The January Book Club – A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

We’ve been spending all this time debating whether Naomi Novik’s A Deadly Education counted as Dark Academia or not that we decided we should open it up to the book club to decide its fate! It’s our January pick and, Dark Academia or not, we love it and can’t wait to talk to you about it!

Here’s the official description:

“A Deadly Education is set at Scholomance, a school for the magically gifted where failure means certain death (for real) — until one girl, El, begins to unlock its many secrets.

There are no teachers, no holidays, and no friendships, save strategic ones. Survival is more important than any letter grade, for the school won’t allow its students to leave until they graduate… or die! The rules are deceptively simple: Don’t walk the halls alone. And beware of the monsters who lurk everywhere.

El is uniquely prepared for the school’s dangers. She may be without allies, but she possesses a dark power strong enough to level mountains and wipe out millions. It would be easy enough for El to defeat the monsters that prowl the school. The problem? Her powerful dark magic might also kill all the other students.”

And here’s what people are saying about it:

“Novik deliciously undoes expectations about magic schools, destined heroes, and family legacies. A gorgeous book about monsters and monstrousness, chockablock with action, cleverness, and wit.” – Holly Black

“Hilarious and wild! Take any fictional magic school, make it as over-the-top dangerous as possible, and populate it with a bunch of snarky teenagers; the result is pure batshit fun.” – N. K. Jemisin

“The dark school of magic I’ve been waiting for.” – Katherine Arden

If you would like to join us, make sure you’re on the $7+ tier on our Patreon for the month of January! Our meeting will be January 25th at 7PM ET!