The School for Good and Evil (novel)

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The School for Good and Evil
The School for Good and Evil (book cover).jpg
AuthorSoman Chainani
IllustratorIacopo Bruno
Cover artistIacopo Bruno
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
SeriesThe School for Good and Evil
GenreFairytale fantasy[1][2]
PublisherHarperCollins
Publication date
  • May 14, 2013 (US)
  • June 6, 2013 (UK)
Pages
  • 544 (paperback)
  • 488 (hardcover)
Followed byA World Without Princes 
Websiteschoolforgoodandevil.com/books/the-school-for-good-and-evil/

The School for Good and Evil is a 2013 fairytale fantasy novel written by Soman Chainani. The first novel in The School for Good and Evil series and Chainani's debut novel, it follows Sophie, a beautiful girl who believes she will be a Princess, and her friend Agatha, an oddity who is deemed a witch by the villagers, who are kidnapped to the School for Good and Evil. After their fortunes are reversed, Agatha being taken to the School for Good while Sophie is taken to the School for Evil, their friendship is put to the test.

The book was first published in the United States on May 14, 2013, by HarperCollins. It was published in the United Kingdom on June 6 of the same year. It is followed by five sequels and is being made into a film adaptation by Netflix. The book has received positive reviews from critics who praised the novel's wit and the oddity of its storyline.

Plot[]

In the village of Gavaldon, every 4 years, two children at the age of 12 and older are kidnapped into the surrounding Endless Woods. The kidnapped children are spirited away to the "School for Good and Evil," where they train to become fairy tale heroes or villains. While most fear the unknown force, pink-loving, beautiful Sophie dreams of being kidnapped to become a princess. Meanwhile, her best friend, Agatha, sulky and ugly, is deemed the perfect candidate for the School for Evil. When the day of the kidnapping arrives, Sophie and Agatha are both kidnapped.

To Sophie and Agatha's horror, both of them are sent to the "wrong" schools: Sophie is a "Never", a student in the School for Evil, and Agatha an "Ever", a student in the School for Good. Sophie unsuccessfully attempts to switch schools with Agatha, while Agatha wants the two to go home. This proves difficult, as Sophie is determined she is Good and is smitten with Tedros, son of King Arthur, who also notices her.

Being forced to attend classes, Agatha flunks most of her classes, but discovers she can hear and grant wishes. After going to the School Master's tower with a stymph (a skeletal bird), Sophie and Agatha are trapped in a fairy tale. The School Master gives them a riddle to prove they were in the wrong places. After disrupting a school assembly, Agatha is confined to her room, and Sophie is sent to Doom Room, where the Beast chops off her hair. In rage, Sophie drowns the Beast as revenge. The girls eventually find the answer to the riddle is True Love's Kiss. To help Sophie get Tedros' kiss, Agatha, disguised as a cockroach, accompanies and helps with Sophie's classes. With Agatha's help, Sophie starts ranking well in her classes, becoming the best Never student.

Agatha finds she is being used to make Tedros fall for Sophie. That way, Sophie would never have to leave, as she believes Tedros is her true love. Finally, Tedros promises to kiss Sophie after they both win the Trial by Tale, a test where they need to survive teachers' traps and other students. However, Sophie refuses to protect him out of selfishness, while Agatha saves him instead. Hoodwinking Good's greatest prince gives Sophie popularity at the School for Evil and the title of "#1 Villain". Simultaneously, Sophie begins to show deepening resentment and anger towards Agatha, as she believes Agatha ruined her Happily Ever After and stole her place.

