Reviews with content warning for Animal death - A Deadly Education

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A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

61 reviews

rubyroses's review

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

4.5

This book has been described as: Harry Potter (if the school was sentient & trying to kill the students). In my opinion this couldn’t be further from the truth and overall undersells the premise. Yes, okay… sure. The book contains wizards and a magical school but that’s where the similarities end. Deadly Education is it’s own entity.

If you are someone that enjoys a good slow burn then I think you’ll enjoy the romantic dynamic of this book. If your someone that avoids romance then I think you could potentially enjoy this book too. Romance is definitely a theme but it plays such an underwhelming small role that it’s easy to forget it’s even there.

This book’s main focus is its kick ass OP female protagonist & the friends she makes along the way. That’s it’s selling point !! Overall it was a really enjoyable novel and the magical world building was unique.

Whilst the book is quite diverse with its range of characters from different backgrounds… I wish there was more discussed about El’s. Like sure it’s mentioned briefly but not really explored at all. I get it’s not a focus of the book but would of been nice.

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bookcasey's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

If you enjoy magical, dark academia like Atlas Six, you’ll enjoy this one, aimed at a YA audience. That doesn’t mean the themes aren’t dark — what do you do when your school is constantly trying to kill you? But the cast is lovable, and the book keeps you guessing, a great pick for the darker seasons.

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chalkletters's review against another edition

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hopeful inspiring tense fast-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? No

5.0

When A Deadly Education was introduced as ‘a nasty magic school’, I was worried it would be another Witchsign; I couldn’t have been more wrong. The tone and the characters are completely different, and while both books have similar themes, A Deadly Education delivers friendship overcoming the odds far more effectively.

The Scholomance is a dangerous place which thrives on inequality, but nothing about A Deadly Education is delivered to grind the reader down. Instead, El’s savviness, self-knowledge and pragmatism are immediately captivating. Naomi Novik creates an amazing contrast between El and her non-privileged peers who have to be smart to survive versus the 'enclave kids’ who can coast on generations of magical alliance.

El’s character development is awesome, and ties seamlessly in to an action-packed plot. It’s rare that a moment of intense self-discovery will also be an attempted murder, but Naomi Novik manages it. Against the background of self-interest and betrayal, El’s developing friendships shine particularly brightly. While there is a romance, it doesn’t overshadow the platonic relationships.

Even though El’s mother never appears 'on stage’, their relationship is beautifully portrayed. Gwen Higgins is the goodest of good witches, but the mother-daughter bond isn’t all unconditional love and endless support; it’s complicated and realistic and oh, so fantastic to read about.

It’s always a good sign when there’s enough plot going on that the reader can make guesses about a situation and be wrong. No detail of the plot felt wasted or cumbersome, and Naomi Novik manages to set-up such a brilliant cliffhanger that even if you know there is one, you probably won’t guess what it’s going to be.

A Deadly Education was a complete joy to read, despite the darkness of the world and setting, and I can hardly wait to move on to the next book in the series!

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finesilkflower's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

A gritty magic school story that is inevitably easiest to describe as "dark Harry Potter" (though it draws more from the Harry Potter fanfic tradition than from HP itself.) I found the first half hard to get through because it is so grim - the main character is a loner in a school that's so dangerous that student death is commonplace and you can't get too attached to anybody, which makes it relentlessly bleak - but the second half really drew me in as our protagonist El developed real friendships and caught a few breaks in amongst the trauma, and the adventure plotline kicked into gear.

The world details felt novel, clever, and well thought-through. Novik gives enough detail to the worldbuilding and the magic system to make it seem grounded, complex, and rules-based, but handwaves enough to give plenty of room for future plot hooks (and/or leave plot hooks for fanfic).

Tonally, I would say it is pretty similar to "Hunger Games," though where HG is dystopian commentary on inequality and exploitation in the real world, this book is more of a dystopian commentary on inequality and exploitation in Harry Potter. Deadly Education says the quiet part out loud, and fully commits to things that are true-but-disavowed in Harry Potter: that the school is actually super fucking dangerous; wealth and connections are crucial to survival; it's lovely that everyone has their own special talent but some of them are straight up evil; the status of hero-celebrity is lonely and unenviable; the monster-killing jock is somewhat boring and the smart friend who can see the writing on the wall is the real protagonist.

Also thematic shades of vampire or werewolf fic, as the main character is one of those "dark magic creature too powerful for their own good who has to constantly be alert against being evil" types. Typically these characters show up a lot in fanfic because they are reformed versions of antagonists in canon, and it was fun to see such a character as the main POV protagonist here. El's dynamic with Orion reminds me a lot of Draco/Harry, Baz/Simon from Carry On (also derived from Draco/Harry), or other (typically m/m) ex-villain/hero fanfic pairs. It was a nice touch to have El call Orion by his last name.

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emmabee22's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

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cgn's review against another edition

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adventurous inspiring tense fast-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

Wow. I haven’t had such a strong five-star in ages. This book fed me energy. I took several moments to breathe and just process the emotions running through me. It gave all the delicious tension and reward I want from both the plot and the characters, and I can’t wait to see where both go next. I was only 15% into the book when I put the sequel on hold, and I’m so grateful for past-me. I’m already thinking about buying the book and re-reading it, especially to catch all the social commentary I missed the first time around. What a blessing of an experience.

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ailsaod's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny medium-paced

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

4.0

I wasn't planning on reading this as while I love Novik's Temeraire series the premise of this book is very far from what interests me. However, my parents were adamant that it was good so I borrowed their copy and was pleasantly surprised.

I think the one single thing that makes this book so fun is the protagonist, El, who is the amusing combination of constantly brimming with rage while also being extremely self aware about how angry she is. Not sure what it says about me that I find this absolutely hilarious. It gets even funnier when El being furious and passive aggressive is what helps her make friends. She is doing social interactions completely wrong and yet it works for her! Really enjoyed this take on an antihero protagonist.

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