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The School for Good and Evil #0.5
Fall of the School for Good and Evil
THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL is the #1 movie now streaming on Netflix—starring Academy Award winner Charlize Theron, Kerry Washington, Laurence Fishburne, Michelle Yeoh, Sofia Wylie, Sophie Anne Caruso, Jamie Flatters, Earl Cave, Kit Young, and many others! What rises . . . must fall. Two brothers One Good. One Evil. In exchange for power and immortality, they watch over the Endless Woods and rule the School for Good and Evil. Yet all School Masters must face a test. Theirs is loyalty. But what happens when loyalty is corrupted? When the bonds of blood are broken? Who will survive? Who will die? And what will become of the school and its students? The journey that started a hundred years ago throttles towards its end. This final chapter in the duology that began with the RISE OF THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL brings the tale of the twin School Masters to the brink of war and a shocking conclusion that will change the course of the school forever.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published May 2, 2023
About the author
Soman Chainani
37 books7,417 followersSoman Chainani’s debut series, THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD & EVIL, has sold over 4.5 million copies, been translated into 35 languages across six continents, and has been adapted into a major motion picture from Netflix that debuted at #1 in over 80 countries.
His book of retold fairytales, BEASTS & BEAUTY, also debuted on the New York Times Bestseller List and is slated to be a limited television series from Sony 3000.
EverNever World, his decade-long franchise of fairy tales and fantasy, continues to expand. Together, these books have been on the New York Times Bestseller List for 50 weeks.
In 2026, Soman unveils a brand new universe with YOUNG WORLD, a global political thriller.
In his career, Soman has visited more than 800 schools around the world, where he continues to share his secret with students of all ages: that reading is the path to a better life.
His book of retold fairytales, BEASTS & BEAUTY, also debuted on the New York Times Bestseller List and is slated to be a limited television series from Sony 3000.
EverNever World, his decade-long franchise of fairy tales and fantasy, continues to expand. Together, these books have been on the New York Times Bestseller List for 50 weeks.
In 2026, Soman unveils a brand new universe with YOUNG WORLD, a global political thriller.
In his career, Soman has visited more than 800 schools around the world, where he continues to share his secret with students of all ages: that reading is the path to a better life.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 280 reviews
May 16, 2024
*4.5*
Estos libros estuvieron INSANE. Me sorprende como algunos títuos middlegrade me dejan gageando, incluso más que los juveniles o los adultos.
Al empezar esta conclusión yo esperaba ciertas cosas. Digo, esta es una precuela, por lo que si has leído la serie principal sabes en que punto estan las cosas cuando esa empieza, entonces solo puedes imaginarte que esta las tiene que dejar de cierta manera para dar paso a lo siguiente. Y sí, se cumplieron esas ideas que yo tenía, PERO OMG LOS GIROS Y LOS PLOT TWISTS Y TODO.
Soman Chainani es PADRE. Me enamoró por completo con la serie de la escuela del bien y el mal, con sus protagonistas que amo y adoro tanto. Pero con esta bilogía hizo algo que me gustó mucho, y fue jugar con las expectativas. La historia de Rafal y Rhian fue todo menos lo que me esperaba. Cambio el panorama por completo de lo que creiamos conocer de estos dos personajes y me dejó boquiabierto.
Hay mucha información que este revela que cambia toda mi perspectiva de la serie principal. Me URGE releer los libros ahora con todo lo que se ya y poder ver algunos guiños extra y experimentar la historia con ojos nuevos, especialmente los últimos tres libros. Ay no que maravilla de verdad.
Intenso y fuerte de principio a fin, se que puedo contar siempre en Soman Chainani para enamorarme de la fantasía.
Estos libros estuvieron INSANE. Me sorprende como algunos títuos middlegrade me dejan gageando, incluso más que los juveniles o los adultos.
Al empezar esta conclusión yo esperaba ciertas cosas. Digo, esta es una precuela, por lo que si has leído la serie principal sabes en que punto estan las cosas cuando esa empieza, entonces solo puedes imaginarte que esta las tiene que dejar de cierta manera para dar paso a lo siguiente. Y sí, se cumplieron esas ideas que yo tenía, PERO OMG LOS GIROS Y LOS PLOT TWISTS Y TODO.
Soman Chainani es PADRE. Me enamoró por completo con la serie de la escuela del bien y el mal, con sus protagonistas que amo y adoro tanto. Pero con esta bilogía hizo algo que me gustó mucho, y fue jugar con las expectativas. La historia de Rafal y Rhian fue todo menos lo que me esperaba. Cambio el panorama por completo de lo que creiamos conocer de estos dos personajes y me dejó boquiabierto.
Hay mucha información que este revela que cambia toda mi perspectiva de la serie principal. Me URGE releer los libros ahora con todo lo que se ya y poder ver algunos guiños extra y experimentar la historia con ojos nuevos, especialmente los últimos tres libros. Ay no que maravilla de verdad.
Intenso y fuerte de principio a fin, se que puedo contar siempre en Soman Chainani para enamorarme de la fantasía.
