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A Deadly Education

A TikTok sensation and Sunday Times bestselling dark academia fantasy

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A Deadly Education

By: Naomi Novik
Narrated by: Anisha Dadia
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Brought to you by Penguin.
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The Sunday Times bestselling novel from the award-winning author of UPROOTED

In the start of an all-new trilogy, the bestselling author of Uprooted and Spinning Silver introduces you to a dangerous school for the magically gifted where failure means certain death - until one girl begins to rewrite its rules.
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Enter a school of magic unlike any you have ever encountered.

There are no teachers, no holidays, friendships are purely strategic, and the odds of survival are never equal.

Once you're inside, there are only two ways out: you graduate or you die.

El Higgins is uniquely prepared for the school's many dangers. She may be without allies, but she possesses a dark power strong enough to level mountains and wipe out untold millions - never mind easily destroy the countless monsters that prowl the school.

Except, she might accidentally kill all the other students, too. So El is trying her hardest not to use it... that is, unless she has no other choice.

Wry, witty, endlessly inventive, and mordantly funny - yet with a true depth and fierce justice at its heart - this enchanting novel reminds us that there are far more important things than mere survival.
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'Hilarious and wild! Take any fictional magic school, make it as over-the-top dangerous as possible, and populate it with a bunch of snarky teenagers; the result is pure batshit fun.'
N.K. Jemisin, three-time Hugo Award winner and author of The Fifth Season

'Novik deliciously undoes expectations about magic schools, destined heroes, and family legacies. A gorgeous book about monsters and monstrousness, chockablock with action, cleverness, and wit.' Holly Black, #1 New York Times bestselling author

'The Scholomance is the dark school of magic I've been waiting for, and its wise, witty, and monstrous heroine is one I'd happily follow anywhere-even into a school full of monsters.'
Katherine Arden, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Bear and the Nightingale

'The wonderful cast of characters will grab a hold of your heart and you'll never want to leave this deadly school ... a fantasy that delights on every level. I loved this brilliant book.'
Stephanie Garber, #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of the Caraval series

'Eyeball-meltingly brilliant. Novik is, quite simply, a genius.'
Kiersten White, New York Times bestselling author of And I Darken

'Sharp, witty, and darkly effervescent, A Deadly Education is Naomi Novik's fresh take on the concept of the magic school. One of my favorite reads of the year.'
Rory Power, New York Times bestselling author of Wilder Girls

'Naomi Novik reinvents the magical school story by working a strange, funny, wild, dark magic all her own. This is not just your next great read - it's your new obsession.'
Gwenda Bond

'A delightfully brutal world ... and a practical, ruthless heroine with the guts and wits to survive it.'
Emily Skrutskie

'Fresh, smart, and delightfully unique. It's Hogwarts with higher stakes and sharper claws, and I absolutely loved it.'
Alix E. Harrow

'A nightmare from which I never wished to wake. Savage, inventive, and soulful, Novik grasps the totems of childhood that linger in your mind-schools of magic, curses, cutthroat classmates, monsters-only to twist them into a grand new tale that'll make you believe in magic again.'
Pierce Brown, New York Times bestselling author of Dark Age

Coming of Age Fantasy Fiction Genre Fiction Magic Magical Realism Science Fiction Women's Voices Feel-Good Witty Heartfelt Funny
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Critic reviews

The Scholomance is the dark school of magic I’ve been waiting for, and its wise, witty, and monstrous heroine is one I'd happily follow anywhere—even into a school full of monsters. (KATHERINE ARDEN)
Sharp as a fang, funny and ruthless, this still manages to conjure up powerful observations about friendship, exclusion and privilege.
From the author of Spinning Silver comes a story set in an austere school for the magically gifted which houses unfathomable secrets and dark challenges for its students. Weaving together suspicion, danger, sorcery, monsters and humour, A Deadly Education is a magnificent return to form from Naomi Novik.
Eyeball-meltingly brilliant. Novik is, quite simply, a genius. (KIERSTEN WHITE)
A Deadly Education is a nightmare from which I never wished to wake. Savage, inventive, and soulful, Novik grasps the totems of childhood that linger in your mind-schools of magic, curses, cutthroat classmates, monsters-only to twist them into a grand new tale that'll make you believe in magic again.
A dark, smart, delicious tale, set to redefine everything you think you know about schools for magic. A Deadly Education is dangerously addictive.
At Scholomance, monsters are everywhere and the breakfast might kill you, but the wonderful cast of characters will grab a hold of your heart and you’ll never want to leave this deadly school. Naomi Novik skillfully combines sharp humor with layers of imagination to build a fantasy that delights on every level. I loved this brilliant book. (STEPHANIE GARBER)
Hilarious and wild! Take any fictional magic school, make it as over-the-top dangerous as possible, and populate it with a bunch of snarky teenagers; the result is pure batshit fun. (N. K. JEMISIN)
Sharp, witty, and darkly effervescent, A Deadly Education is Naomi Novik’s fresh take on the concept of the magic school. One of my favorite reads of the year. (RORY POWER)
A Deadly Education plunges into the delightfully brutal world of the Scholomance, a magic school unlike anything you've ever seen before, and introduces El, a practical, ruthless heroine with the guts and wits to survive it. Naomi Novik has crafted a transcendent academic fantasy that pulls no punches.
All stars
Most relevant
A really good listen. Big fan of Neomi Novik. The level of character building is really nice. I enjoyed the angry perspective of El. Also, an amazing ending that makes me want moreeee!

Fantastic magical angry dangerous fun!

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An excellent change to magic that makes it more believable.
The characters have depth, thoughtful interactions and leave you caring about what happens to them.

Spoilers below.

The story is generally positive, starting in a dark setting and building hope as it develops.
I will stop there as any more ruins the journey.

I used a credit on the second book within 5 seconds of this one ending, before writing this review.

Wonderful

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i first read the scholomance trilogy in an ebook format and fell in love with the story and wanted to stay in the world longer, but i was not sure if audiobook format will work for a reread as my inner narrator is less expressive then audiobook narrators usually are, but i risked it and this audiobook narration was perfect for me! i loved every seconds of it and keep coming back for listening over and over again!

amazing

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Took me a while to get into this, but I persevered because I knew Naomi Novik wouldn't let me down! And she didn't! Really great story with interesting, likeable characters. And a really interesting take on a magical school. Can't wait for the next book!

Hogwarts meets the Hunger Games!

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I'll update this review on the content. First point on the reader. Excellent. They found someone with a cultured English accent (characters mother) with a touch of Indian (as the characters father was). The reader captures the humour as well as the drama of this story.

Devilish fun and perfectly read.

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