pretending the first book in this series was a standalone,Reread: Okay, so maybe the flaws stick out to me a bit too much the second time round! Everyone's speech, including all the secondary characters, are m o n o l o g u e s.
I understand why this book ispages long, because everyone speaks in paragraphs, not sentences, Also, the relationship development between Sophie and Agatha doesn't really happen untilpages in, The rest is just a repetition of the antics we've seen in the first two books,
I think it would almost be more interesting to read a prequel about the story of Lady Lesso and Clarissa Dovey because they're like the OG Sophie and Agatha.
That being said, I am pumped for Quests for Glory, especially after skimming my way through the Handbook for the clues of what's to come, I guess after two years, though, I'll definitely be changing my rating,
: I love this series so much, I'm willing to look past the flaws the final book presented, The development of Agatha and Sophie's relationship is magical, everything about this book is magical in fact, I can't believe I've reached The End of this happily ever after! I'm not sure where to begin with this review, . .
As a whole, I'd give this seriesstars, with some deep reservations, I think this was a series with a highprofile premise, that you don't see too often in the genre, and that's what's carried me through the series, despite the almost rushed feel of the actual books.
Soman Chanani succeeds wildly on several fronts:
Both Sophie and Agatha our heroines are welldrawn characters that you can immediately empathize with, and understand why they're friends, which is crucial to the success of the series as a whole.
The premise is intrguing, aboutgirls trying to find their place in the world and with each other, while still trying to find love and live within the "FairyTale
World" they become embroiled in.
A large part of the series revolves around pushing or breaking the boundaries of fairytale tropes,
Inclusiveness this book feels very inclusive of all POV's regarding sexuality while not a "Sexual/Adult" book it's more about the IDEAL of "Love" in all it's forms, there are defintely undercurrents that were explored in this book, as in all the best fairy tales.
Look at the tale of Red Riding Hood if you doubt,
The Ending: Though it took a long time to get there, I thought the ending was perfect, and a much needed change from fairtytale tropes, At the risk of dating myself, it reminded me of the Kelly Taylor's "I choose myself" speech from the original Beverly Hills, And the final line The perfect underscore for the series,
The author also fails wildly on several fronts:
Rushed and disjointed setpieces, The comparison I liken this to is Harry Potter via the slowbuildup we get to learn about Hogwarts as Harry does, and meet people as he does, The first few books serve as a great introduction to the series, and setups up what's to come, With this trilogy, despite the strong opening chapters in the first book, you are thrown right into the action, and it feels like giant pieces are "missing" to get to the next important setpience of the story.
In particular, lessons and learning are almost incidental Sophie and Agatha go from "School Newbies" to "SpellThrowing witches" almost immediately, to the point where even the Teachers can't effectively challenge them.
Less delineated secondary characters, WHille there is a core cast of supporting/tertiary characters that recur througout the series, none of them are defined particualrly well, except by their relation to our heroines.
Though they did at least attempt to give Hort a convinving storyarc, The Teachers are perhaps the most misused of this group, as they are almost completely interchangable, uninteresting, and ultimately irrelevant, AS shown in Book, when ALL THE MALE TEACHERS are able to be put into an induced sleepstate for MOST OF THE BOOK!
POV: The narrative switch between Agatha and Sophie when they're not together happens at random intervals, and, while it's not hard to follow, it does serve to be a little jarring.
I personally would have preferred an "Alternating Chapter" method to truly show the differences between the two charcters and schools,
All said, though I enjoyed this trilogy more in theory than in actual execution, I would nonetheless recommend this to fans of fantasy amp fairytales, as well as those who like their fantasy fiction a bit on the subversive side.
Relations and friendships between samesex characters in fantasy are not often dealt with in such a straightforward manner, and it was quite a refreshing change,
The Last Ever After is the final book in the School for Good and Evil it takes place just after the end of the second book with Agatha choosing this time Tedros over Sophie for her happy ever after.
Leaving Sophie with the young school master who wants to be her happy ever after even if they are evil, However things arent as easy for Agatha and Tedros back in her village with him just a normal boy and they are forced to hide of with the village determined to have their heads.
Deciding that neither one will be happy without Sophie since shes their best friend they must return to the school to get her,
Its only after returning to the school that they learn the fate of Sophie and what it means for their friends as well as the schools, Now that Evil has truly won they schools are both evil even the former Evers are evil doing the bidding of the School Master who is determined to win Sophies heart so he can use her for his sinister plans.