May 25, 2023
i hate rhian. i hate him. i hate him.
okay so this book did actually take me a bit longer as some parts didn’t draw me in as much as the first book. but when scenes were good, they were SO good.
rafal is just my absolute favourite after reading this. like, not the ‘rafal’ 👀 from SGE but the proper rafal from the rise and fall books. i need ANOTHER spin off about the brothers’ childhoods. please soman !!!
i LOVED the part where pan dies. it was quite graphic but in such a cool way. i bet it would be amazing to see on screen if they ever turned it into a series. i also audibly gasped at when the two brothers realise they’ve changed, like rafal suddenly has more colour in his complexion and his hair goes from being spiky to tousled— whereas rhian looks more hardened and hollow. any moments with both brothers were SO shockingly good and i enjoyed them.
most of them.
just when you think it’ll all be okay, rhian actually has to go and ruin it all. i literally cried “NO!” out loud when he kills rafal. like, why do my favourite characters have to dieeeee?!
i would still give this book 5 stars purely because i just love this universe and it’s complexity. i’ve said it before and i’ll say it again, it is one of the best forms of escapism and i wish more than anything they’d turn it into a series. as much as i enjoyed the movie of SGE on netflix, i really wish it would be more book accurate !!
loved it. and now i don’t know what to do because i’ve got no more SGE books to read !! help !!
okay so this book did actually take me a bit longer as some parts didn’t draw me in as much as the first book. but when scenes were good, they were SO good.
rafal is just my absolute favourite after reading this. like, not the ‘rafal’ 👀 from SGE but the proper rafal from the rise and fall books. i need ANOTHER spin off about the brothers’ childhoods. please soman !!!
i LOVED the part where pan dies. it was quite graphic but in such a cool way. i bet it would be amazing to see on screen if they ever turned it into a series. i also audibly gasped at when the two brothers realise they’ve changed, like rafal suddenly has more colour in his complexion and his hair goes from being spiky to tousled— whereas rhian looks more hardened and hollow. any moments with both brothers were SO shockingly good and i enjoyed them.
most of them.
just when you think it’ll all be okay, rhian actually has to go and ruin it all. i literally cried “NO!” out loud when he kills rafal. like, why do my favourite characters have to dieeeee?!
i would still give this book 5 stars purely because i just love this universe and it’s complexity. i’ve said it before and i’ll say it again, it is one of the best forms of escapism and i wish more than anything they’d turn it into a series. as much as i enjoyed the movie of SGE on netflix, i really wish it would be more book accurate !!
loved it. and now i don’t know what to do because i’ve got no more SGE books to read !! help !!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 6, 2024
3.5⭐️
اینم از مدیر مدرسه. هعی🚶🏻♀️
اینم از مدیر مدرسه. هعی🚶🏻♀️
May 2, 2023
Fall of the School for Good and Evil is the conclusion for the Rise duology, that sets up Chainani's popular series, The School for Good and Evil. We pick up where Rise of the School for Good and Evil left off, with a fractured school and brothers at war.
This book was much more streamlined and easier to follow than the first one. All of the scattered plot lines come together into two main stories. Hook, his Nevers, and Alladin and Kyma are off on their own adventure, while the brothers try to repair their fractured school. These two plot lines intersect in an epic battle at the end, giving us a satisfying conclusion for all the characters.
We continue the discussion of what is good and what is evil in this book. This theme is explored in a way that makes it enjoyable for both adults and young readers. The power struggle between Rafal and Rhian kept me on the edge of my seat. This duology is a great introduction to younger audiences about whether the ends can justify the means.
Princess Kyma had my favorite storyline! I loved her spunk and that we got to explore her character outside of the boys. She takes charge of her fairytale, not content to be the damsel in distress or in love. She will be great for young girls who have always wanted to be the ones slaying dragons in the stories.
Though I don't have the nostalgic connection to the original series that many do, I still enjoyed reading the prequels.
Thank you to Net Galley for the advanced copy in exchange for my review! All thoughts and opinions are my own.
This book was much more streamlined and easier to follow than the first one. All of the scattered plot lines come together into two main stories. Hook, his Nevers, and Alladin and Kyma are off on their own adventure, while the brothers try to repair their fractured school. These two plot lines intersect in an epic battle at the end, giving us a satisfying conclusion for all the characters.
We continue the discussion of what is good and what is evil in this book. This theme is explored in a way that makes it enjoyable for both adults and young readers. The power struggle between Rafal and Rhian kept me on the edge of my seat. This duology is a great introduction to younger audiences about whether the ends can justify the means.
Princess Kyma had my favorite storyline! I loved her spunk and that we got to explore her character outside of the boys. She takes charge of her fairytale, not content to be the damsel in distress or in love. She will be great for young girls who have always wanted to be the ones slaying dragons in the stories.
Though I don't have the nostalgic connection to the original series that many do, I still enjoyed reading the prequels.
Thank you to Net Galley for the advanced copy in exchange for my review! All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Want to read
January 11, 202411/01/24
i am so sorry to 11 year old me but I haven’t touched this book in so long it’s just been an open tab on my screen😭 I think it might be because I just do not remember anything that happened in the previous book but I might try again in a couple of months
22/10/22
YESSSS I CANT WAIT
i am so sorry to 11 year old me but I haven’t touched this book in so long it’s just been an open tab on my screen😭 I think it might be because I just do not remember anything that happened in the previous book but I might try again in a couple of months
22/10/22
YESSSS I CANT WAIT
May 31, 2023
I’m upset that I finished this. What am I supposed to do now?
May 26, 2023
Each time I read Soman's books I think wow this is so shitty there is no way it can possibly get any worse... and then he decides to show me that there is in fact more than a way.
It can always get worse.
I am once again astonished by all the lack of anything interesting happening till the last pages, by all the sexism, homophobia, racism and lack of literally any rep. The way any gay or poc character in this book is a villain and/or sexist.
Everybody kisses everybody and yet they are still "just friends".
The plot twist (and I guessed it) was the only interesting thing that happened. Really this book had no reason to be over 300 pages.
The first two thirds are basically nothing and then it all comes tumbling down at the end, making it all feel rushed.
The War was overall kind of boring, must I say. It really didn't live up to the expectations.
This book brings up even more questions than it answers? How did Pan die but we see him in the Last Ever After?
