The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani (review)

Every four years, two children are kidnapped from the small town of Galvaldon, appearing shortly thereafter as characters in the town’s storybooks, one child as a hero, the other a villain. Sophie is determined to get kidnapped this year and make her way to the School of Good, where a girl as princess-like as herself belongs. She does indeed get stolen away by the School Master, but so does her reluctant friend Agatha, a grumpty, sarcastic girl rumored to already be a witch. When the two arrive at the Schools, however, it’s Aggie who joins the princess ranks and Sophie who is cast down with the other wart-nosed villains in the School of Evil. Undoing what both girls believe to be a mistake by the school administration proves to be difficult, and soon Aggie is charming a prince, Sophie is leading a coven, and their friendship is falling apart. A backstory about the town’s curse and the school’s history becomes a little complicated, but the primary focus remains on the two girls and their efforts to sustain their relationship even as their circumstances and their own personalities change. As the villainess who thinks she is good, Sophie is hilariously entertaining in her lack of self-awareness, and it’s this charm that keeps reader with her even when she turns nasty. Aggie’s story as the odd girl out is poignant, and it will especialy resonate with kids overwhelmed by their own insecurities. The quirky boarding-school aspect is sure to please fans of Harry Potter (who will catch some allusions to Rowling’s work), while the magical mayhem and adventure make this an easy sell to young fantasy readers.