School for Good and Evil

Marshmallow reviews Fall of the School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani

Last June, Marshmallow reviewed Rise of the School for Good and Evil, the first of the two prequels Soman Chainani wrote for his School for Good and Evil hexalogy. And this week, finally, she was able to get her paws on the second prequel book, Fall of the School for Good and Evil, fresh off the press (the book just came out on May 2, 2023). Below, she shares her thoughts on this long-awaited book.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you like books about fairy tales, friendship, family, or any of Soman Chainani’s other books, then this might be the book for you. But to understand the book fully, you should probably have read (or checked out my reviews of) some of the other School for Good and Evil books. For example check out The School for Good and Evil, the very first book that started this whole saga, or the book right before this one: Rise of the School for Good and Evil.

Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): Twins Rafal and Rhian rule the School for Good and Evil (a school that trains children to be in fairy tales) together. Rafal is the evil twin, and Rhian is the good twin. Their two contradicting souls, bound by their love for each other, balance the school and allow them to serve as School Masters. That is until they start having problems and tensions rise between them. If their bond does not last, they will both lose the immortality and magic given to them by the Storian.

Fall of the School for Good and Evil starts off when the twins go to Gavaldon to find new students for their school after losing several of their best ones. Gavaldon is a town outside of the magic of the woods, and the townspeople are called Readers. Gavaldon is not magical, but its inhabitants read the stories and fairy tales that happen in the woods. Their children read of magic, unaware that it is real. Rafal hopes that this will make them more effective and excited students, as opposed to the children who come from the kingdoms in the woods who have grown up with magic their entire lives.

Upon visiting Gavaldon, Rhian selects a Reader named Midas and takes him to be a new student at his School for Good. Rafal also picks a Reader to take to his School for Evil, but unfortunately, this person betrays him; Rafal is captured and accused of being a witch. Luckily, the brothers manage to escape with Midas. When they return to the School for Good and Evil, the twins discover their immortality is fading. They fear losing their powers and immortality. But a new division has started with Midas; each twin wants Midas to join his school, which causes competition between them. By the time they realize and recognize their division, the cracks are too big. The fight that started out as a small sibling rivalry becomes a full-blown war for the position of School Master with more than two competitors. But the result of the conflict is not what anyone would have expected and will change the course of fairy tales forever.

Marshmallow is reading Fall of the School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani. — Marshmallow is reading *Fall of the School for Good and Evil* by Soman Chainani.

Marshmallow’s Review: This is a sequel to Rise of the School for Good and Evil and is set before the School for Good and Evil series. I would definitely suggest reading those books before this because otherwise nothing will make sense. The other books are necessary for understanding the fantasy world that this book is set in. However, for those who have read the other books, this book is full of twists and turns that will leave readers astonished by revelations hidden throughout the entire series. Even though the reader thinks they know what will happen (since this book is set before the others), the road to the future of the School for Good and Evil is long and not as straight as one may think. The characters (specifically one!) in the other books is not who we thought they were.

I loved how Fall of the School for Good and Evil added nuance to the other books and built the world in which they are set. The depth of Chainani’s characters is astonishing. The characters we read about in Peter Pan and other fairy tales are transformed into living, breathing, and complex characters. I loved how characters from other fairy tales are given a new level of nuance and depth.

Fall of the School for Good and Evil did not have as much romance as previous books written by Chainani, which I think was a good move since it left more room for character and plot development.

This is a book that is appropriate for most ages, though it is likely more interesting for readers 8 and up.

Overall, this is an amazing book for those who like (retellings of) fairy tales and the School for Good and Evil series.

Marshmallow’s Rating: 100%.

Marshmallow rates Fall of the School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani 100%. — Marshmallow rates *Fall of the School for Good and Evil* by Soman Chainani 100%.

