A Deadly Education

Books set in fantasy schools are always so much fun to read. I'm not sure whether its just more relatable or whether there's something else to it but they get me into a good mood.

A Deadly Education was a really solid young adult fantasy novel. The setting of a school that's trying to kill the students was pretty unique and I appreciated the main character El a ton. She felt super relatable and her thoughts, actions, and emotions were all befitting her character and growth. She had a great arc through the book and it was super satisfying to see her progress.

It felt great to be thrown headfirst into the world but I did feel like there was a ton of exposition to set up the world in the beginning. I feel like that was necessary for the young adult tag but other than that I think the book was pretty mature. El's thoughts about her classmates felt really tied to the way I felt about college and it definitely felt more relatable in reflection rather than living through it. Other than that, my only issue with the book was that El sometimes explained too much and sometimes it didn't feel earned for the reader. I'm definitely going to speed through the next book when it comes out.