Tedros develops feelings for Agatha after she saved him, unlike Sophie. Agatha finds her own inner beauty and belief in Good after consultation with Professor Clarissa Dovey; while Sophie begins to suffer from Nemesis Dreams, dreams which the best villains which expose their nemesis is. Sophie believes the person in her dreams is Tedros, but however, the other Nemesis should grow stronger. Tedros does not show strengthening, but Agatha is progressively becoming a better princess. Sophie learns her Nemesis is not Tedros, but Agatha and transforms into what she has become internally: a jealous, shriveled witch with no remorse nor mercy. At the Circus of Talents, a competition based on talents, Tedros confesses his love for Agatha and asks her out to the Evers' Snow Ball, which she accepts. Upon hearing this, Sophie tries to destroy both schools and eliminate Agatha.

Determined for her happy ending, Sophie finds the School Master's true identity to be Evil as the Storian atoned him for murdering his Good brother. Believing she can find happily ever after as his true love, she kisses him, but remembers Nevers are incapable of love. The School Master tries to kill Agatha so Sophie can be his. When Agatha is about to get hit, Sophie sacrifices herself for Agatha. The ghost of the deceased Good brother returns to save his students, and seer and history teacher, August Sader sacrifices his own body to destroy the Evil School Master and dies in the process. Sophie dies shortly after and Agatha, distraught, kisses her. Sophie revives as Agatha's kiss was true love, and she and Agatha are teleported back to Gavaldon, realizing they don't need a prince and Tedros is left in disappointment.

Background[]

When Chainani was young, he owned only a TV set and VHS tapes of Disney animated films, which were "all [he] watched" until the age of eight. He stated that "everything [he] learned about storytelling — and about fairy tales in general — [he] learned from Disney."[3]

After attending college, Chainani learnt about fairy tales, and was fascinated by the differences between the original stories and Disney adaptations. "Somewhere" between the differences, "The School for Good and Evil was born." Chainani felt the Disney adaptations took the original fairy tales, which were more dark, complex and filled with horror, and "pasteurized" them to make them more "appropriate" for younger audiences. With The School for Good and Evil, he wanted to "get back to the core of the original stories and give young readers a taste of what a real fairy tale is."[3] Chainani wanted the characters to be unsafe, with no "warmth" in the narrator and no predictability of a happy ending. Chainani described what he wanted to do as creating "a new fairy tale", which was "just as unleashed and unhinged as the old stories that found the anxieties of today's children."[3]

Chainani first had the idea of The School for Good and Evil in June 2010 while finishing the development of his first feature film, Love Marriage, as director. He began working on a treatment as a screenplay but realized it had to be a novel. When Chainani was working with producer Jane Startz on an adaptation of The Pushcart War, he presented the idea of The School for Good and Evil which she dubbed books.[4] In the United States, the book was published on May 14, 2013, while in the United Kingdom, it was published on June 6 of the same year.[5] On The New York Times Best Seller list, the book debuted at #7 within the first week of its publication.[6]

Promotion[]

The School for Good and Evil was one of the most anticipated fantasy young adult novels of 2013.[7] On March 21, 2013, a book trailer was published on YouTube by Shelf Stuff.[8] Entertainment Weekly called the trailer "imaginative".[7] Chainani also completed an eight-city national tour and appeared at a "Bookstormer Dinner". Additionally, HarperCollins Children's Books distributed "Ever" and "Never" buttons at conferences.[6]

Translations[]

By October 8, 2019, the book had been translated into 28 languages.[2] By May 2020, the book had been translated into at least 30 languages.[9] Languages which translation rights have been sold to include Chinese, Taiwanese, Czech, Slovak, Lithuanian, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, European Portuguese, Russian, Hebrew, Greek, French, Indonesian, Thai, Spanish, German, Norwegian and Bulgarian.[10]

Reception[]

Michael Berry of Common Sense Media stated the book was "no run-of-the-mill fairy tale spin-off." He praised the wit and insight though he criticized the repetition, calling it "burdensome".[11] The Herald's Garry Scott commended the character of Sophie, the ending, character developments, simple words and speeches, stating he came across "the most marvellous feeling that [he has] ever come across in a book".[12] Writing for NPR, Selena Simmons-Duffin called the book series a "low-key empire".[13] Kirkus Reviews said the series was "rich and strange", complimented the cover and described the series as being more strong on set pieces rather than internal logic.[14] As of July 2020, the book has sold over 2.5 million copies.[1]

