Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

64 reviews

lucystolethesky's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Child death, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Classism, Bullying, Animal death, and Gore

Minor: Pregnancy, Animal cruelty, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Bullying, Body horror, Islamophobia, and Cultural appropriation

hzamrzla's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

While I loved the world of this book and the possibilities it presented, the story itself was weirdly paced. I felt like it spent a LOT of time building up to a major, menacing reveal, and then the climax was told with the same weight as the rest of the story, the ending felt abrupt and jarring, and overall, it just seemed like a lot of buildup for not much payoff. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism

Moderate: Bullying and Violence

Minor: Sexual assault, Animal cruelty, Child death, and Emotional abuse

One scene is not a sexual assault, but a pretty blatant sexual assault parallel. It was the only thing in the book that really gave me pause.

lizsurber's review

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Gore, Classism, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Cursing, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Dysphoria, Grief, Pregnancy, and Vomit

Minor: Suicide

jaedia's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Bullying, Classism, and Confinement

Moderate: Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Death, Child death, Blood, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Vomit

Minor: Grief, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Medical content, and Suicidal thoughts

charlinem's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death

Minor: Bullying

bujo_bellel's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I really enjoyed this book, it was very interesting although at first I had no clue what was going on at all. However, as I started to understand the magic system, I got more hooked to the book and the characters. I especially loved Galdriel's sassiness and sarcasm. Really amusing. I like that she started out alone but ended with more people then she imagined, which was pretty heartwarming to me. I am very tempted to start the next book right away now.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Violence, and Death

Moderate: Bullying, Murder, and Death of parent

mycology's review against another edition

adventurous dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Overall this was a fantastic read. I really had fun with it and it was a great choice for getting back into the habit of reading.

Positives:

• El is a well rounded character who is easy for the reader to like despite her being disliked by other characters.
• The premise and plot is enjoyable and easy to get hooked into.
• The worldbuilding is fantastic. It’s woven into the text so well it never feels like slogging through pages and pages of lore.
• It’s funny at times without taking away from the atmosphere.
• A great stepping point between YA and adult fantasy

Negatives (nit-picking here, the book was great)

• I dislike El’s relationship with Orion towards the end.
  Spoiler

  It feels forced to me that she’s starting to have feelings for him already. Or, at all for that matter. They just don’t seem compatible to me. Also, small point, but El mentions wanting kids badly at one point, which feels so out of character for her. Maybe later depending on how she’s developed, but it just didn’t seem right to me.<\spoiler>
• I desperately wish there was any queer rep at all

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Body horror, Death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Classism, Confinement, Cursing, Murder, and Vomit

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Drug use, and Grief

thequiltyreader's review

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

It was a good read. I really enjoyed the world building but found the story a but repetitive at times.

There was an attempt to address inequalities due I class which was good.

Overall a good read and I'll try the sequel.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Violence, Addiction, Blood, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Gore

bethanycrowepowell's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Galadriel Higgins is destined to bring death and chaos to the wizarding world, or so it was foretold. "El" doesn't want to rain destruction, but is finding it harder and harder to avoid in a school that is actively trying to kill her.

Scholomance was built to protect teen wizards from the evil creatures drawn to their magic, but after some major technical failures, it doesn't quite work that way. Instead, students have to be on guard constantly, and their graduation is a gauntlet through where the largest of the monsters gather. When El starts to question whether it can be fixed, she's up against a lethal status quo that not everyone wants to change.

This book launches a trilogy that deconstructs magical school escapism with an eye to societies built around power disparities, full of compellingly complicated characters. El is a cranky but very relatable heroine whose fight against her prophesied destiny as a dark sorceress kept me reading through the whole series in a matter of days.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Classism

Moderate: Child death, Cursing, Bullying, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Sexual content

Minor: Sexual violence and Rape

malley's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Bullying, Death, Child death, Classism, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Murder, and Death of parent

Minor: Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Toxic friendship