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A review by storyorc
A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This YA wizard boarding school novel is the best political thriller I've read in years.
The biggest impression A Deadly Education made on me is that Naomi Novik is really, really smart. This is an author who knows how to set up a novel, dramatic concept, and keep prodding thrilling new plot elements out of it without popping the delicate membrane of verisimilitude. Never a dull moment - even in the last sentence!
Yes, Novik often has El give us the run-down on some person or mechanic of the school just when they became relevant rather than sowing these details in more subtly along the way. Yes, El is painfully teenaged in her (well-earned) angst and bitchiness. I give both these flaws a pass because the book is YA - having the Cliff's notes on Maw-Mouths and Clarita Acevedo-Cruz as they appear is a simple way to be sure the reader understands them, and my bitter teenaged self would have been whole-heartedly on El's side.
Shoutout to the audiobook narrator, Anisha Dadia, who rose fantastically to the challenge of bringing earnestness and warmth to a standoffish POV character.
The biggest impression A Deadly Education made on me is that Naomi Novik is really, really smart. This is an author who knows how to set up a novel, dramatic concept, and keep prodding thrilling new plot elements out of it without popping the delicate membrane of verisimilitude. Never a dull moment - even in the last sentence!
Yes, Novik often has El give us the run-down on some person or mechanic of the school just when they became relevant rather than sowing these details in more subtly along the way. Yes, El is painfully teenaged in her (well-earned) angst and bitchiness. I give both these flaws a pass because the book is YA - having the Cliff's notes on Maw-Mouths and Clarita Acevedo-Cruz as they appear is a simple way to be sure the reader understands them, and my bitter teenaged self would have been whole-heartedly on El's side.
Shoutout to the audiobook narrator, Anisha Dadia, who rose fantastically to the challenge of bringing earnestness and warmth to a standoffish POV character.