Soman Chainani

A dark and enchanting fantasy adventure perfect for those who prefer their fairytales with a twist. The first in the bestselling School for Good and Evil series.

The School for Good and Evil (The School for Good and Evil, Book 1)

The New York Times bestselling The School for Good and Evil, the first book in the series, is an epic journey into a dazzling new world, where the only way out of a fairy tale is to live through one. This paperback edition features an Extras section, giving readers a chance to see which school they'd be in and a Q&A with the author, Soman Chainani. With her glass slippers and devotion to good deeds, Sophie knows she'll earn top marks at the School for Good and join the ranks of past students like Cinderella, Rapunzel, and Snow White. Meanwhile, Agatha, with her shapeless black frocks and wicked black cat, seems a natural fit for the villains in the School for Evil. The two girls soon 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 among 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 and Evil

Angelica Garcia

Dad told me villains can’t love, no matter what… but if I could love, I’d love you

She is my favourite character for so many reasons! 

Isabella Cass

It’s not what we are, it’s what we do - Lady Lesso

martina klix 

There was something about being called stupid that set Sophie’s blood aflame.

She turned to the mirror and saw her brow creased in worry. First ruined sleep and now wrinkles. At this rate she’d be a hag by afternoon

jana 

“I don’t—want to—be Evil,” Sophie panted through sobs. 

“You’re not Evil, Sophie,” Agatha whispered, touching her decayed cheek. “You’re human."

Sophie smiled weakly. “Only if I have you.”

“Please . . .” Sophie begged, face cracking. “Don’t let me die a villain.”

“We don’t have to be enemies, Sophie,” she begged, trying to ignite her finger behind her back. 

“You made me like this,” Sophie breathed, sparkling with tears. “You took everything that was mine.”

i want the nevers to have a ball of their own please!!! (or attend the evers ball)

Watching across the aisles, the Nevers’ faces began to change. One by one, their scowls turned sorrowful, their eyes melted to hurt. Hort, Ravan, Anadil, even Hester . . . As if they too wished they could have such joy. As if they too wished they could feel as wanted. Gone was their will to fight, lost to broken hearts, and the villains shrank into silence, snakes drained of venom.

Students at the School for Good and Evil thought magic meant spells. But 

Agatha had found something more powerful in a smile.

Gently Agatha touched her face in the mirror, glowing from the inside. 

A face no one recognized because it was so happy. 

There could be no turning back now. The bread crumbs on the dark trail 

were gone. Instead, she had the truth to guide her. A truth greater than any 

Agatha burst into deep, cleansing sobs, never surrendering her smile

“If I was beautiful?” she asked quietly. 

Professor Dovey stood up. “Agatha, what do you see when you look in the 

“Because horses and hogs don’t sit around ogling their reflections!” 

“What is it you’re afraid you’ll see?” Professor Dovey said, leaning near 

“I’m not afraid of mirrors,” Agatha snorted. 

Agatha, Sophie told herself, Agatha will get us home. She bit back tears. Stay alive for Agatha.

"Love at first sight," Uma gushed. "It's the most beautiful thing in the world."

Agatha gagged. Who could ever love boys? Preening, useless thugs who thought the world belonged to them. She thought of Tedros and her skin burned. Hate at first sight.

She had always found villains more exciting than heroes. They had ambition, passion. They made the story happen. Villains didn't fear death. No, they wrapped themselves in death like suits of armor! As she inhaled the school's graveyard smell, Agatha felt her blood rush. For like all villains, death didn't scare her. It made her feel alive.

As they held hands and giggled, the best of friends, Agatha felt familiar shame rise. Everything in her body told her to shut the door again and hide. But this time, instead of thinking of all the friends she didn't have, Agatha thought about the one she did.

"Why is it so hard to accept that I'm happy here? I have everything I need. My bed, my cat, and my friend.

For as long as Agatha could remember, she'd had a talent for making people go away.

Sophie was safe and would wake up tomorrow feeling like a fool. Agatha wouldn't rub it in. Sophie would need her even more now and she would be there for her. Here in this safe, secluded world, the two of them would make their own paradise

True, Stefan had locked her in at sundown, given her a kiss, dutifully acted the loving father. But Sophie knew the truth. She had seen it in his face every day of her life. Her father didn't love her. Because she wasn't a boy. Because she didn't remind him of himself.

