The School for Good and Evil

The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani, 488 pages

Every four years, a mysterious School Master kidnaps two children from the idyllic town of Gavaldon, taking them to a two-towered school that helps kids embrace their Good and Evil natures, respectively, and eventually placing them in their own fairy tales. When best friends Sophie and Agatha are kidnapped, they're taken to the school and think they know where they'll end up: beautiful, blonde Sophie is convinced she's a happily-ever-after princess in the making, while creepy loner Agatha is a shoo-in for a wicked witch (she grew up in a graveyard, for crying out loud!). Turns out, the School Master has other ideas, and both girls find themselves outcasts in the opposite schools than they expected.


Aimed at middle grade kids, this book offers a great twist on fairy tales and the nature of Good and Evil, though it sometimes comes across as a bit heavy-handed for adult readers. While it's interesting to watch Sophie and Agatha struggle with the roles they've had thrust upon them, most of the characters are a bit two-dimensional (though one could argue that so are most fairy tale characters) and the world, while certainly imaginative, isn't really as richly alive as it could be. That said, there are three more books in the series, and as this one ended on a cliffhanger, I'm definitely going to be picking up the next one to see where the story goes.