"A World Without Princes" by Soman Chainani

This post is about the sequel to “The School for Good and Evil.” Spoilers are included. Not much more so than what is implied by the title or found on the dust jacket, but if you’re planning to read this someday and haven’t yet, you may want to conclude reading this post right now.

A World Without Princes (Apr. 15, 2014) by Soman Chainani.

Both Agatha and Sophie, of Woods Beyond, are back home, where they should be living out their happily ever after, but they aren’t. Both girls make a wish unbeknownst to the other, but it is Agatha’s that propels them back to The School for Good and Evil. Except that it isn’t anymore. Princesses are mixing with witches and princes are chumming with henchmen: Evergirls and Nevergirls, Everboys and Neverboys. Girls versus boys. The School for Girl Education and Enlightenment; The School for Boy Vengeance and Restitution. The School Master’s Tower has moved, following the new School Master and the Storian. The new School Master is a certain muscular, golden-haired boy with his father’s glinting sword sheathed at his side. A boy named Tedros. There isn’t much time to dwell, as the girls get thrown into classes despite missing most of the school year. There’s a mysterious new girl named Yara who doesn’t speak, and the new Dean of the girls’ school, Evelyn Sader, is a “tall, ravishing woman” that’s more dangerous than she lets on.

            Agatha wants to undo her wish and send herself and Sophie safely back home. Too bad someone’s erased “The End” from their happy ending, and the Storian is missing. A new ending is up for grabs, and they all know that the villain always dies in the end, but who’s the villain? Is it Sophie? Tedros? Evelyn? Agatha? They need to restore the schools to Good and Evil. The tricky part will be making that happen without bloodshed, and unfortunately, blood will be shed in this world without princes.

            The best way I can describe this tale is to dub it epic middle-grade fantasy. Because it is. But which may sound strange, considering it is middle-grade. If you read the first one, you won’t want to miss this installment, and if you haven’t read the first one yet, what are you waiting for? This is middle-grade that is not meant for little kids or the faint of heart. Their second year’s Trial by Tale pits boys against girls, and the side with the most left standing wins. It’s as simple as that, except the trial could turn as deadly as a Hunger Games arena. Since The Hunger Games has already been done – quite dramatically and violently – I can’t say I liked the unoriginality of this trial format. But the trial is not the sole point of the story, and overall the book is a rousing, action-filled tale where good and evil are sometimes so skewed that it’s hard to tell who’s good and who isn’t. It is classy in its brilliance. It isn’t just a battle of lightness versus darkness, either. Sometimes it’s light versus light that battles. And at the end of the day, with true love on the line, who will prevail?

            Book One: The School for Good and Evil