This also makes the ending of book one have no sense as Rafal kills Rhian with Sader's help so why does Rafal change his appearance to look like Rhian? Why do they change names? Why does Rhian give Sophie Rafal's name when questioned? Because everybody knew that Rhian was Good and Rafal was Evil but they had that whole speech before the War and EVERYBODY heard them
Before one of them dies everybody KNEW Rafal was actually the Good twin and Rhian the Evil one so why was the story told from generations to generations the other way around?
Should I also mention how he lied to Evelyn and when she named the other one of her twins Rhian she just gave him all the satisfaction in the world? Also how did his ego allow him to use his twin's name with no mfing remorse? Or did he like clinging to the fact people associated Rhian with Good and Rafal with Evil?
I was also flabbergasted when I realized. That after all this lack of proper lgbtqia rep he made Rhian gay and made him get with Sophie as the only way to help Evil win again.
How old are these again? The Pirate Captain is 18 and he's at some point described as "old". Keep in mind he's a headmaster. An 18 year old.
So this brings up the question of how old are the others? How old is Hook? Aladdin? Kyma? Hephaestus? They seemed close the Pirate Captain and Hephaestus but one of em's 18 and the other..who knows.
There are plenty of questionable scenes in this book. ALSO let's remember our dear old Soman's love for undressing or under dressing children‼ The Lost Boys. Peter Pan. They wear vines. That's it. That's all. VINES. Peter's 13 keep in mind.
Also there's the matter with Midas. My dude can turn literal kisses into gold, he can turn people into gold yet he does nothing to save himself from either the fairies or Pan. It is so fucking stupid. He could have turned Peter into gold but noo he chose to die. I also have to mention the way Evergirls are talked about in this book. Midas is full of insecurities and he's the definition of toxic masculinity.
Kyma. Now this book wanted to be feminist and failed terribly. She is the token female character in this book. That's it. And of course he wrote her to be "not like other girls" and she's always made fun of, always left behind, always clinging to boys, misogynistic boys for that matter. And while I love the forbidden romance, enemies to lovers, pirate/princess like tropes, I must say Hook made fun of her the entire book and treated her poorly solely because she was a girl. What is this bully romance shit? And somehow she still ends up dating him. Also why did he have to make her cheat?
I had to drag myself through it. And was it worth it? No. Definitely not. Never again. I wouldn't read this shit again and torture my eyes in such a way even if my life were on the line. It still has a bonus point because there's no Tedros in it, even though we have other misogynistic fuckers around.
It can always get worse.
I am once again astonished by all the lack of anything interesting happening till the last pages, by all the sexism, homophobia, racism and lack of literally any rep. The way any gay or poc character in this book is a villain and/or sexist.
Everybody kisses everybody and yet they are still "just friends".
The plot twist (and I guessed it) was the only interesting thing that happened. Really this book had no reason to be over 300 pages.
The first two thirds are basically nothing and then it all comes tumbling down at the end, making it all feel rushed.
The War was overall kind of boring, must I say. It really didn't live up to the expectations.
This book brings up even more questions than it answers? How did Pan die but we see him in the Last Ever After?
This also makes the ending of book one have no sense as Rafal kills Rhian with Sader's help so why does Rafal change his appearance to look like Rhian? Why do they change names? Why does Rhian give Sophie Rafal's name when questioned? Because everybody knew that Rhian was Good and Rafal was Evil but they had that whole speech before the War and EVERYBODY heard them
Before one of them dies everybody KNEW Rafal was actually the Good twin and Rhian the Evil one so why was the story told from generations to generations the other way around?
Should I also mention how he lied to Evelyn and when she named the other one of her twins Rhian she just gave him all the satisfaction in the world? Also how did his ego allow him to use his twin's name with no mfing remorse? Or did he like clinging to the fact people associated Rhian with Good and Rafal with Evil?
I was also flabbergasted when I realized. That after all this lack of proper lgbtqia rep he made Rhian gay and made him get with Sophie as the only way to help Evil win again.
How old are these again? The Pirate Captain is 18 and he's at some point described as "old". Keep in mind he's a headmaster. An 18 year old.
So this brings up the question of how old are the others? How old is Hook? Aladdin? Kyma? Hephaestus? They seemed close the Pirate Captain and Hephaestus but one of em's 18 and the other..who knows.
There are plenty of questionable scenes in this book. ALSO let's remember our dear old Soman's love for undressing or under dressing children‼ The Lost Boys. Peter Pan. They wear vines. That's it. That's all. VINES. Peter's 13 keep in mind.
Also there's the matter with Midas. My dude can turn literal kisses into gold, he can turn people into gold yet he does nothing to save himself from either the fairies or Pan. It is so fucking stupid. He could have turned Peter into gold but noo he chose to die. I also have to mention the way Evergirls are talked about in this book. Midas is full of insecurities and he's the definition of toxic masculinity.
Kyma. Now this book wanted to be feminist and failed terribly. She is the token female character in this book. That's it. And of course he wrote her to be "not like other girls" and she's always made fun of, always left behind, always clinging to boys, misogynistic boys for that matter. And while I love the forbidden romance, enemies to lovers, pirate/princess like tropes, I must say Hook made fun of her the entire book and treated her poorly solely because she was a girl. What is this bully romance shit? And somehow she still ends up dating him. Also why did he have to make her cheat?
I had to drag myself through it. And was it worth it? No. Definitely not. Never again. I wouldn't read this shit again and torture my eyes in such a way even if my life were on the line. It still has a bonus point because there's no Tedros in it, even though we have other misogynistic fuckers around.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 24, 2023
Šioje knygoje tęsiasi pirmosios knygos nuotykiai. Soman Chainani turi savo stilių ir kaip visada nustebina jo siužetai. Kiekvienas skyrius baigiasi kaip plot twist ir norisi skaityti toliau ir toliau. Knygoje netrūksta nuotykių, žinoma ir meilės, vyksta kova tarp gėrio ir blogio, juk neveltui tai Gėrio ir Blogio mokykla.