These storybook villages existed for only one purpose: to begin a fairy tale and to end it. Everything between the beginning and the end happened in the dark, endless woods that surrounded the town.

"Maybe I became your friend to impress the School Master," she confessed finally. "But there's more to it now." 

"Because I found you out," Agatha grumbled.

Sophie turned. Agatha's eyes were locked on the mob.

Luca

Iacopo Bruno

With her glass slippers and devotion to good deeds, Sophie knows she'll earn top marks at the School for Good and join the ranks of past students like Cinderella, Rapunzel, and Snow White. Meanwhile, Agatha, with her shapeless black frocks and wicked black cat, seems a natural fit for the villains in the School for Evil.

The two girls soon 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 among 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?

Monicap

I wish I'd read this book in school. Because I want to have a round-table discussion about it.

This book was the fable of fables. the Fairy Tale for Fairy Tales.

You know, when I read the synopsis I expected something cute and fun. And I got something cute and fun.

But I also got something that was dark and serious and layered. Oh, my god, the layers!

But it did take me a couple hundred pages to get into the story. One of the things that made it so difficult for me to get into the story was Sophie. This book is supposed to be about Agatha and Sophie's friendship. But I don't think that Sophie was ever actually friends with Agatha. 
Towards the beginning of the story, Agatha says to Sophie something along the lines of: "We were never really friends, I was just your Good Deed." And Sophie responds "It started it that way, but now you're really my friend." But you know, I think Agatha got it on the first hit. 

I finally got to a point where I understood that Sophie's friendship with Agatha was based on her own insecurities and it was more of a dependent thing than a mutual friendship. 

That was one of the things I'd love to discuss in a class. Now lets just list some others. 

1. The definition and difference between good and evil. This book went a LOT into exploring the human condition and defining some parts of it, like forgiveness and love as 'good' and other parts, like jealousy and revenge as 'evil'. Frankly, this pissed me off. It is all part of the human condition, and EVERYONE feels ALL OF THESE. I liked that there were some foil characters, Beatrix for Good and Dot for Evil which seemed to embody the contradictions of these rules.

2. 100 %. Now, this idea REALLY pissed me off because it suggested that there was such a thing as 100 % good and 100 % evil. setting aside the fact that I'm even convinced good and evil exist, 100 % is pretty big deal. To Be 100 %, EVERY SINGLE CHOICE YOU MAKE IN YOUR LIFE, every thought you've ever had, every action you ever take must reflect that affiliation, good or evil. This--I don't believe it is humanely possible. I just don't.

3. The idea that ugliness is freedom. While Sophie was in the school for Evil, one of the teachers literally said "Ugliness is freedom." the more you think about this, the more it kind of makes sense. Sophie spent so much time on her image (And I won't lie...sometimes I spend upwards of thirty minutes on my hair in the morning). But the flipside was that being ugly comes with as many expectations as being beautiful does, especially in fairy tales. And, true to form, over the course of the story, when Sophie's personality changed, so did her image.

I do love the premise of this. I love the thematic concept of prophecies, especially when the prophecy is known by the characters in it. It becomes about fate, about destiny, and there is something poetic about it. Aesthetically, it perfectly fits a story concerning itself with fairytales. This fairytale aspect of it also intrigued me as I generally enjoy fairytale retellings and the way the author adapts and transforms a stereotypical fairytale. However, the execution was subpar. In a way I believe it tried to balance too much as it adds the ‘beauty isn’t personality’ message that many more modern fairytales try to talk about. The conjunction of these ideas could’ve worked but here it really didn’t and left the plot getting muddled. 

As a small note, there were some weird lines that I didn’t quite understand that made me think that I was missing a clarifying line when I was not. Not sure if this occurred with other people but it was personally super distracting.

