A Deadly Education - Naomi Novik

 

Title: A Deadly Education
Author: Naomi Novik
Format: Audiobook
Rating: 4 Stars

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A Deadly Education is set at Scholomance, a school for the magically gifted where failure means certain death (for real) — until one girl, El, begins to unlock its many secrets.

There are no teachers, no holidays, and no friendships, save strategic ones. Survival is more important than any letter grade, for the school won’t allow its students to leave until they graduate… or die! The rules are deceptively simple: Don’t walk the halls alone. And beware of the monsters who lurk everywhere.

El is uniquely prepared for the school’s dangers. She may be without allies, but she possesses a dark power strong enough to level mountains and wipe out millions. It would be easy enough for El to defeat the monsters that prowl the school. The problem? Her powerful dark magic might also kill all the other students.

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El, short for Galadriel, is a student at Scholomance, a school for students who are magically inclined. When we first meet her she is knee deep in the middle of an attack from a mal, she gets rescued by Orion. However she views it as him letting this thing into her room, and chaos ensues.  

They develop an unlikely friendship, mostly because El is convinced at first that he set the monster loose in her room, but also because he keeps volunteering to help with things like going to the shop to get tools. 

This book has all the drama you'd expect from a book filled with all teenagers and NO ADULTS.  With that being said, I loved every single second of this book.  I loved it all. The blood, the gore, the monster intestines. Give. Me. More.

The Only Thing I Didn't Like:
*I just found it odd that there were no adults at this school.  Like, they weren't even allowed into the school, it would literally spit out adults. With that being said, I do think that adds a layer of intrigue to the school and to the book. The school, because it's not just a school for magic but also a magical school, teaches them what they need to know, and gives them what they need to (hopefully) get out alive.

I Loved:
*The way the characters interacted with each other - especially Orion and El. They had a weird yet great relationship. They just had chemistry with each other, and even if they had decided to remain only friends it still would have worked. The other characters added even more to the story, even when they were being snotty brats (Hey, every school has those, right...)
* I know guts and gore don't work for everyone but I loved it. This book would not have been the same if it weren't for the mal attacking, and the students ripping them open and killing them. 
*This story was well developed and worked so well from beginning to end.  You get thrown into the action right at the beginning, and the whole story just builds from there. The author takes everything and builds on it from beginning to end.
*There was a lot of good character development in this story.  Even though some of the characters have some more work to do on themselves, you could tell there was some sort of effort from them to be or do something with themselves. 
*I Loved all the action in this book. I loved that the students always had to be on their toes because they never really knew what was going to happen. There was just this feeling of action and intensity weaving it's way through this book, and it worked.
*I found it intriguing what this school could do, and loved watching the students have to continue to learn and grow with the school because of how it changed from time to time on them. 

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Tell me reader friends, if you've read this book what did you think?  Are you as anxious for a sequel as I am?  Let me know what you thought in the comments! 

The Rules of Magic - Alice Hoffman

Title: The Rules of Magic
Author: Alice Hoffman
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 3.5 Stars

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Find your magic

For the Owens family, love is a curse that began in 1620, when Maria Owens was charged with witchery for loving the wrong man.

Hundreds of years later, in New York City at the cusp of the sixties, when the whole world is about to change, Susanna Owens knows that her three children are dangerously unique. Difficult Franny, with skin as pale as milk and blood red hair, shy and beautiful Jet, who can read other people’s thoughts, and charismatic Vincent, who began looking for trouble on the day he could walk.

From the start Susanna sets down rules for her children: No walking in the moonlight, no red shoes, no wearing black, no cats, no crows, no candles, no books about magic. And most importantly, never, ever, fall in love. But when her children visit their Aunt Isabelle, in the small Massachusetts town where the Owens family has been blamed for everything that has ever gone wrong, they uncover family secrets and begin to understand the truth of who they are. Back in New York City each begins a risky journey as they try to escape the family curse.

The Owens children cannot escape love even if they try, just as they cannot escape the pains of the human heart. The two beautiful sisters will grow up to be the revered, and sometimes feared, aunts in Practical Magic, while Vincent, their beloved brother, will leave an unexpected legacy. 

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The Rules of Magic is a prequel to the book Practical Magic, and follows the stories of Jet, Frannie, and their brother Vincent while they are young.

This novel had many magical aspects that made it very enchanting and fun to follow.   There was one thing that happened near the beginning of the novel that nearly made me stop reading though. One of the characters has this trait of being irresistible to others romantically.  So many people are attracted to him,  and one of his aunts neighbors uses that to her advantage and does stuff with him that no adult should ever do with a 14 year old child.  The authorities have used this as a chance to speak out against rape and sexual abuse against minors, but she didn't.  She should have because iny mind there is no reason a grown ass adult should ever be doing that with a child.  A leaning opportunity was sorely missed.