Ši knyga yra antra dalis prehistory. Joje toliau pasakojama garsiosios mokyklos direktorių istorija. Netrūksta ir gerai žinomų pasakų veikėjų: Aladinas, Piteris Penas (jis blogietis šioje knygoje) ir kapitonas Kablys. Siužetas tikrai įtemptas ir nepaleidžia nuo pirmų puslapių – tai ir yra išskirtinis rašytojo stiliukas. Esu didelis Soman Chainani gerbėjas ir juo patapau netyčia: vienoje lėlių grupėje kažkas rekomendavo man šią seriją, nes ji labai panaši į Ever After High. Tačiau Gėrio ir Blogio mokykla skirta vyresniems skaitytojams, nes čia netrūksta mirčių, net LGBT užuominų ir serija su gilesne potekste.
Savaime suprantama man knyga LABAI LABAI patiko. Soman Chainani manęs dar niekada nėra nuvylęs. Net jo žodynas labai įvairus, kuris daro tekstą be galo raiškų ir gyvą. Skaitant viską matau lyg filmą. Knygoje taip pat yra keletas iliustracijų.
Rekomenduoju visiems, kam patinka gėrio ir blogio kovos, gerai žinomos pasakos ir plot twist.
Ši knyga yra antra dalis prehistory. Joje toliau pasakojama garsiosios mokyklos direktorių istorija. Netrūksta ir gerai žinomų pasakų veikėjų: Aladinas, Piteris Penas (jis blogietis šioje knygoje) ir kapitonas Kablys. Siužetas tikrai įtemptas ir nepaleidžia nuo pirmų puslapių – tai ir yra išskirtinis rašytojo stiliukas. Esu didelis Soman Chainani gerbėjas ir juo patapau netyčia: vienoje lėlių grupėje kažkas rekomendavo man šią seriją, nes ji labai panaši į Ever After High. Tačiau Gėrio ir Blogio mokykla skirta vyresniems skaitytojams, nes čia netrūksta mirčių, net LGBT užuominų ir serija su gilesne potekste.
Savaime suprantama man knyga LABAI LABAI patiko. Soman Chainani manęs dar niekada nėra nuvylęs. Net jo žodynas labai įvairus, kuris daro tekstą be galo raiškų ir gyvą. Skaitant viską matau lyg filmą. Knygoje taip pat yra keletas iliustracijų.
Rekomenduoju visiems, kam patinka gėrio ir blogio kovos, gerai žinomos pasakos ir plot twist.
June 6, 2023
I so could have finished this book in 3 days if I didn’t have to work on weekdays.
I admit i spoiled myself in the ending because I wanted to find out how Hook would fare against Rafal. To my surprise, Rhian killed Rafal. This disappointed me. I usually expect more of a twist from the SGE series. But since the cliffhanger from Rise of SGE, I’m pretty many suspected Rhian would kill Rafal. But I was hoping for more of a twist, e.g. somehow their souls switched bodies, the soul shard in Hook killed Rafal. Instead we get Rhian killing his brother because he’s a sore loser, it kind of throws into doubt about their love that withstood 200 years of immortality. Like he has no regret whatsoever! My only hope that he did love his brother is that he at least gave him a proper cremation.
And with Rhian winning, it was very surprising to see he somehow changed his orientation from boys to girls, aka Sophie and Evelyn, especially after his distinct revulsion at the idea of being attracted to girls. I mean, in the third book, the school master was looking at Sophie with LUST! This interests me because I find myself wondering if Rhian won, did he truly love Sophie if he rather be with a boy? Other than the whole lust thing, the fact that her kiss brought him back to life and it has to work both ways…
Now I also can't help thinking Rafal was interested in Aric if he hired him as a dean, but given his jealousy when Sophie expressed interest, i think not.
Poor Rafal. He's still my favorite character of the duology. Even if it is really Rhian in the original trilogy, his persona of Rafal is still my fav. I still can’t believe Rhian is the winner. I mean the Rhian who did not dare fight back Vulcan and can’t even think of a suitable punishment for Marialena at first until she became a real traitor, now becomes the Rafal who is capable of freezing the faculty and torturing losers in the circus of talents? The Rafal in Rise sounds more like the school master since he already freezes Dean Mayberry and tortured the students for betraying him, and felt at home sitting in an icy classroom. The way I see it, it feels like Rhian will sink himself into the Rafal personality so much that he loses his own personality.
Also, his eyes should be BLUE! The shadow that kidnapped Aladdin had blue eyes! Still, isn't it interesting that Rafal should have green eyes and his favorite food is cucumber sandwiches, when Sophie herself has green eyes and loves cucumbers. She will certainly remind the school master of his dead brother.
I find it hard to believe he can still be considered pure good after murdering Rufius. But like he said, they are a mixture of both good and evil.
Now for the other characters
Kyma: Good for her to dump Aladdin! He never treated her right.
Aladdin: Does he know his relationship with Kyma is over...? How does he feel about the rumors of Kyma and James? Did he lie to save his pride or to protect Kyma?
Midas: Yeah, this is confusing since while the golden touch certainly matches the fairy tale, everything else does not since Midas is supposed to be a king with a daughter, not a victim of a war! Poor Midas. He should have listened more carefully to Rufius when he warned about the price of eating a wish fish egg.
Peter Pan: How is this boy balanced! He's evil through and through. A spoilt, selfish, ungrateful brat. The red eyes are an obvious indicator. He's also not as smart as he makes himself out to be if he didn't even think about the price of eating a wish fish egg, despite hearing Kyma lecture about it.
