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| Love fairy tales and mythology? Fans of mermaids, dragons, unicorns, and other mythical creatures? Enjoy when a beloved classic tale is retold? A Twist in the Tail Thursdays features all this and more! |
Hey bookworms!
Today, I want to talk about one of my all-time favorite book series. It's a middle-grade series, but has a very YA feel to it by the end (But still clean, no worries!) and I think it will appeal to all ages!
You've seen me talk before about how much I loved the first two books in Soman Chainani's New York Times Best Selling Series The School for Good
and Evil. (If you haven't, I've reviewed both THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL and A WORLD WITHOUT PRINCES. The final book in the trilogy, THE LAST EVER AFTER, came out just over two weeks ago. I realize that the book is still very new and that many people haven't read it yet, so I'm not here to talk about spoilers.
(In fact, I'll probably not review it and just do today's spotlight instead!)
#stayingspoilerfree
When I finished reading THE LAST EVER AFTER, I was getting misty-eyed because EVERYTHING WAS ENDING. And I had SO MANY FEELS. I finished that last page and kind of just...hugged the book for a few minutes because I just wasn't ready to let go and lose that connection with the book.
(To put that into perspective, I very rarely cling to my books after finishing them and can let go--at least of the physical book/e-reader--right away. There was one other time this year I had that emotional attachment, and it was when I read A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES by Sarah J. Maas. It was Beauty and the Beast perfection and I didn't want to share my ARC with Kat the next day because it meant that the book would leave me!)
Chainani takes so many traditional elements, not just of fairy tales, but of children's books in general, and turns conceptions upside down. Why SHOULD things always be tied up pretty and neatly with a bow? Why can't friendship be as enduring and satisfying as romance? What are the bounds of how far we'll go for our loved ones? The series goes so far beyond a fairy tale and explores themes that make up our very core as human beings.
I'm also consistently impressed with how Chainani changed his world completely with each new book and yet kept everything very thematically similar in a way that never felt disconnected. Main characters Agatha and Sophie twist every ideal and standard that their school and the rules of Storybooks have in place and cause the School for Good and the School for Evil to change and become new with every turn of their story. His imagination is vast, and I have loved seeing how every new book changes the world we've been embracing. Each book gets darker and more terrifying, but also delves deeper into the themes that hold us together as people and explores how we interact with and perceive one another.
I cannot say enough good things about this series. The emotional payoff is huge, the books are engaging, and I can't put them down once I start. Upon finishing the grand finale, I realized that The School for Good and Evil is one of my all-time favorite children's series. I've made such a connection to it and so many characters--both main and secondary--have wormed their way permanently into my heart. I highly recommend this series, no matter your age. It has enough depth and emotion to capture older readers as well as enough action, adventure, and enchantment to hook the hearts of its intended younger readers.
I've also worked with author Soman Chainani several times, and he is such a nice guy. I can't be happier that he's had so much success and that the series has done so well. Definitely follow him on social media if you like seeing what authors are up to, because I can't wait to see what he does next.
Even though The School for Good and Evil is now officially over, I am SO EXCITED that a movie is coming Winter 2017, and I'm really excited for the movie, especially after seeing all of the news we received last month during the blog tour for THE LAST EVER AFTER!
New to the world of The School for Good and Evil?
Soman Chainani has also stopped by A Backwards Story a few times to talk about both books:
Just last month, I took part in his blog tour and interviewed Hester,
which was ABSOLUTELY the right character to talk to
because she is SO fierce and awesome in the finale!
Here's my first interview with Soman.
His second interview includes an exclusive deleted scene!
This past spring, he did a third interview about THE LAST EVER AFTER!!!
He's also done a guest post talking about how his fans
helped shape AWWP!
B O O K T R A I L E R S :
This series seriously has some of
THE best book trailers I've ever seen.
They play like movie trailers!
They also prove just how talented Soman Chainani is because he had a hand in them.
And since he also has a hand in the upcoming movie, I just know it's going to be good!
#1
YouTube Link
#2
YouTube Link
#3
YouTube Link
This series seriously has some of
THE best book trailers I've ever seen.
They play like movie trailers!
They also prove just how talented Soman Chainani is because he had a hand in them.
And since he also has a hand in the upcoming movie, I just know it's going to be good!
#1
#2
#3
As a writer and film director, Soman's films have played at over 150 film festivals around the world, winning more than 30 jury and audience prizes, and his writing awards include honors from Big Bear Lake, New Draft, the CAPE Foundation, the Sun Valley Writer’s Fellowship, and the coveted Shasha Grant, awarded by a jury of international film executives.
When he’s not telling stories or teaching in New York City, Soman is a die-hard tennis player who never lost a first-round match for ten years . . . until he started writing THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL. Now he loses all the time.
Check out Soman's website and follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr!
You can also take an epically awesome quiz to find out
if you'll be accepted into the School For Good or the School For Evil!
~*~
O F F I C I A L I N F O:
Title: THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL
Author: Soman Chainani
Author: Soman Chainani
Release Date: May 14, 2013
Publisher: HarperCollins
SUMMARY:
“The first kidnappings happened two hundred years before. Some years it was two boys taken, some years two girls, sometimes one of each. But if at first the choices seemed random, soon the pattern became clear. One was always beautiful and good, the child every parent wanted as their own. The other was homely and odd, an outcast from birth. An opposing pair, plucked from youth and spirited away.”
This year, best friends Sophie and Agatha are about to discover where all the lost children go: the fabled School for Good & Evil, where ordinary boys and girls are trained to be fairy tale heroes and villains. As the most beautiful girl in Gavaldon, Sophie has dreamed of being kidnapped into an enchanted world her whole life. With her pink dresses, glass slippers, and devotion to good deeds, she knows she’ll earn top marks at the School for Good and graduate a storybook princess. Meanwhile Agatha, with her shapeless black frocks, wicked pet cat, and dislike of nearly everyone, seems a natural fit for the School for Evil.
But when the two girls are swept into the Endless Woods, they find their fortunes reversed—Sophie’s dumped in the School for Evil to take Uglification, Death Curses, and Henchmen Training, while Agatha finds herself in the School For Good, thrust amongst handsome princes and fair maidens for classes in Princess Etiquette and Animal Communication.. But what if the mistake is actually the first clue to discovering who Sophie and Agatha really are…?
THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL is an epic journey into a dazzling new world, where the only way out of a fairy tale is to live through one.
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