Marshmallow reviews The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani

Marshmallow loved Soman Chainani’s School for Good and Evil series, and reviewed three of the six books for the book bunnies blog, way back in our first year: Quests for Glory, the fourth book, A Crystal of Time, the fifth book, and One True King, the sixth book. Then a couple weeks ago, she got her paws on a prequel Chainani wrote this year, Rise of the School for Good and Evil, and reviewed it for the blog. After reading it, she decided to reread the very first book, School for Good and Evil, to see how it would hold up. She was not disappointed.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you like books about magic, friendship, love, and fairy tales, then this might be the book for you.

Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): Sophie has waited all her life to be kidnapped by the School Master and be whisked away from her boring, plain life. Sophie lives in the quaint town of Gavaldon, where nothing is magical. Perhaps the only out-of-the-ordinary thing in Gavaldon is the kidnappings. Every four years, two children are kidnapped. One child is beautiful and virtuous; the other, cruel and ugly.

For hundreds of years, no one knew what happened to them, until the children realized something strange. The kids who were taken seemed to find their way into the storybooks. They just showed up years later in the fairy tales, but as fierce witches, beautiful princesses, brave princes, or violent villains.

We learn, as events unfold for the main characters of the book, that these children go to a school, specifically the School for Good and Evil. The kidnapper is the School Master. Villains, witches, warlords, and other Evil creatures are trained at the School for Evil, while princes, princesses, and other Good people are trained at the School for Good.

So in this backdrop, Sophie knows that one day she will be taken to the School for Good. She makes sure to do Good Deeds to show the School Master how good she is and why she should be taken to the School for Good. Sophie knows she will be the perfect princess. On the other hand, everyone in Gavaldon knows that Agatha will be taken as the Evil child. Agatha lives in a house in the middle of a graveyard, with her mother (whom everyone believes to be a witch), wears only black, and dislikes almost everyone.

Almost everyone. Sophie visits Agatha (as a Good Deed) every day, until the two become friends. Agatha slowly becomes more than just a pawn used to ensure Sophie’s place in the School for Good. While Sophie wishes for grandeur and eternal adoration, Agatha just wants one person who likes her, one person who could care about her “measly soul”.

Then the girls are both kidnapped, and Sophie’s dreams are realized… until she is dropped into the School for Evil, while Agatha is placed in the School for Good. Sophie struggles to get herself into the School for Good, while Agatha struggles to try to get them back to Gavaldon.

Eventually, the School Master tells them that if Sophie proves that she is not a witch, and if Agatha proves that she is not a princess, they can go home. He asks them: what is the one thing that a witch can never have, and a princess cannot live without? The answer: Love. If Sophie can find love, and Agatha can’t, they can go home. Given who they are, their roles seem easy to play.

Only one complication stands in their way: Sophie doesn’t want to go home; she doesn’t want to at all.

Marshmallow is reading The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani. — Marshmallow is reading *The School for Good and Evil* by Soman Chainani.

Marshmallow’s Review: The first thing I should say is that I have read and reread this book so many times, my original copy of the book totally fell apart. For this review, I ended up getting a new copy so I could take pictures with it.

One of the reasons why I like this book so much and find it so interesting that School for Good and Evil isn’t just a different retelling of the familiar fairytales, but a whole new one. I think that this tale does fit into the world of other fairytales, and I really enjoyed reading about the world that Soman Chainani created.

School for Good and Evil, as probably everyone who has heard of it knows, is the first of a series of six. It is more or less self-contained, you could technically stop at the end and be done with it, but why would you? Chainani’s world is fascinating, and the stories get even better as you go deeper into the series.

The series is fantastical, magic, witches, fairytales, all are quite extraordinary. That said, the characters are very realistic. And some of them are very annoying (cough, Sophie,cough). I really enjoyed the way the characters developed throughout the series however. And I really liked how all of the characters had very big flaws in addition to their strengths. It was interesting to see that even fairy tale heroes have problems.