Botic: Honestly I feel like this boy was just written just to mention Lady Lesso's surname. There's not much point to his story beyond leading the mermaids to Peter and causing the latter to eat the fish eggs in a hurry.
Hephaestus: Whatever happened to him after the pirate captain ditched him...?
There are also some gaps in this story:
I also distinctly recall the Saders prophesizing that Hook or Rafal would kill each other. Liars.
How is it that this Peter Pan and James Hook are different from the ones in the Last Ever After?
What happened to Rafal casting a spell for the school silver crests?
I know the faculty no longer keep in touch with their relatives but it seems such a waste not to include the Mistral sisters.
I admit i spoiled myself in the ending because I wanted to find out how Hook would fare against Rafal. To my surprise, Rhian killed Rafal. This disappointed me. I usually expect more of a twist from the SGE series. But since the cliffhanger from Rise of SGE, I’m pretty many suspected Rhian would kill Rafal. But I was hoping for more of a twist, e.g. somehow their souls switched bodies, the soul shard in Hook killed Rafal. Instead we get Rhian killing his brother because he’s a sore loser, it kind of throws into doubt about their love that withstood 200 years of immortality. Like he has no regret whatsoever! My only hope that he did love his brother is that he at least gave him a proper cremation.
And with Rhian winning, it was very surprising to see he somehow changed his orientation from boys to girls, aka Sophie and Evelyn, especially after his distinct revulsion at the idea of being attracted to girls. I mean, in the third book, the school master was looking at Sophie with LUST! This interests me because I find myself wondering if Rhian won, did he truly love Sophie if he rather be with a boy? Other than the whole lust thing, the fact that her kiss brought him back to life and it has to work both ways…
Now I also can't help thinking Rafal was interested in Aric if he hired him as a dean, but given his jealousy when Sophie expressed interest, i think not.
Poor Rafal. He's still my favorite character of the duology. Even if it is really Rhian in the original trilogy, his persona of Rafal is still my fav. I still can’t believe Rhian is the winner. I mean the Rhian who did not dare fight back Vulcan and can’t even think of a suitable punishment for Marialena at first until she became a real traitor, now becomes the Rafal who is capable of freezing the faculty and torturing losers in the circus of talents? The Rafal in Rise sounds more like the school master since he already freezes Dean Mayberry and tortured the students for betraying him, and felt at home sitting in an icy classroom. The way I see it, it feels like Rhian will sink himself into the Rafal personality so much that he loses his own personality.
Also, his eyes should be BLUE! The shadow that kidnapped Aladdin had blue eyes! Still, isn't it interesting that Rafal should have green eyes and his favorite food is cucumber sandwiches, when Sophie herself has green eyes and loves cucumbers. She will certainly remind the school master of his dead brother.
I find it hard to believe he can still be considered pure good after murdering Rufius. But like he said, they are a mixture of both good and evil.
Now for the other characters
Kyma: Good for her to dump Aladdin! He never treated her right.
Aladdin: Does he know his relationship with Kyma is over...? How does he feel about the rumors of Kyma and James? Did he lie to save his pride or to protect Kyma?
Midas: Yeah, this is confusing since while the golden touch certainly matches the fairy tale, everything else does not since Midas is supposed to be a king with a daughter, not a victim of a war! Poor Midas. He should have listened more carefully to Rufius when he warned about the price of eating a wish fish egg.
Peter Pan: How is this boy balanced! He's evil through and through. A spoilt, selfish, ungrateful brat. The red eyes are an obvious indicator. He's also not as smart as he makes himself out to be if he didn't even think about the price of eating a wish fish egg, despite hearing Kyma lecture about it.
Botic: Honestly I feel like this boy was just written just to mention Lady Lesso's surname. There's not much point to his story beyond leading the mermaids to Peter and causing the latter to eat the fish eggs in a hurry.
Hephaestus: Whatever happened to him after the pirate captain ditched him...?
There are also some gaps in this story:
I also distinctly recall the Saders prophesizing that Hook or Rafal would kill each other. Liars.
How is it that this Peter Pan and James Hook are different from the ones in the Last Ever After?
What happened to Rafal casting a spell for the school silver crests?
I know the faculty no longer keep in touch with their relatives but it seems such a waste not to include the Mistral sisters.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 9, 2023
I bought this book 2 days after it came out, full of anticipation. As shown in my review of the former book in this series I did spot a few holes in the story, many of which was filled in by the ending of this one. Such as if Rafal had strong traces of good in him how could he be the 100% evil antagonist that we know from SGE. Also THE EYES! It had been bugging me for a while that it said that in The Last Ever After that "Rafal" had frost blue eyes, as shown on the front cover of this book, and yet he had green eyes! again it tied in nicely with holes I had seen. Some questions that I do have that are though...
1. We see Peter Pan in The Last Ever After, Old but, alive and well, how can this be if he dies in The Fall. Is there another Pan named Peter....
2. What is Botic Lesso relationship with Lady Lesso.... Is he her Father, Her Grandfather! That was a nice familiar thrill added in there but a bit unnecessary and it lead to questions. That story line didn't need to be added in.
3. James Hook. I loved him as a character. The issue is that in The Ever Never Handbook that James Hook was the Captain Hook who battled Peter Pan in the famous Story, yet that didn't happen, he didn't ride on the Jolly Rodger etc. That's not the only issue, it said he was a student at SGE, he went to Blackpool!
Not saying I didn't love the book because I loved it and would've given it 20000000000 stars if could. I thought it was very well written, easy to read, and exciting, I couldn't stop reading it!!!
Definitely recommend not just to SGE fans but to everyone (Just read the other books first)
1. We see Peter Pan in The Last Ever After, Old but, alive and well, how can this be if he dies in The Fall. Is there another Pan named Peter....
