School for Good and Evil, One true King Review

 

 "But if she had to act like the king to force her prince to stand up, then she'd do what she had to do. Even if her words hurt. 

 

  I really enjoyed this book, there were rough spots, more so than the other books, and I was close to giving it 4 stars. However, the ending of the book really saved that. I don't mean this in a; "Oh the ending was the best part," but more in a; "This is so beautiful, oh my god" kind of sense. One of my biggest thoughts throughout the book was; I'm not crying you're crying. 

 Seeing this series which I've been following since it came out back in 2013, is certainly a bittersweet thing. The ending was so perfect and wrapped up everything so well, however, the story is ending. I believe Soman is going to write more books, which I plan on reading when they come out, but even if I don't The School for Good and Evil will be a series that I come back to again and again. 

 "And like Clarissa did, I find students more worthwhile than the old and corrupt," 

 Plot 

 One important thing to establish before talking about the plot- don't worry, there won't be any spoilers -is that in writing a series each book has to raise the stakes. If you don't the series will start to feel stale, tension will be nearly impossible to write. This is why the further you go into series, especially fantasy series, the plot, stories, and characters get more and more grand throughout. 

 This is why writing series is so tricky, it's the reason why people may like the first book or books but not the sequels. However, when a book series is good they're good. It's also why series tend to be more popular than most one-off books, in my personal opinion at least. So the fact that Soman was able to write 6 books and have all of them be good, not perfect but no piece of writing will ever truly be perfect as art is subjective, is a fantastic feat. A very difficult one, and one that shows that Soman is a genuinely talented writer. 

 With that said, the past books in the series have had plot twists, good ones. They have foreshadowed the information before the plot twists support it, not only are plot twists, generally, meant to surprise the characters, they're meant to surprise the reader as well. The best ones, make sense. Throwing something totally random into a story that has no supporting evidence, is going to throw off a lot of things in the story. The flow, the reader may stop trying to predict ahead which will remove engagement with the books, and it will most of all throw off the plot. The five books before this one Soman was amazing at having those plot twists, just enough to keep the reader on their toes, but not so many that the reader is starting to disengage with the books.  

 By now you probably have an idea as to what I'm getting at. I do want to say, there are indeed things to support the plot twists. They weren't coming from absolutely anywhere, and I even predicted a couple of them. This being said there were just, so many plot twists. At times it started to feel like I had book-whiplash from the sheer amount. With this book being the grand finale within the series, this isn't always a bad thing. And I do think the plot twists, even though there were more than I usually like within a book, were written well. Not only did I feel as if <i> in </i> was being hit by all these things happening that feel like you should have seen coming but didn't, it also felt as if the characters were going through it as well. 

"We assumed our happy ending would last forever. Because that's what storybooks taught us. That good always wins. That Ever After is Ever After. But our fairy tale changed the rules. We punched holes in the old ways of Good and Evil. And now we're in a new tale where it's no longer enough to be Good." 

 Characters 

   Another thing done well by Soman, was the character development. Yes, certain side characters could have had more development, and certain things felt a touch rushed at times, but overall it was good. It's enjoyable, the characters continue to grow and change not only from how they started in the first books but also from how they were at the beginning of the book. 

 Tedros 

The character development Tedros had was good. He's grown to view himself as the actual king, he's not fearing that he's going to make horrible mistakes, yet he's aware that he's still human, imperfect. He's learned that it's not the crown that makes the king. 

 Agatha 

 Agatha's character development was weaker than Tedros' but she still had it. It was much more slow burn, and much subtler. She started to learn and figure out that she doesn't know everything. Even if she didn't think she thought she knew everything, at times she certainly acted like it. And through the book, she just progressively gets better about thinking and behaving to match the mindset that she may be smart, but she doesn't know everything. 

Sophie 

 Sophie, I can't say too much about her character development because it does contain pretty big spoilers. But it was there, it was nice, and I'm not crying you're crying. 

 Nicolia 

  Now, Nicolia will be the last character I cover somewhat in-depth with her character development, mainly just because there were moments that she seemed like she was going to become the amazing character that I knew she could be. But she didn't, which is what made her feel so disappointing and upsetting. She felt more like she was being used to carry the subplot forward rather than being a true part of the subplot. 

 "This is insufferable, being ganged up on by two girls who have no interest besides each other's loyalty."

 Final thoughts 

  I do -obviously, I did give it 5 stars- highly recommend this book. It had beautiful messages within it, a pretty strong plot, the characters grow and change, and it's entertaining. Yes, it has its mistakes, but all pieces of art and literature have mistakes especially when you're looking for them. It doesn't make the books unenjoyable, it rather helps make them enjoyable. And for aspiring authors, it shows that even the most popular of authors who even have movies in the works for their stories make mistakes and are human. 

 So if you're debating if you should pick up this book and read it, I personally think you should. It's good, it's well written. The writing style is nice, it has nice flow. The books do get heavier as you progress in the series. A few points feeling a lot less middle grade and closer to young adult. But the characters are growing up, and a good portion of the fanbase has been growing up with these books. And the future fanbase may very well grow up with them as well. 

 "We are all objects of our fate, but our will decides whether we overcome the challenges fate brings us. The Storian only behind our tale. We must end it. And my end is to grow beyond my failings and become more than my blood. It is why I stand here today, made stronger by my mistakes."