Additionally, there was lots of random nudity for no reason. Like, these are children. Although a decent portion of old fairytales can have some sexual parts to them, there is no need for this to exist in a book published in the 21st century. Absolutely none of it was necessary and made it weird more than anything. It seemed to be an attempt to make the story ‘darker’ but I believe that the other ways that this can be done, which the story does include some elements of, is sufficient enough.

Speaking of weird, the ending was rushed. Fantastically rushed. All of the plotlines that are being juggled and the overarching mystery try to have a firm ending, but ultimately the conclusion is unsatisfying. The answer either veers pedophilic and confusing, with the actual goal not really understandable on what it was trying to do or say.

Intriguing premise, but the delivery was less than desired. 

maddie

I do love the premise of this. I love the thematic concept of prophecies, especially when the prophecy is known by the characters in it. It becomes about fate, about destiny, and there is something poetic about it. Aesthetically, it perfectly fits a story concerning itself with fairytales. This fairytale aspect of it also intrigued me as I generally enjoy fairytale retellings and the way the author adapts and transforms a stereotypical fairytale. However, the execution was subpar. In a way I believe it tried to balance too much as it adds the ‘beauty isn’t personality’ message that many more modern fairytales try to talk about. The conjunction of these ideas could’ve worked but here it really didn’t and left the plot getting muddled. 

As a small note, there were some weird lines that I didn’t quite understand that made me think that I was missing a clarifying line when I was not. Not sure if this occurred with other people but it was personally super distracting.

Additionally, there was lots of random nudity for no reason. Like, these are children. Although a decent portion of old fairytales can have some sexual parts to them, there is no need for this to exist in a book published in the 21st century. Absolutely none of it was necessary and made it weird more than anything. It seemed to be an attempt to make the story ‘darker’ but I believe that the other ways that this can be done, which the story does include some elements of, is sufficient enough.

Speaking of weird, the ending was rushed. Fantastically rushed. All of the plotlines that are being juggled and the overarching mystery try to have a firm ending, but ultimately the conclusion is unsatisfying. The answer either veers pedophilic and confusing, with the actual goal not really understandable on what it was trying to do or say.

Intriguing premise, but the delivery was less than desired. 

It just gives you the feeling of a Real fairytale while still being amazing, such a great adventurous read, perfect for escaping this world 

Vivien Luisa Seifert

Mythos

Original: 5/5
New rating: 3/5

I've been meaning to change the rating for a while now. Although I love the book, I can admit that it has too many flaws. I couldn't stand the queer baiting. I don't think the kiss between Agatha and Sophie should have been included especially when the author planned to make Agatha choose the prince in the end anyway. It was also weird in which he tried to justify the kiss by making it be done out of sisterly love.

The School for Good and Evil - Soman Chainani

This Fairy-tale with a twist follows two girls with an unlikely friendship who are kidnapped from the village of Gavaldon, and magically transported to the School for good and evil.

I had never heard of this book until I saw Netflix was making an adaption to the screen.

But since I have seen these books in quite a few places. Maybe they were there all along and never jumped out at me. 

This book was an easy read, full of classic fairytale refrences.

The story was quick paced and easy to follow.

I would recommend this to early teens to read.

Sydney Hyde

The School for Good and Evil - Soman Chainani

⭐️⭐️⭐️ /5

No Spoiler Review

This Fairy-tale with a twist follows two girls with an unlikely friendship who are kidnapped from the village of Gavaldon, and magically transported to the School for good and evil.

I had never heard of this book until I saw Netflix was making an adaption to the screen.

But since I have seen these books in quite a few places. Maybe they were there all along and never jumped out at me. 

This book was an easy read, full of classic fairytale refrences.

The story was quick paced and easy to follow.

I would recommend this to early teens to read.

Beatrix Haase

3.5/5
I'm not sure how to rate this. I really enjoyed it but some of the characters I really did not like. I can see how this book is a middle grade but I can also see that it could very much be a young adult.

Sloan MacDonald

well the author was really good at making me hate all the characters in this book. 