2. What is Botic Lesso relationship with Lady Lesso.... Is he her Father, Her Grandfather! That was a nice familiar thrill added in there but a bit unnecessary and it lead to questions. That story line didn't need to be added in.
3. James Hook. I loved him as a character. The issue is that in The Ever Never Handbook that James Hook was the Captain Hook who battled Peter Pan in the famous Story, yet that didn't happen, he didn't ride on the Jolly Rodger etc. That's not the only issue, it said he was a student at SGE, he went to Blackpool!
Not saying I didn't love the book because I loved it and would've given it 20000000000 stars if could. I thought it was very well written, easy to read, and exciting, I couldn't stop reading it!!!
Definitely recommend not just to SGE fans but to everyone (Just read the other books first)
August 17, 2023
2 stars :(
(i am entirely blaming hope & jor for this rating xx)
i wanted to love this book as much as i have loved the rest of the series, and yet this book now has me questioning if i loved the series as much as i thought i did. or, this book could be the outlier of them all (which is probably the case) not helped by my current slump.
aside from that, this book had absolutely no plot. the stakes were so low that they were on the floor. the main conflict of the book was over in a single chapter which spanned across about 3 pages. the only motivation i had to read this was because of how big the writing is due to the fact that it is a middle grade. characters were introduced to add absolutely no value to the story, and in the end majority of characters did not play any part in the end result. even the ending left me unsatisfied, chainani was clearly trying to leave as many easter eggs to the main series as he could but it just didn't hit the same.
the formatting of this book was also so irritating. i think (?) it was trying to be mysterious with the way that there would be passages which were formatted more verse than prose, however that was entirely ineffective. not only did it happen way too often to carry significance, but it also added nothing to the words which were said in these moments. that was my main issue with the format, there was excessive amounts of spacing for things that did not require that amount of spacing nor did it mean anything to the actual plot of the book.
this series is a middle grade so it is kind of mean for me to rate this so lowly however i don't see myself ever loving this book. it was quite a useless addition to the plot, as aside from giving us a backstory which is never mentioned in 'the school for good & evil' series, it was just very confusing. there was also an immense amount of violence and death towards the end which was quite weird to see in a series that claims it is a middle-grade.
overall, im sad that my enjoyment of this whole series is now tarnished by this last book, however i hope to come back to the original series someday to feel that enjoyment i was so desperately waiting for in this book.
(i am entirely blaming hope & jor for this rating xx)
i wanted to love this book as much as i have loved the rest of the series, and yet this book now has me questioning if i loved the series as much as i thought i did. or, this book could be the outlier of them all (which is probably the case) not helped by my current slump.
aside from that, this book had absolutely no plot. the stakes were so low that they were on the floor. the main conflict of the book was over in a single chapter which spanned across about 3 pages. the only motivation i had to read this was because of how big the writing is due to the fact that it is a middle grade. characters were introduced to add absolutely no value to the story, and in the end majority of characters did not play any part in the end result. even the ending left me unsatisfied, chainani was clearly trying to leave as many easter eggs to the main series as he could but it just didn't hit the same.
the formatting of this book was also so irritating. i think (?) it was trying to be mysterious with the way that there would be passages which were formatted more verse than prose, however that was entirely ineffective. not only did it happen way too often to carry significance, but it also added nothing to the words which were said in these moments. that was my main issue with the format, there was excessive amounts of spacing for things that did not require that amount of spacing nor did it mean anything to the actual plot of the book.
this series is a middle grade so it is kind of mean for me to rate this so lowly however i don't see myself ever loving this book. it was quite a useless addition to the plot, as aside from giving us a backstory which is never mentioned in 'the school for good & evil' series, it was just very confusing. there was also an immense amount of violence and death towards the end which was quite weird to see in a series that claims it is a middle-grade.
overall, im sad that my enjoyment of this whole series is now tarnished by this last book, however i hope to come back to the original series someday to feel that enjoyment i was so desperately waiting for in this book.
June 12, 2023
Thank you HarperCollins for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for a review!
3.5☆
I really liked the story overall: Chainani is able to catch your attention and keep your focus on whatever you're reading.
The book has a really fast pace, so it's very easy and entertaining to read. I found the plot twists interesting, although I think they were a bit predictable and sometimes out of place. In general, I thought it was a good book, despite some flaws regarding how it's connected to the main saga.
3.5☆
I really liked the story overall: Chainani is able to catch your attention and keep your focus on whatever you're reading.
The book has a really fast pace, so it's very easy and entertaining to read. I found the plot twists interesting, although I think they were a bit predictable and sometimes out of place. In general, I thought it was a good book, despite some flaws regarding how it's connected to the main saga.
Want to read
February 25, 2023oh my fucking god i didn't realize there would be a sequel
does that change my review of rise? no. am i still going to preorder this because i would give soman chainani my first born child for giving us agatha of woods beyond? absolutely. lets hope this one is for me this time
does that change my review of rise? no. am i still going to preorder this because i would give soman chainani my first born child for giving us agatha of woods beyond? absolutely. lets hope this one is for me this time
May 14, 2023
4.5 ⭐️
Amazing ending!!
Amazing ending!!
July 2, 2023
All I wanted was Rafal/James and why did people have to die 😭
February 14, 2024
3.5/5 🌟
Interesting reimagining of Peter Pan and Midas. The book ends where "The School for Good and Evil" picks up, which means that this prequel series should be concluded now. Perhaps even the whole bookish universe! I would love to read something brand-new by the author, but who knows what's going to be published next.
Interesting reimagining of Peter Pan and Midas. The book ends where "The School for Good and Evil" picks up, which means that this prequel series should be concluded now. Perhaps even the whole bookish universe! I would love to read something brand-new by the author, but who knows what's going to be published next.
