2017-09-21
A sudden rash of kidnappings and random violence kicks off a major challenge to the reign of King Arthur's newly crowned son, Tedros.The shining titular promise of the previous episode, The Last Ever After (2015), fades as Tedros—noble at heart but paralyzed by self-doubt and, it must be said, dumb as a box of rocks—refuses to ask his clever, loving fiancee, Agatha, for help dealing with pirates and other raiders. Meanwhile, back at the titular school, her glamorous BFF, Sophie, newly appointed Dean of Evil, discovers that all of the fourth-year students are somehow failing in their obligatory, assigned Quests. With a crew of allies (including Nicola, a nonmagical but quick-witted Reader), Agatha and Sophie set out to investigate and discover amid a characteristic mix of tongue-in-cheek set pieces and harrowing scrapes that a (possibly) legitimate contender for the throne of Camelot has risen, with deadly powers including (apparently) the ability to twist and corrupt storylines with "different truth." In a slow-to-arrive but catastrophic climax, Agatha, Tedros, and the rest discover too late that they've been thoroughly played throughout; the final pages find them not only routed in battle, but tricked into a series of devastating betrayals. Bruno's polished vignettes add appropriate notes of humor and horror and reveal Nicola to be black, in contrast to the mostly white or pale-skinned cast.New chapters in this metafictional romp leave the villains ascendant. Stay tuned. (color map) (Fantasy. 11-13)
Fractured fairy tale fans know that happy endings are tricky things in the world of Soman Chainani’s School for Good and Evil trilogy, where the descendants of fairy tale heroes and villains compete to be the stars of their own tales, and where fresh stories spill out of an enchanted pen under the watchful eye […]
School is back in session, but that doesn’t mean your kids have to lose all that summer reading momentum. Stock up on our picks for the best books for young readers this month like a new movie tie-in edition of R.J. Palacio’s modern classic Wonder, some amazing new graphic novels, a moving new release from the […]
Just Right Reads is a series hosted by Kamilla Benko, children’s book editor and author of the forthcoming The Unicorn Quest, featuring newly released middle grade books and Q&As with your favorite authors! Soman Chainani, New York Times-bestselling author of The School for Good and Evil series, chats with Kamilla Benko about this first book in […]