I’m really angry at Agatha for constantly letting sophie manipulate her. but unfortunately I know all too well what it’s like to have a narcissistic friend who’s really good at gaslighting you. hopefully she drops her in book 2 like I did.

angie

2.5*
it’s pretty ok... despite the plot holes and misogyny

School for Good and Evil

Rebecca

This was cute! It’s a fairly common subject matter for middle grade - showing that good and evil isn’t black and white and the overlap and similarities between the two. This book definitely picked up steam in the final third, but I also feel like I didn’t totally believe some of the character growth. It kind of felt like the author decided ok, for the plot I need them to feel this way now, and was very tell-don’t-show, which was a bummer. That might come back to the audience and reading level though. 

overall a fun read though it certainly was a long one. I’ll be keeping an eye out for these from my library but think I’m gonna need a break before picking up the next one.

I loved the idea of a school for good and evil being responsible for the fairy tales we read. I loved the magical realms and the references to my old favorites. I did have some troubles with the story. I didn’t really believe the friendship between Sophie & Agatha, and hadn’t exactly seen a point where this was established enough for me to believe their kiss was enough for the ending to happen. 

I have big problems with the old man waiting for the perfect teenager trope. It feels so creepy to me that this ancient magic man waited for centuries and the answer was a thirteen or fourteen year old true love soulmate … why do we want to prepare girls for this in real life? 

I do love the platonic female friendship as a strong love theme but I wouldn’t hate it if they romantically loved one another either. 

Taina 

I loved the idea of a school for good and evil being responsible for the fairy tales we read. I loved the magical realms and the references to my old favorites. I did have some troubles with the story. I didn’t really believe the friendship between Sophie & Agatha, and hadn’t exactly seen a point where this was established enough for me to believe their kiss was enough for the ending to happen. 

I have big problems with the old man waiting for the perfect teenager trope. It feels so creepy to me that this ancient magic man waited for centuries and the answer was a thirteen or fourteen year old true love soulmate … why do we want to prepare girls for this in real life? 

I do love the platonic female friendship as a strong love theme but I wouldn’t hate it if they romantically loved one another either. 



I really like this book. The fantasy world building was well built and fleshed out and it was easy to understand. There were a few times I did not understand where something came from, like a random action of a reference that I had to figure out myself. Otherwise it was a great book, I loved the characters and plot twists.

Bella

Izza

4.5 stars | Such a wonderful story! How can you not fall in love with Sophie and Agatha?

Ik that 12yo me would’ve been OBSESS but ngl i don’t like some of the values in this book (ex: beauty= goodness and evil=ugliness) but i hope those values will be deconstructed in the next books. 

Lina <3

When Sophie dreams of wanting to be kidnapped and taken to the school for good and evil, her and her best friend Agatha take on all the adventures that the school master sets them up to. The story starts off with Sophie and Agatha being dropped in the ‘wrong’ schools and being told be the deans, Lady Lesso and Professor Dovey, that they are in the correct schools.

First off my original thoughts on this book were hugely based off the film which I had previously seen. I really loved Sophie in the start of the book and her views on the future. I also really enjoyed reading about Agatha and Sophie’s friendship and that even though they have many different views on the world they somehow manage to be such good friends. Sophie always viewed Agatha as a good person even though everybody else saw her as a witch Sophie saw her as a good person. “No one says you’re evil, Agatha. You’re just different” - Sophie.

One of my favourite scenes from this book is when Professor Dovey convinces Agatha that she is beautiful. This scene holds one of my favourite quotes from the whole book.

"That's odd," her teacher said, sweeping to her desk. "That's just what Ella of Maidenvale said to me-"

"Well, three cheers for Ella of Maidenvale!" Agatha sulked.

"I gave her a visit when I found out she wished to go to a Ball and then couldn't go through with it. All she needed was a new face and a nice pair of shoes."

"I don't see what this has to do with anyth-" Agatha's eyes widened. "Ella ... Cinderella?"

Professor Dovey was one of my favourite characters throughout this whole book because she always treated Agatha as if she was a real princess and never once let her see herself as ugly. I really loved how they adapted her into the film and even though the description of her in the book didn’t quite match the film I still loved her look in the film and Kerry Washington was definitely a perfect fit for the role.