January 26, 2024
It is officially the end of an era! This series finale concludes some of the happiest times I have ever spent reading, my time with the series spanning over the last 5(!) years. I've laughed and cried and swooned and cringed and it's all because these books are transcendent, making you feel like you are a part of a world so much bigger than your own.
Fall of the School for Good and Evil went so much deeper than just 'Good' or 'Evil' but sought to really dig down into the nitty gritty of human nature. And the author still managed to keep it so fun! I would give anything to live in this world. I know it's probably not the most practical decision, especially the more familiar you become with it, but I'd take the risk. As with the other books in this series, I was also loving every time the author toed out the line, testing and reinventing what middle grade can or can't be!
I feel like I could say so much more, yet I don't have the words to express exactly what I'm feeling. All in all, this book and its characters and crazy plot were such a joy to read and I will sorely miss this series. The only thing left to say now is to read these books! I promise you won't regret it. Happy Reading :)
Fall of the School for Good and Evil went so much deeper than just 'Good' or 'Evil' but sought to really dig down into the nitty gritty of human nature. And the author still managed to keep it so fun! I would give anything to live in this world. I know it's probably not the most practical decision, especially the more familiar you become with it, but I'd take the risk. As with the other books in this series, I was also loving every time the author toed out the line, testing and reinventing what middle grade can or can't be!
I feel like I could say so much more, yet I don't have the words to express exactly what I'm feeling. All in all, this book and its characters and crazy plot were such a joy to read and I will sorely miss this series. The only thing left to say now is to read these books! I promise you won't regret it. Happy Reading :)
May 12, 2023
*Disclaimer: I have received a free digital copy of this title and it will not affect my thoughts of feelings towards it*
As a massive fan of this series, I was skeptical if this prequel series was going to be any good. Read the first one and didn't think much of it but this one I will say is 10x better. I would recommend that even if you didn't enjoy book one as much, still give this one a chance because it had some good surprises and twist! Although if you have read the main series some of the twists were a little lackluster because you knew what was going to happen. That said, I was still extremely devasted once x twist happened. Tears were SHED. I did enjoy the new character Midas he was an interesting character to hang around with. Still upset over y twist. Now my main problem with this prequel series is the PACING. It's a whiplash at points. You go from nothing to the whole world is ending, actually just kidding! The 1st half of the book felt good at some parts but my main problem with it was there were 3 storylines going on and only 2 were interesting. So it really killed the mood when it was time for that character's POV. Once it got to the last half that POV was mixed in really well and didn't feel like we were just stalling the book for some unrelated things. I will say Soman delivers a well-crafted message at the end of this crazy book. It was truly a great message I think everyone needs to learn in their lifetime.
Overall I didn't love it as much as the original series but it was still a great time which is why I would give it a 4/5 stars.
As a massive fan of this series, I was skeptical if this prequel series was going to be any good. Read the first one and didn't think much of it but this one I will say is 10x better. I would recommend that even if you didn't enjoy book one as much, still give this one a chance because it had some good surprises and twist! Although if you have read the main series some of the twists were a little lackluster because you knew what was going to happen. That said, I was still extremely devasted once x twist happened. Tears were SHED. I did enjoy the new character Midas he was an interesting character to hang around with. Still upset over y twist. Now my main problem with this prequel series is the PACING. It's a whiplash at points. You go from nothing to the whole world is ending, actually just kidding! The 1st half of the book felt good at some parts but my main problem with it was there were 3 storylines going on and only 2 were interesting. So it really killed the mood when it was time for that character's POV. Once it got to the last half that POV was mixed in really well and didn't feel like we were just stalling the book for some unrelated things. I will say Soman delivers a well-crafted message at the end of this crazy book. It was truly a great message I think everyone needs to learn in their lifetime.
Overall I didn't love it as much as the original series but it was still a great time which is why I would give it a 4/5 stars.
December 13, 2023
*coughing and crying and covered in blood* what the FUCK
He did it. That magnificent son of a bitch, he did it. He managed to tie the entire series together and somehow make everything make sense. About halfway through any SGE book, I (of little faith) am like “There is no way this is all going to come together cohesively and make any sense by the end and fit into established canon.” but jesus christ it does. It always does. For the eighth time. And I am always somehow surprised. You bastard, you’ve done it again. THIS is why I’ve stuck with the series for a decade.
But I do need to go mourn a lot of deaths now. And like…….. WOW the deaths. It takes a special series to alert you to a death SEVEN BOOKS AGO and still make it incredibly impactful when it actually occurs, even though you go the whole book knowing it’ll happen. AND MIDAS!!!!!! Poor Midas god I’m crying and throwing up over Midas. The mermaids taking him to rest in peace away from the tyranny of men…………
Also I love how the plot of the prequel duology (and the first book in retrospect if we’re being honest?) is “Rhian is really gay and it causes a lot of problems”
TL;DR soman expect my therapy bill in the mail shortly
He did it. That magnificent son of a bitch, he did it. He managed to tie the entire series together and somehow make everything make sense. About halfway through any SGE book, I (of little faith) am like “There is no way this is all going to come together cohesively and make any sense by the end and fit into established canon.” but jesus christ it does. It always does. For the eighth time. And I am always somehow surprised. You bastard, you’ve done it again. THIS is why I’ve stuck with the series for a decade.
But I do need to go mourn a lot of deaths now. And like…….. WOW the deaths. It takes a special series to alert you to a death SEVEN BOOKS AGO and still make it incredibly impactful when it actually occurs, even though you go the whole book knowing it’ll happen. AND MIDAS!!!!!! Poor Midas god I’m crying and throwing up over Midas. The mermaids taking him to rest in peace away from the tyranny of men…………
Also I love how the plot of the prequel duology (and the first book in retrospect if we’re being honest?) is “Rhian is really gay and it causes a lot of problems”
TL;DR soman expect my therapy bill in the mail shortly
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 7, 2023
The Best Yet from Soman Chainani!
