The School for Good and Evil

The School for Good and Evil is a 2013 fairytale fantasy novel written by Soman Chainani. The first novel in The School for Good and Evil series and Chainani's debut novel, it follows Sophie, a beautiful girl who believes she will be a Princess, and her friend Agatha, an oddity who is deemed a witch by the villagers, who are kidnapped by the School Master and taken to the School for Good and Evil. After their fortunes are reversed, Agatha is taken to the School for Good while Sophie is taken to the School for Evil, their friendship is put to the test. The book was first published in the United States on May 14, 2013, by HarperCollins. It was published in the United Kingdom on June 6 of the same year. It is followed by five sequels and was made into a film adaptation by Netflix. The book has received positive reviews from critics who praised the novel's wit and the oddity of its storyline. Plot Every four years in the village of Gavaldon, two children are kidnapped by an unknown force into the surrounding Endless Woods, wherein a school allegedly lies where the heroes and villains of tales of folklore are trained. While most of the children and their families fear the unknown force taking them away, Sophie dreams of attending this school, where she can have her very own Happily Ever After with a charming prince. Sophie’s best friend Agatha, with her sulky attitude, ugly appearance, and negative outlook on the world, is the complete opposite of her. Combined with the fact that she lives with her outcast mother right next to a graveyard, she is deemed by the villagers to be a witch and a perfect candidate for the School for Evil. In spite of this, Agatha desires nothing more than to live a normal life in peace. When the feared day of abduction arrives again, Agatha hides in her home, but rushes out to rescue Sophie when Sophie lets herself get captured, causing Agatha to be pulled along with her.