The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani

Shruthi | Holmdel High School, Grade 11

Rating: *****

Soman Chainani’s New York Times Bestselling fantasy novel, The School for Good and Evil, will take you on a ride. The story circulates around two girls, one blonde and beautiful as the sun, and one dark haired and ugly. These two girls live in a backwards and closely monitored village. Every four years, a mysterious shadow kidnaps two children- one good and one evil- and takes them back to his school, which is split into two towers: one teaching evil and the other teaching goodwill. Both girls live dreary, boring lives in the monotonous town; however, Sophie, the first girl, dreams of being taken away to the School for Good, where she will train to be a princess, marry a prince, and have a castle and a crown. Agatha, the other girl, dreams of being Sophie’s friend forever. However, both girls are abruptly forced to change their plans when the shadow, called the School Master, takes Agatha and Sophie both for his school, putting Sophie in the School for Evil, and Agatha in the School for Good. Funny and fiery, with characters you will instantly fall in love with, the story follows the girls’ adventures in attempting to escape the school alive.

I personally adored the intricate characters and beautiful, detailed world that Soman has created in this book. The plot is expertly crafted, and the characters are so well thought out and very much human, which makes the book seem so real. For instance, Sophie has a sad backstory and a valid motive to achieve her goal of finding a prince to love her, as does Agatha, for saving her friend and bringing them safely back home. As you read the story you will really empathize with the characters like you’ve never done with any other book before.