I found the characters in this duology to be just as compelling as the original School for Good and Evil Series. This book provided a very satisfying ending to the story, and was a wonderful expansion to the world Soman has created.
While this book feels very similar in some ways to the original series; both sharing themes of Good and Evil and what makes a soul one or the other, I found the themes to be a bit more fleshed out in this book, and I really enjoyed Soman’s interpretation in this story.
As always, the fairytale tropes are flipped upside down, and we absolutely love to see it. As well as the main character brothers, I especially enjoyed the character of Princess Kyma. Those who’ve enjoyed the world of the School for Good and Evil will absolutely love this duology!
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book!
I found the characters in this duology to be just as compelling as the original School for Good and Evil Series. This book provided a very satisfying ending to the story, and was a wonderful expansion to the world Soman has created.
While this book feels very similar in some ways to the original series; both sharing themes of Good and Evil and what makes a soul one or the other, I found the themes to be a bit more fleshed out in this book, and I really enjoyed Soman’s interpretation in this story.
As always, the fairytale tropes are flipped upside down, and we absolutely love to see it. As well as the main character brothers, I especially enjoyed the character of Princess Kyma. Those who’ve enjoyed the world of the School for Good and Evil will absolutely love this duology!
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book!
December 21, 2022
4.5/5 stars. I was worried about this being a prequel, as I've already read School for Good and Evil, but this book did not disappoint. It fit seamlessly with the world shown to us in the other book and had me hooked from the first page. I really enjoyed getting to learn about these brothers and falling back into this world. It was an epic Hogwarts-esqe ride and I look forward to reading future publications from the author.
I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily
I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily
December 18, 2022
Thank you, Netgalley, for this opportunity! Soman Chainani does it again! This was the grand finale of the Rise of the School for Good and Evil series; as soon as I saw Soman doing a prequel, I knew I had it to have it. I read this in one sitting, and it had me at the edge of my seat with each page turned. This novel left me excited to see more from Soman Chainani and, hopefully, fingers crossed, more from the School for Good and Evil.
June 16, 2023
Disappointing compared to the rest of the series.
June 20, 2023
Damn that ending
December 13, 2023
All I want to say is: HOW DARE THEE, Soman Chainani. HOW DARE THEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
March 19, 2024
Giving this book 4 stars solely for that one character (which I realised I technically can't name because it would be spoilers? Kinda?) and for the plot twist. Did I predict the plot twist in the first book? Yes, but I still think it's a very interesting and, honestly, clever story line to explore in a prequel duology to grip the reader because it gives an entire new perspective to the original series.
However, objectively it is definitely not worth 4 stars.
However, objectively it is definitely not worth 4 stars.
June 26, 2023
9/10
Myślałam, że całość książki bardziej mnie zaangażuje, ale zakończenie mi to wynagrodziło XD
Dalej kocham to, jak Soman operuje pojęciami Dobra i Zła, jak bardzo jest to względne i jak świetnie porusza tu temat dwojakiej duszy. Zakończenie było mindblowing, zupełnie tak jak mi powiedziano.
Książka ciutke mniej gejowa od Rise, ale trudno, zdarza się
Uwielbiam to jak Soman świetnie wykorzystał postaci z prequeli jako odnośniki do tego, co dzieje się w głównej serii
I as I said przy Rise, kocham Kubusia. Kubuś Hak absolutna babygirl. We love we stan Kubuś.
Dalej czekam na Dovey x Lesso enemies to lovers academic rivals high school au fanfika albo jakąś idk nowelke czy coś XD justice for lesbians
Czekam na następne części
Myślałam, że całość książki bardziej mnie zaangażuje, ale zakończenie mi to wynagrodziło XD
Dalej kocham to, jak Soman operuje pojęciami Dobra i Zła, jak bardzo jest to względne i jak świetnie porusza tu temat dwojakiej duszy. Zakończenie było mindblowing, zupełnie tak jak mi powiedziano.
Książka ciutke mniej gejowa od Rise, ale trudno, zdarza się
Uwielbiam to jak Soman świetnie wykorzystał postaci z prequeli jako odnośniki do tego, co dzieje się w głównej serii
I as I said przy Rise, kocham Kubusia. Kubuś Hak absolutna babygirl. We love we stan Kubuś.
Dalej czekam na Dovey x Lesso enemies to lovers academic rivals high school au fanfika albo jakąś idk nowelke czy coś XD justice for lesbians
Czekam na następne części
July 2, 2023
to było nie planowane i patrząc na to, że na początku nie byłam za bardzo przekonana, to się wciągnęłam i to bardzo. Fajnie było wrócić do tego świata i przeczytać prequel o historii dyrektorów. Jednak główna seria wciąż 🔛🔝
September 14, 2023
“What was that about me being Good?”
I’m so sad this series is now really over, I loved all of these books so much. The two prequels were a lot of fun and gave a really interesting background for the main books, they didn’t feel “unnecessarily written” at all.
And the new characters! They were all so alive, everyone had their own motivation and it was beautiful how everything connected in the end.
September 23, 2024
This one was better than "Rise" in my opinion, (Because it doesn't spend half the book talking about construction) However the ending throws a wrench into almost everything we knew from the original books. I think it's safe to assume none of this was in the roadmap for the series, but who knows? I will say the ending is very far from the beginning of the first book, both in time and where the certain characters are. There are several unanswered questions. Because of the twist certain things don't make a whole lot of sense in hindsight. It almost feels like there should have been a third one detailing how we get from here to where we are when the first book rolls around.
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