A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

January 8, 2021

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

Galadriel Higgins, known as El, is a student at the Scholomance, a special school for gifted magical children. There are no teachers, yet the school itself determines the curriculum for each student.  The school's main purpose seems to be to weed out about 75% of the students before graduation, but it's still safer than the outside world, where the only chance for safety is to belong to a wizarding enclave. The enclave kids at the Scholomance are the only ones who have resources and a chance of getting out alive. 

El is an indie kid - she was raised by her whimsical mother in a magic commune in Wales. They are poor as dirt because her mother gives away her magic for free. El was supposedly born evil and has the potential to become a very powerful sorceress. Although the school seems determined to test or kill the students at every turn, El slowly makes friends (for the first time) and even has a boyfriend of sorts who keeps saving her life against her wishes. She and her friends are determined to find a way for more students to make it out alive and to protect the younger students.

This isn't Hogwarts in the Harry Potter series - the Scholomance is far deadlier. It's a cliche, but the school itself is a character. There is a really creative collection of monsters and supernaturals that inhabit the school. El has a very funny snarky voice, adding sarcasm to typical teenage angst. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.