Rereading the book after having just finished Rise of the School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani, all I can say is that if you just read the Rise and are about to embark upon the rest of the series, you are in for an amazing ride. The prequel does not spoil the fun of this first book, though of course it does spoil a little bit of the surprise. It is not a big deal however, either case, you learn about the School, one way or another, and the story works either way.

I am excited that Netflix is developing a series version of the books! Here is the trailer / teaser:

I for one am looking forward to it!

Marshmallow’s Rating: 98%.

Marshmallow rates The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani 98%. — Marshmallow rates *The School for Good and Evil* by Soman Chainani 98%.

Marshmallow reviews Rise of the School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani

Marshmallow loved Soman Chainani’s School for Good and Evil series, and reviewed three of the six books for the book bunnies blog. So she was delighted to get her paws on Rise of the School for Good and Evil, the much anticipated prequel to this fascinating hexalogy. Below she shares her thoughts on this book, just published in May 2022.

You might like to check out Marshmallow’s reviews of Quests for Glory, the fourth book, A Crystal of Time, the fifth book, and One True King, the sixth book, before moving further.

Marshmallow reviews Rise of the School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani. — Marshmallow reviews *Rise of the School for Good and Evil* by Soman Chainani.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you like books about family, fairy tales, and magic, then this might be the book for you. This will be even more of a joy to read if you have already read and enjoyed the six School for Good and Evil books.

Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): Rhian and Rafal have been ruling the School for Good and Evil as School Masters for years. Both twins are immortal as long as they can uphold the balance between Good and Evil and that they both love each other, despite the fact that one is Good and the other is Evil. The Storian (the pen that writes all of the fairy tales happening in the Woods) selected them to be the next School Masters. The School for Good and Evil is where all of the people in fairy tales are trained. Heroes, princes, princesses, fairies, and other Good people/creatures are trained at the School for Good. Witches, warlocks, giants, and other Evil people/creatures are trained at the School for Evil. Students at this school train in the hope that the Storian will one day write their stories.

The Pen never specified which brother was the Good one and which one was the Evil one, but the twins were sure they already knew. Rhian was the Good one (described as tan with golden, wild hair), and Rafal was the Evil one (described as pale with white, spiky hair). Still the two brothers get along well and love each other.

Unfortunately, the arrival of one student turns their dynamic upside down. What starts out as a joke between Rhian and Rafal creates a rift between them. Challenge after challenge threatens to tear them apart. Will their love for each other be enough or will the rift between them eventually tear the School apart?

Marshmallow is reading Rise of the School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani. — Marshmallow is reading *Rise of the School for Good and Evil* by Soman Chainani.

Marshmallow’s Review: WARNING! DO NOT READ THIS BOOK UNLESS YOU HAVE READ THE OTHER BOOKS IN THIS SERIES! I generally don’t recommend reading books in any certain order, but in this case, reading this book before the others would be a mistake. I think that Rise of the School for Good and Evil is a book meant to be read after the others. The story fits in well with a lot of things that we saw in the other books, and fills some gaps, but you wouldn’t understand it unless you read the other books. Let me also add, without spoiling anything, that the ending of this book is not definite and would definitely not be satisfying unless the reader had already read the other books. One does not have to have read the entire series, probably just the first three books. However, I feel that this would definitely be better as an addition to the series, not an introduction.

However, this is a great book that is a great addition to the series. It doesn’t go fully into some of the details discussed in the previous books, but it definitely shows the events that led up to the hexalogy. I especially liked how we saw characters who were completely Evil in the previous books in a different light. I also enjoyed how we saw the ancestors of some of the characters in the previous books, as this book is set much before the rest of them.

Marshmallow’s Rating: 95%.

Marshmallow rates Rise of the School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani 95%. — Marshmallow rates *Rise of the School for Good and Evil* by Soman Chainani 95%.

