It started so well and I was close to the thought that the fun was back with this series. Well, well, what you think and what you get are two different things sometimes. I sort this novel as the publisher does it. This is the fourth installment of the School for Good and Evil series. The Camelot Years, if you wanna be a bit more precise. And yes, I am well aware, that with the third book, the original trilogy was finished.
Quests For Glory*
by Soman ChainaniThe School For Good And Evil #4
Publisher Harper Collins on September 19, 2017
Genre Children 12+
Pages 576
Format Hardcover
Source Library
✶✶✶✶
The students at the School for Good and Evil thought they had found their final Ever After when they vanquished the malevolent School Master. Now, on their required fourth-year quests, the students face obstacles both dangerous and unpredictable, and the stakes are high: success brings eternal adoration, and failure means obscurity forever. For their quests, Agatha and Tedros are trying to return Camelot to its former splendor as queen and king. For her quest, Dean Sophie seeks to mold Evil in her own image. But soon they all feel themselves growing more isolated and alone. When their classmates´ quests plunge into chaos, however, someone must lead the charge to save them …
Story
Agatha gives her best to become the queen Tedros and Camelot deserve and need. But with Tedros unable to pull Excalibur out of the wall and the people who see her as the undesired and ugly woman, life at Camelot is neither fun nor sugar-coated. Money is short in supply and because Agatha wants to protect Tedros at all costs, the problems grow bigger and bigger.
Style
At first, while reading the first few pages, I was smiling all over my face and thought that this novel is back to the humor and witty dialogues I was enjoying so much while reading book number one of this series. I was wrong. Within no time the story turned into a flat novel and I had sometimes a really hard time to keep going. After only a few chapters the fun was gone, I missed the witty dialogues and hilarious scenes where sugar of all sorts was brought to life and candy was in the limelight. Not here. Oh sure, Sophie does her best to turn the evil tower into an alluring and glamorous place. But it wasn´t the same. The ease is gone. The language is the same, though. But I missed the humor, the fun in the scenes that came with all the sweet details, the rivalry that was to feel between Agatha and Sophie. Here they are pretty much on the same page.
Characters
The figures haven´t changed much. Agatha still does everything that is in her power to keep Tedros out of harm. And holds him back whenever she can, causing even more problems and frustration. Tedros is a naïve glamor boy who has no guts and always sees things the wrong way. Maybe that´s the reason why I don´t like him much. Agatha is living with the love of her life, holding up a friendship with Sophie that is like any other when real life and changes in your personal status are coming up and you simply don´t have the time to pat your best friends´ hand nonstop to keep her happy and peaceful.
Conclusion
To some extent, I was able to enjoy this new book in the School for Good and Evil series. But for me, the first book was and still is the best. Here, the plot is darker and I couldn´t see where it all would lead. The end was, well, somehow entertaining. But not really haunting or as thrilling as I expected it to be. And there will be at least two more books? Hopefully, they will go back to the fun and charm of The School for Good and Evil. Judge for yourself.
Happy reading
*I read the German edition new release The School for Good and Evil-Ein Königreich auf einen Streich by Ravensburger Buchverlag published on April 8, 2018.
The book was originally published by HarperCollins on September 19, 2017.
Soman Chainani
Soman Chainani´s first novel, The School for Good and Evil, debuted on the New York Times bestseller list, as did each of its two sequels, A World Without Princes and The Last Ever After. The series has been translated into over twenty languages across six continents and will soon be a major motion picture from Universal Pictures. As a graduate of Harvard University and Columbia University´s MFA Film Program, Soman has made films that have played at over 150 festivals around the world, and his writing awards include the Sun Valley Writer´s Fellowship. 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.
