obvious at first. It was like the girls never got a moment of peace and were always doing something life threatening. I also really like how something important always happens in the first chapter but them because it isn’t mentioned in the book you seem to forget all about it. Then during the last chapters this important dream or wish changes everything and you never see it coming. The only thing that I would change is the fact that in the book, the last 3 or 4 chapters always have a lot going on so sometimes it gets a bit confusing. This also happened in the first and I think that the end of the book should be a little less action packed or maybe it should be a bit more spread out. Although it can be a bit puzzling, it is also very effective as then when the book finally ends it goes from over the top to nothing at all so it keeps you a little shocked and wanting to read the next book.

Which book did you like better, the first or the second?

Both books are amazing and I absolutely loved them but I think that if I had to pick one it would be the first book because of the endings. I liked both endings but I prefer the first one because I feel as though Agatha and Sophie are great friends and that they should end up together so the way that the second book ended was definitely not what I expected. I knew that Agatha would never be happy without her prince but I thought that they would at least end up in the same worlds, I know that there are other books in the series so I hope that they will be able to see that they are better together and be able to put their differences aside for the sake of their friendship.

Would you recommend this book?  

This book is definitely one to read especially if you have loved the first book as much as I did. I think that if you are over 12 and fantasy books then this should absolutely be on your bookshelf.

Summarise the book in one sentence. (Verdict) 

A fantastic book with a magical new ending.

 Reviewed by Jimena Gutierrez Reviriego

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