A World Without Princes (The School for Good and Evil #2) by Soman Chainani - Paul's Review

**I was provided an eARC of this novel from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review**

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Title: A World Without Princes (The School for Good and Evil #2)
Author: Soman Chainani
Year Published: 2014

Recent Release Date: Tuesday April 15, 2014

My REVIEW of The School for Good and Evil #1
My PRE-READING of The School for Good and Evil #1

My Pre-Reading of A World Without Princes (#2)

Synopsis: When Agatha secretly wishes she’d chosen a different happy ending, she reopens the gates to the School for Good and Evil. But the world she and Sophie once knew has changed.

Witches and princesses, warlocks and princes are no longer enemies. New bonds are forming; old bonds are being shattered. But underneath this uneasy arrangement, a war is brewing and a dangerous enemy rises. As Agatha and Sophie battle to restore peace, an unexpected threat could destroy everything, and everyone, they love—and this time, it comes from within.

Review: I loved what the first book in this middle-grade series did to break so many barriers and cliches. There are two female leads and although romance has its place in the book, friendship is at the core. The first book centered around the ideas of good and evil. This book tackles the complexities of boys and girls. There are inherit difficulties in dealing with gender. There are so many preconceived gender stereotypes and although I think Soman Chainani addresses them well, I wish there would have been more breaking of the cliches that are so ingrained within our culture. 

The school from the first novel is back, but with a few interesting changes. Even though this series has a Harry Potter feel, it is more fantastical than grounded. It doesn't take the time to build the characters over seven books. It is action packed, with both protagonists experiencing huge changes. The story alternates between Sophie and Agatha's perspectives, but when both characters are present it can lead to some confusion. 

The conclusion felt very "middle book" to me and it makes sense considering a third book in the trilogy comes out next year. I am excited to find out how these two girls' fairy tales will truly end. Children reading this book are at the perfect age to think about the issues presented and change the way they see the world. What really is Good? What makes you Evil? And can you change your "destiny"?

I give this book a 4/5 and highly recommend the series! I bought the first book for a friend's 8-year-old niece after reading it myself. What interests me most about the series is that it presents stereotypes in a way that makes the reader think and reevaluate their own ideas. This series is a great catalyst to discussing concepts such as good, evil, destiny, love, and friendship with a middle-grade audience. 

--PAUL

A World Without Princes (The School for Good and Evil #2) by Soman Chainani - Paul's Pre-reading

**I was provided an eARC of this novel from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review**

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Title: A World Without Princes (The School for Good and Evil #2)
Author: Soman Chainani
Year Published: 2014

Upcoming Release Date: Tuesday April 15, 2014

My REVIEW of The School for Good and Evil #1
My PRE-READING of The School for Good and Evil #1




Synopsis: When Agatha secretly wishes she’d chosen a different happy ending, she reopens the gates to the School for Good and Evil. But the world she and Sophie once knew has changed.

Witches and princesses, warlocks and princes are no longer enemies. New bonds are forming; old bonds are being shattered. But underneath this uneasy arrangement, a war is brewing and a dangerous enemy rises. As Agatha and Sophie battle to restore peace, an unexpected threat could destroy everything, and everyone, they love—and this time, it comes from within.

Why?: I really enjoyed the first book. It played with so many cliches and norms of good and evil as well as fairy tales in general. It looks like this one will be dealing with stereotypes of boys and girls. I'm excited to see what happens to Agatha and Sophie.   

Expectations: I'm expecting a fun middle-grade novel about two "good" girls trying to stay "good" and figure out what even "good" is. This book may replace those "good"s with "girl" though. I'm expecting Chainani to turn some tropes on their heads. 

Judging a book by its cover: I love this cover. The parallels to the first novel's cover are so cool. I like that the two protagonists have switched the swans they stand behind. There's also the added prince between them. And the darkness of this cover and the blue butterflies intrigue me. 

--PAUL

The School for Good and Evil (The School for Good and Evil #1) by Soman Chainani - Paul's Review

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Title: The School for Good and Evil (The School for Good and Evil #1)
Author: Soman Chainani
Year Published: 2013

My The School for Good and Evil PRE-READING

Synopsis: The first kidnappings happened two hundred years before. Some years it was two boys taken, some years two girls, sometimes one of each. But if at first the choices seemed random, soon the pattern became clear. One was always beautiful and good, the child every parent wanted as their own. The other was homely and odd, an outcast from birth. An opposing pair, plucked from youth and spirited away.