All that being said,  there were many things I did enjoy about this book.  I feel that the way the siblings learned about their magic in their own ways was good.  Their learning about who they are and coming of age as witches was well developed.

There were many different layers to this story - the side characters, the interactions between those characters and the main characters, the way we learned about the main characters and what they liked, and what they were like when they were young and as they got older.  The story is just filled with so much stuff that adds depth to this story and really makes you want to finish reading it.

I liked that this book had different settings and that the kids traveled and spent time at their aunt's house as well - I think having the story split between NYC and their aunt's house was good for the development of this story because it gives readers the chance to see what they kids are like in their home and in a different place.

Overall, I don't know that I would read this again, but it was a decent book and if you like magical realism you will probably enjoy this book.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - J.K. Rowling

Title: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets:
Author: J.K. Rowling
Format: Paperback

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The Dursleys were so mean and hideous that summer that all Harry Potter wanted was to get back to the Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. But just as he's packing his bags, Harry receives a warning from a strange, impish creature named Dobby who says that if Harry Potter returns to Hogwarts, disaster will strike.

And strike it does. For in Harry's second year at Hogwarts, fresh torments and horrors arise, including an outrageously stuck-up new professor, Gilderoy Lockhart, a spirit named Moaning Myrtle who haunts the girls' bathroom, and the unwanted attentions of Ron Weasley's younger sister, Ginny. But each of these seem minor annoyances when the real trouble begins, and someone, or something, starts turning Hogwarts students to stone. Could it be Draco Malfoy, a more poisonous rival than ever? Could it possibly be Hagrid, whose mysterious past is finally told? Or could it be the one everyone at Hogwarts most suspects: Harry Potter himself?

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As you know, I have been re-reading my way through the Harry Potter series again this year.  (And I honestly don't even remember how many times I've read each book....)  You can see my review for The Sorcerer's Stone here.

Every time I read through these books, I am reminded of why I love them so much.  The Chamber of Secrets, unlike many books, does not fall prey to second book syndrome.  It is just as marvelous as its predecessor.

The things I love every time I read this book:

- The Weasley Twins.  Fred and George are always so, so funny and delightful throughout the series.
- The first time Harry, the Weasley's, and Hermione met Gilderoy Lockhart (and then found out that HE was going to be there new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher.)  There reactions to him were the best.  Especially when he pulled Harry up and was like "photo op, photo op!"
- Lockhart  falling into the chamber of secrets, then trying to erase Ron and Harry's memories: And it backfiring.  I don't know why I always find this hilarious, but I do. (And I can't say Lockhart doesn't deserve it.)
- When Ron and the Twins go to Harry's house and steal him away in the dead of night: In Arthur's flying car!  And then, of course:
- Mrs. Weasley's reaction when she finds out that the boys flew to Harry's house in the car Mr. Weasley rigged up.
- Harry and Ron flying to school in that car and then getting beat up by the Whomping Willow for the first time.

That list could go on, and on, and on.  I love so much about this book.  I think it's wonderful that this book continues to not only entertain, but to use literature to teach children about consequences for their actions (Lockhart tries to erase kids memories and it backfires), it teaches children to be nice to others even if we don't agree with them, and it teaches kids the value of friendship, and so much more.  The books are so entertaining.

Now, before you go: here are a few of my favorite quotes from The Chamber of Secrets:

“Oh well... I'd just been thinking, if you had died, you'd have been welcome to share my toilet.”  - Moaning Myrtle

“You will find that I will only truly have left this school when none here are loyal to me.” - Dumbledore

“Lockhart'll sign anything if it stands still long enough.”

“Fred and George, however, found all this very funny. They went out of
their way to march ahead of Harry down the corridors, shouting, "Make way for
the Heir of Slytherin, seriously evil wizard coming through ......
Percy was deeply disapproving of this behavior.
"It is not a laughing matter," he said coldly.
"Oh, get out of the way, Percy," said Fred. "Harry's in a hurry."
"Yeah, he's off to the Chamber of Secrets for a cup of tea with his fanged
servant," said George, chortling.
Ginny didn't find it amusing either.
"Oh, don't," she wailed every time Fred asked Harry loudly who he was
planning to attack next, or when George pretended to ward Harry off with a large
clove of garlic when they met.” 



So, fellow readers: What are you favorite things about the Chamber of Secrets?