Future[]

Sequels[]

Main articles: A World Without Princes, Quests for Glory, and One True King (novel)

On April 15, 2014, a sequel titled A World Without Princes was published.[15] On July 21 of the following year, The Last Ever After was published.[16] Quests for Glory was published on September 19, 2017.[17] It was followed by A Crystal of Time and One True King, published on March 5, 2019, and June 2, 2020.[2]

Adaptation[]

Main article: The School for Good and Evil (film)

Shortly after its publication, Universal Studios acquired rights to adapt the book into a film.[5] In 2020, Netflix announced it would be taking over with Paul Feig as director.[9] On December 18, 2020, Sofia Wylie and Sophia Anne Caruso were cast as the leads.[18] The adaptation is set to be released in 2022.[19]

References[]

  1. ^ a b Kann, Felix Van (July 2, 2020). "'The School for Good and Evil' by Soman Chainani '08 Adapted for Netflix". Columbia University. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c Canfield, David (October 8, 2019). "Get an exclusive first look at 'One True King,' the final School for Good and Evil book". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c Chainani, Soman (July 27, 2015). "Interview: Soman Chainani, author of School for Good and Evil series". USA Today (Interview). Interviewed by Michelle Monkou. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  4. ^ Chainani, Soman (May 15, 2013). "Cafeteria food is the least of students' worries in Soman Chainani's 'The School for Good and Evil'". New York Daily News (Interview). Interviewed by Wathira Nganga. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  5. ^ a b Fleming, Mike Jr. (May 23, 2013). "Universal Makes Seven-Figure Deal For 'The School For Good And Evil'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  6. ^ a b Maughan, Shannon (May 29, 2013). "Moving On Up: 'The School for Good and Evil'". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  7. ^ a b Bierly, Mandi (January 18, 2015). "Watch the trailer for Soman Chainani's 'The School for Good and Evil' -- EXCLUSIVE". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on April 7, 2015. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  8. ^ THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD & EVIL | Official Book Trailer (Video). YouTube. Shelf Stuff. March 21, 2013. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  9. ^ a b N'Duka, Amanda (May 28, 2020). "Paul Feig To Helm 'The School For Good And Evil' Adaptation For Netflix". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  10. ^ "Press". SchoolforGoodandEvil.com. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  11. ^ Berry, Michael (June 1, 2013). "The School for Good and Evil, Book 1". Common Sense Media. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  12. ^ Scott, Garry (September 16, 2018). "Review: The School For Good And Evil, by Soman Chainani". The Herald. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  13. ^ Simmons-Duffin, Selena (September 18, 2017). "'School For Good And Evil' Is A Kids' Fantasy Series For The Fake News Era". NPR. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  14. ^ "The School for Good and Evil". Kirkus Reviews. April 15, 2013. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  15. ^ Berry, Michael (May 6, 2014). "A World Without Princes: The School for Good and Evil, Book 2". Common Sense Media. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  16. ^ Ehrlich, Brenna (July 16, 2015). "'Happily Ever After' Totally Gets Rewritten In This Modern-Day Fairytale". MTV News. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  17. ^ Serrao, Nivea (June 14, 2017). "'School for Good and Evil: Quests for Glory' Trailer Introduces The Camelot Years — Exclusive". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  18. ^ N'Duka, Amanda (December 21, 2020). "Paul Feig Taps Sofia Wylie & Sophia Anne Caruso To Lead 'The School For Good and Evil' Adaptation". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  19. ^ Santer, Kristen (March 13, 2021). "Laurence Fishburne & Michelle Yeoh Join the Cast of Netflix's 'The School for Good and Evil'". Collider. Retrieved April 23, 2021.

External links[]

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