Before starting the actual review, I want to talk about the racism point that has been raised by a lot of people. I belong to an Asian community myself and honestly, I didn’t find it racist.
Yes, the comment about dreadlocks could have hurt a lot of people and I totally respect their opinion, but one should look at the pretense of things. The scenario where El described dreadlocks infested with worms was when she was discussing the routine of not having a shower for days (by almost everyone in the schoolmance). Also, since there are a lot of animals/monsters, this couldn’t have been referred to as normal leeches in the hair.
The Review:
Naomi Novik is known for her different writing style, where her books are more focused on world-building. A deadly Education definitely had that element, which made it more interesting than the story itself. 'Schoolmance' is a magic school, where the students not only learn how to use magic but also how to survive. Schoolmance isn't a normal school. It doesn't have any teachers or any friendships. There's a simple rule: Don't walk the halls alone and be safe from the monsters that lurk within the walls. So to shorten it up, they basically say: Don't Die.!
The main protagonist of the series is a girl named El, who is a bit moody, cranky, and a bit snarky. It does work out in her favor as you need that to survive schoolmance. El has a "friend" named Orion and their chemistry is something to talk about. It's funny to see them fighting with El being a snarky little B, and Orion being this nicest person ever.!
The storyline felt a little flat to me, but the world-building and the writing style made up for it. There's a lot of monologuing since the novel is based on only El's POV. So we follow through her past and present and constantly go through her thoughts regarding everything and everyone. It does get annoying after a certain point. But then the story picks back up and you get some good elements.
The main plotline from the very beginning is following the students at schoolmance as they prepare themselves for their graduation day. That's when they need to pass. Leaving the halls is the biggest task as the monsters lurk on the bottom-most level of the school premises, which all graduates have to use to exit the school grounds. They prepare themselves throughout the 4-years to be a part of the stronger clique, so their chances of survival are more. I really liked the whole cliche 'clique' element. You can never get bored of that I guess. It's a drama with some fun elements, which is of course what you expect in a YA Novel.
The final plot was the most intriguing thing for me. The author left on a very interesting note and I am too excited to read the next book in the series.