This year, best friends Sophie and Agatha are about to discover where all the lost children go: the fabled School for Good & Evil, where ordinary boys and girls are trained to be fairy tale heroes and villains. As the most beautiful girl in Gavaldon, Sophie has dreamed of being kidnapped into an enchanted world her whole life. With her pink dresses, glass slippers, and devotion to good deeds, she knows she’ll earn top marks at the School for Good and graduate a storybook princess. Meanwhile Agatha, with her shapeless black frocks, wicked pet cat, and dislike of nearly everyone, seems a natural fit for the School for Evil.

But when the two girls are swept into the Endless Woods, they find their fortunes reversed—Sophie’s dumped in the School for Evil to take Uglification, Death Curses, and Henchmen Training, while Agatha finds herself in the School For Good, thrust amongst handsome princes and fair maidens for classes in Princess Etiquette and Animal Communication.. But what if the mistake is actually the first clue to discovering who Sophie and Agatha really are…?

The School for Good & Evil is an epic journey into a dazzling new world, where the only way out of a fairy tale is to live through one.

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Review: It's great to see a book for young girls with two female leads. Romance still has its place in the book, but the friendship of the two leads is at the focus of the story. 

This book plays with so many fairy tale tropes and cliches. Many well known fairy tale characters make appearances or are referenced. The concepts of villains and heroes, evil and good, are really played with. It really plays with assumptions and what you are inside. I loved all the parallels and the fairytale roles different characters took. 

I had so many different thoughts on where the story was going, but my theories constantly changed. And I didn't predict the ending. This book had my brain constantly working. 

There are a lot of physical attributes corresponding to good/evilness though. It's addressed, but one's inner self was often reflected by their outer self. 

There are a few LGBT references in the book, but some just as jokes or shock value. I wish I could have seen a different representation. That of course was one of my early theories too. 

While reading this book, I couldn't help seeing it as a musical, either stage or movie. There were even some lines of dialogue that after reading them seemed like the title of a song. 

There's apparently a sequel coming out in a few months. I was surprised because the ending wasn't left super open ended. I do like the sequel's title though: A World Without Princes.

I enjoyed this book and think it would be a great book for girls especially age 10-14. I'm not saying this is a girl book, but I think young girls would enjoy this different take on a princess story. I, a 24 year old man, enjoyed this book as well. I give it a 4.5/5.

--PAUL

The School for Good and Evil (The School for Good and Evil #1) by Soman Chainani - Paul's Pre-Reading

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Title: The School for Good and Evil (The School for Good and Evil #1)
Author: Soman Chainani
Year Published: 2013

Synopsis: The first kidnappings happened two hundred years before. Some years it was two boys taken, some years two girls, sometimes one of each. But if at first the choices seemed random, soon the pattern became clear. One was always beautiful and good, the child every parent wanted as their own. The other was homely and odd, an outcast from birth. An opposing pair, plucked from youth and spirited away.

This year, best friends Sophie and Agatha are about to discover where all the lost children go: the fabled School for Good & Evil, where ordinary boys and girls are trained to be fairy tale heroes and villains. As the most beautiful girl in Gavaldon, Sophie has dreamed of being kidnapped into an enchanted world her whole life. With her pink dresses, glass slippers, and devotion to good deeds, she knows she’ll earn top marks at the School for Good and graduate a storybook princess. Meanwhile Agatha, with her shapeless black frocks, wicked pet cat, and dislike of nearly everyone, seems a natural fit for the School for Evil.

But when the two girls are swept into the Endless Woods, they find their fortunes reversed—Sophie’s dumped in the School for Evil to take Uglification, Death Curses, and Henchmen Training, while Agatha finds herself in the School For Good, thrust amongst handsome princes and fair maidens for classes in Princess Etiquette and Animal Communication.. But what if the mistake is actually the first clue to discovering who Sophie and Agatha really are…?

The School for Good & Evil is an epic journey into a dazzling new world, where the only way out of a fairy tale is to live through one.

Why?: The reason I picked up this book was the cover. It's absolutely enthralling. I love all the parallels and the black and white. The school crest with the swans is really cool. The second reason this book caught my attention was the title. A school for good AND evil? A school for fairytale characters? All these things intrigue me.

Expectations: I know this is middle grade, so I'm not expecting too much mature or dark content, but I'm hoping for some interesting conversation on good and evil. I'm expecting to enter a fun and interesting world of future fairytales.

Judging a book by its cover: Like I said, I love this cover. So many parallels. I have so many questions about the characters and the castles.

--PAUL