Thats not all thats changed hes raised the villains once dead to change their stories slaying the elderly heroes and hunting Agatha and Tedros, Will they be able to save and fix everything before its too late or will this be the end of everything that they have known,
I adore Agatha shes clearly one of my favorites in the series but thats because shes such a good person willing to step aside for her best friend.
I admit in the book I did have a few moments of wanting to toss it across the room thanks to Sophie and Tedros but they redeemed themselves in the end.
I love our little witch coven who worked hard to save the school as well as their friends, I also really enjoyed the old fairy tales it was so much fun seeing old tinker bell and Peter even the white rabbit,
Ive been impatiently waiting for this moment the conclusion to one of my favorite series came out, Than the moment it did I just wasnt ready to say goodbye to my favorite world, It was clear right from the start that The Last Ever After was going to be impossible to put down, and I almost finished the whole book in one day.
A truly amazing end to a series that has kept me spellbound right from the beginning, The story is captivating with enchanting characters evil sorcerys princes and even a few witches, I love the characters I was able to connect with them right from the start after all I have been attached to them since the first book, The Last Ever After is an emotional whirlwind just when you think you have it figured out it surprises you full of twists and turns, I honestly love this series and I know for a fact it will be a reread in the future because Im going to miss Agatha and Sophie, I feel the author did an amazing job creating a beautifully written series that captured my heart as well as my imagination, If you are a fan of fairytales this is a must for you, I just wow loved the whole series of The School of Good and Evil but this was the best,
The best thing about this book and the series as a whole, in fact is how often it surprises you, There were many points while reading 'The Last Ever After' that I thought "How on earth are they possibly going to get out of this situation" or "What on earth is really going on here" only to find myself, pages or chapters later, wondering, "How on earth did I not work it out!!!".
The best twists, I think, are those you didn't work out but, when they are presented to you, they make perfect sense to the point you feel silly for not working them out sooner.
'The Last Ever After' is full of such twists and I lost count of how many times I shook my head in wonder at Soman Chainani's ability to leave me stunned.
Some great characters are introduced in this book, Whimsical Merlin, with his wonderful hat I want one! was probably my favourite new character, Rafal, on the other hand, was probably my least favourite new character or, well, sort of new, I guessthough also oldhaha!, simply because I found him rather annoying, rather than scary like his previous 'old' incarnation.
Nonetheless, I did laugh when his insecurities showed, especially when
A character I would have liked to have learnt more about was the Good Brother, , I was interested in his relationship with Rafal, Then again, I don't feel any worse for not knowing,
Some people may find themselves a bit unsure of the messages the book puts across, Some might find the book too conservative, others too progressive, Throughout the book, I was constantly in debate with myself as to whether the messages of the story were positive or negative from a liberal viewpointcertainly, most were positive, in my opinion, and delightfully progressive at times too! but I'm still mulling over Agatha's fate and whether I liked it or not.
Whatever the case, I like a book that makes me think, and this is certainly one of them, And it IS more progressive than not, especially for a kid's book, which is great to see, Good and evil, male and female, old and youngall these concepts are challenged in this seriously cool book,
Sophie's ending was especially well done, and I really loved her relationship with Lady Lesso, who is now one my favourite characters, Sophie has always been a great character, so cruel yet so lovable at the same time, Even though on many an occasion I found myself screaming at her for acting idiotically, I understood why she behaved the way she did, Now I come to think of it, the ring, in a way, represented the vicious cycle she was caught in This was a nice touch, and I reckon Sophie will inspire kids who feel like they are trapped in a way of life from which they cannot escape to believe in themselves and break free.
There is probably more I could say, but this is already fairly long and it's nearlyam, In conclusion, I gave this book fivebecause any kid's book that can keep a nineteenyearold student gripped to the point they only force themselves to put it down when they realise it's four in the morningpicking it up again as soon as they wake up, of courseis a winner.
OH!
And one last thing,
The last line is beyond fabulous, It captures the character of who says it so welland it also captures the ultimate message of the story: Be yourself, love yourself, have faith in yourself, Maybe the end of your tale doesn't involve running off into the sunset with a prince, but that doesn't make it any less of a happily ever after,
THE END
EDIT
Changing this to four after much thought, Still love the twists, the humour etc but at the same time I feel the book could have been a wee bit shorter, Also, I do wish the possibility of an LGBT relationship had been explored further it's so rare in middle grade, I'll end on a positive note though: the more I think about it, the gladder I am Sophie didn't end up with Hort, as much as I liked him as a character.
A guy doesn't deserve a girl just because he is nice to her, and it seemed obvious to me Sophie didn't like him as much as he liked her.
Soman Chainani handled that very well, I think :,