Marshmallow reviews One True King by Soman Chainani (Book 6 of The School for Good and Evil series)

Last year Marshmallow reviewed Quests for Glory, the fourth book of Soman Chainani’s School for Good and Evil series, and then A Crystal of Time, the fifth book. Finally the wait is over, and today she writes about her thoughts on the sixth and final book in the series: One True King.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you like fantasy, twisted fairy tales, and Soman Chainani’s books, then you will enjoy this book! If you haven’t read the first five books of the School for Good and Evil series though, then you might want to read them first.

Here is how I introduced the series in my earlier reviews:

It all began in The School for Good and Evil, Soman Chainani’s first novel. This was a school of fairy tales, where witches and princesses, warlocks and princes were trained. In the end a select few would become the heroes and the villains of future storybooks. The tales would be recorded by a magical pen, The Storian. We learn about this whole world through the eyes and experiences of Agatha and Sophie, two friends whose destiny takes them to different places and brings them back together.

The first book is followed by A World Without Princes, where witches and princesses are friends, and warlocks and princes become accomplices. The dividing line now becomes gender, instead of good versus evil.

The third book of the series, The Last Ever After, reorganizes the world of the School, and Sophie and Agatha have many new adventures.

The fourth book, Quests for Glory, started the Camelot Years, when both Agatha and Sophie have graduated and now expect that their stories are finished. We know of course that that is definitely not the case. They face many new challenges, both in Quests for Glory and in A Crystal of Time.

The book under review here is the sixth and final addition to this series.

The Book Bunnies were so enthusiastic about One True King by Soman Chainani (Book 6 of The School for Good and Evil series) that they pre-ordered it twice. So now Marshmallow can pose with two beautiful books at the same time!

Marshmallow’s Summary (with spoilers): Tedros, the fiance of Agatha and the heir of King Arthur of Camelot, is now an outlaw. In the fourth book, we meet Rhian and Japeth, the twins with a plan: Japeth would attack and pillage kingdoms while Rhian would come and “save” them. When Tedros fails to pull the famous sword Excalibur from the stone, like his father had done once, people of Camelot begin to lose faith in Tedros. When Rhian manages to fool Excalibur and successfully pulls it out, they crown Rhian as king and declare Tedros an imposter. And Sophie becomes Rhian’s queen.

Marshmallow is looking at all the Excaliburs in One True King, the sixth and last book of Soman Chainani's School For Good and Evil series. — Marshmallow is looking at all the Excaliburs in *One True King*, the sixth and last book of Soman Chainani’s School For Good and Evil series.

Then in the fifth book, Rhian is killed by Japeth, the Snake, who takes the place of his twin. As Tedros and his friends investigate, they learn more and more about Japeth. But all the evidence that they find eventually leads to one shocking conclusion. It seems like Japeth and Rhian were correct. There is another heir to King Arthur’s throne.

Marshmallow is reading One True King by Soman Chainani (Book 6 of The School for Good and Evil series). — Marshmallow is reading *One True King* by Soman Chainani (Book 6 of The School for Good and Evil series).

Marshmallow’s Review: I think that One True King is a really good book, because it has a lot of surprises. The plot is very intriguing and how the story wraps up is very well written. I felt sad about some parts of Merlin’s story—though it was also hilarious that he became a baby–“Mama llama!”

Just like the fifth book, this sixth book is very long, with over six hundred pages. But it still makes you want to read it fast so you can learn what’s going to happen in the end. I read it in one sitting because I wanted to know what would happen. It was very intriguing.

One True King is probably more suitable for older kids, because it has some mature moments. It is probably best for kids of age thirteen and up.

One True King wraps up the whole story of Sophie and Agatha, and the amazing fantasy world Soman Chainani created. I will miss this world and the characters.

Marshmallow’s Rating: 100%.

Marshmallow rates One True King by Soman Chainani (Book 6 of The School for Good and Evil series) 100%. — Marshmallow rates *One True King* by Soman Chainani (Book 6 of The School for Good and Evil series) 100%.