Personally I thought that the book was written beautifully and Soman Chainani captured all the elements of the school perfectly in the descriptions. I loved that we got to see both perspectives of the school and how even though the Evers and Nevers were supposed to be on opposing sides, they definitely seemed to be brought together by the end for example Lady Lesso and Clarissa Dovey were and ever and a never both seemed to hate each other less by the end.

Overall this is one of the best books I’ve ever read and would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a light fantasy read or anything with a bit of adventure! 🤍

When Sophie dreams of wanting to be kidnapped and taken to the school for good and evil, her and her best friend Agatha take on all the adventures that the school master sets them up to. The story starts off with Sophie and Agatha being dropped in the ‘wrong’ schools and being told be the deans, Lady Lesso and Professor Dovey, that they are in the correct schools.

First off my original thoughts on this book were hugely based off the film which I had previously seen. I really loved Sophie in the start of the book and her views on the future. I also really enjoyed reading about Agatha and Sophie’s friendship and that even though they have many different views on the world they somehow manage to be such good friends. Sophie always viewed Agatha as a good person even though everybody else saw her as a witch Sophie saw her as a good person. “No one says you’re evil, Agatha. You’re just different” - Sophie.

One of my favourite scenes from this book is when Professor Dovey convinces Agatha that she is beautiful. This scene holds one of my favourite quotes from the whole book.

"That's odd," her teacher said, sweeping to her desk. "That's just what Ella of Maidenvale said to me-"

"Well, three cheers for Ella of Maidenvale!" Agatha sulked.

"I gave her a visit when I found out she wished to go to a Ball and then couldn't go through with it. All she needed was a new face and a nice pair of shoes."

"I don't see what this has to do with anyth-" Agatha's eyes widened. "Ella ... Cinderella?"

Professor Dovey was one of my favourite characters throughout this whole book because she always treated Agatha as if she was a real princess and never once let her see herself as ugly. I really loved how they adapted her into the film and even though the description of her in the book didn’t quite match the film I still loved her look in the film and Kerry Washington was definitely a perfect fit for the role.

Personally I thought that the book was written beautifully and Soman Chainani captured all the elements of the school perfectly in the descriptions. I loved that we got to see both perspectives of the school and how even though the Evers and Nevers were supposed to be on opposing sides, they definitely seemed to be brought together by the end for example Lady Lesso and Clarissa Dovey were and ever and a never both seemed to hate each other less by the end.

Overall this is one of the best books I’ve ever read and would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a light fantasy read or anything with a bit of adventure! 🤍

A dark and enchanting fantasy adventure perfect for girls who prefer their fairytales with a twist. Every four years, two girls are kidnapped from the village of Gavaldon. Legend has it these lost children are sent to the School for Good and Evil, the fabled institution where they become fairytale heroes or villains. Sophie, the most beautiful girl in town, has always dreamed of her place at the School for Good while her friend Agatha, with her dark disposition seems destined for the School for Evil. But when the two are kidnapped they find their fortunes reversed ...

The school for good and evil

Kelsey Joëlle

I didn't thought I would like this book at all but I loved it! The book is really unique and I was so impressed by it. Go read it!

I liked it, but not my favorite. Probably not gonna read the rest of the series.

Suze

Emelie

LOVED IT, series continues getting better

Amelie 

LOVED IT, series continues getting better

bit of queerbating tough

I really loved this book, I can’t wait to read the next one as the ending left me baffled! I think it shined a lot of light on friendship and how you can’t categorize people into “Good” and “Evil”, and how they struggled to change their perceptions on that. It also emphasized on how looks don’t give a lasting impression, but your attitude and your heart leaves a greater mark on the people around you, and on yourself. 

Haley

Claire

Kira Del Caro

** spoiler alert **
           I was really enjoying this book though the ending was really fast and didn't really make sense to me. Sophie does not seem to change in values, she just wants to be good for all the wrong reasons and it doesn't seem like her values change at the end of the book, she did some really bad things and sacrificing herself does not seem like enough to make up for everything. Maybe I just don't beieve she has changed.

mevi

I loved the concept... but Agatha enabling Sophie, disguising it as friendship, ruined it for me.

The School for Good and Evil (The School for Good and Evil, Book 1)

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