"The School for Good and Evil" Scores A+ In Fantasy and Unforgettable Adventure

The School for Good and Evil (The School for Good and Evil, #1) Title:  The School For Good and Evil
(The School for Good and Evil #1)
Author:  Soman Chainani
Format:  Audiobook 
Length:  13 hrs. 46 min.
Publisher:  Harper Audio
Rating:  5 Stars

The first kidnappings happened two hundred years before. Some years it was two boys taken, some years two girls, sometimes one of each. But if at first the choices seemed random, soon the pattern became clear. One was always beautiful and good, the child every parent wanted as their own. The other was homely and odd, an outcast from birth. An opposing pair, plucked from youth and spirited away.

This year, best friends Sophie and Agatha are about to discover where all the lost children go: the fabled School for Good & Evil, where ordinary boys and girls are trained to be fairy tale heroes and villains. As the most beautiful girl in Gavaldon, Sophie has dreamed of being kidnapped into an enchanted world her whole life. With her pink dresses, glass slippers, and devotion to good deeds, she knows she’ll earn top marks at the School for Good and graduate a storybook princess. Meanwhile Agatha, with her shapeless black frocks, wicked pet cat, and dislike of nearly everyone, seems a natural fit for the School for Evil.

But when the two girls are swept into the Endless Woods, they find their fortunes reversed—Sophie’s dumped in the School for Evil to take Uglification, Death Curses, and Henchmen Training, while Agatha finds herself in the School For Good, thrust amongst handsome princes 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…?

The School for Good & Evil is an epic journey into a dazzling new world, where the only way out of a fairy tale is to live through one.
The first kidnappings happened two hundred years before. Some years it was two boys taken, some years two girls, sometimes one of each. But if at first the choices seemed random, soon the pattern became clear. One was always beautiful and good, the child every parent wanted as their own. The other was homely and odd, an outcast from birth. An opposing pair, plucked from youth and spirited away.


This year, best friends Sophie and Agatha are about to discover where all the lost children go: the fabled School for Good & Evil, where ordinary boys and girls are trained to be fairy tale heroes and villains. As the most beautiful girl in Gavaldon, Sophie has dreamed of being kidnapped into an enchanted world her whole life. With her pink dresses, glass slippers, and devotion to good deeds, she knows she’ll earn top marks at the School for Good and graduate a storybook princess. Meanwhile Agatha, with her shapeless black frocks, wicked pet cat, and dislike of nearly everyone, seems a natural fit for the School for Evil.

But when the two girls are swept into the Endless Woods, they find their fortunes reversed—Sophie’s dumped in the School for Evil to take Uglification, Death Curses, and Henchmen Training, while Agatha finds herself in the School For Good, thrust amongst handsome princes 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…?

The School for Good & Evil is an epic journey into a dazzling new world, where the only way out of a fairy tale is to live through one.  -Goodreads



My Thoughts
This is story for those readers who long for true TALES.  Those sagas that rivet a reader to his or her chair; while allowing said captive reader's mind to follow larger than life and glaringly vivid characters to new and wondrous lands and adventures. 

At first glance, this seems a straight forward enough read.  At least for the first 15 minutes or so, because that's about how long it takes to get to the part where Agatha starts trying to save Sophie.
If you want an explanation of things (see long synopsis.)

Needless to say, this story takes the "don't judge a book by its cover" message to new and excitingly fanciful heights.  
While it is true that the tone of this story does lend itself to more of a middle-grade audience; it is written with an understated complexity that will appeal to older readers in much the same way that Grimm's tales do.

Agatha and Sophie are very well done characters possessing great humor and an undeniably snarky wit.  It is a sheer joy to see the two girls grow and change, both separately and together.  Couple these dynamic leading ladies with the varied and colorful supporting cast and fanciful world in which they live, and you have a timeless tale of classic caliber.

As hard to believe as it is...this is the first book in a series!
Be warned, this book is not for the faint of heart.  The non-stop adventure, magic, and action maintains a breakneck pace to a whopping 400 pages or 13+ hours via audio.

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