The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani

 In the small village where Sophie and Agatha live, two children, one good, one evil, disappear once every 4 years. It is rumored that the children are taken and put into the fairytale books all the children in the village love.  Sophie and Agatha are unlikely friends.  Sophie wants to be taken and feels sure if she is she will become a princesses and find her happily-ever-after.  Agatha doesn't want to be taken, but she is sure that if she was, she would become a villain and meet and unpleasant end. When both girls are taken they are surprised when Agatha is put in the school for Good and Sophie is put in the school for Evil.  They are sure it is a mistake, but every time they try to switch places, something goes terribly wrong.  And then there is Prince Tedros.  Sophie is sure he is destined to be her prince. Agatha has never really been interested in boys. As Sophie tries progressively more desperate means to win Tedros, her placement in the school of Evil and Agatha's place in the school for Good, begins to make more sense. 

I decided to read this because NetFlix had produced a movie based on the book.  Somehow I thought it was a new movie, but actually it came out in 2022.  I knew the series was very popular, so I decided I ought to read it. It is interesting.  The action is fast paced and there are a lot of plot twists and turns.  At some times it is rather funny, but at other times it gets very dark.  We have it in our I FIC section but it could as easily go into the YA section. The characters are very complex.  Just when you think one character is good and the other is evil, one of them does something that makes you question your judgement. The whole story explores what it means to be good or evil, and how that relates to appearances. Can a princess in a pink ball gown with a pet bunny be evil?  Can a hag with warts and long claw-like nails be good?  It is very sophisticated, and I think middle school age kids who have read lots of fantasy will enjoy and appreciate the moral ambiguity. (544 p. 2013)