In this world, magic exists but it comes with a high cost.  There are creatures called mals who are drawn to those with magic - for they are sustenance for the mals.  The most protected places for magic users are enclaves; basically a warded home or compound for an extended family.  But, of course, not everyone is that well-to-do and poor children are the most vulnerable.  And even for the enclaves, it is a constant challenge to keep their children safe; most magical children don't survive childhood. So a school was built, the Scholomance.  This edifice exists outside of normal space and time and was designed to protect the children from mals while providing an education in wielding magic; so that when they graduated, they were well-provisioned with protective spells.  But it is dilapidated and poorly maintained.  While survival rates are still higher than outside, every day is a test of survival - even going to the bathroom or the cafeteria can be fatal.  The mals still find ways to infiltrate the school and everyone has to be on their guard every second.

The first book introduced Galadriel, El to everyone, and showed us a little of her life.  We learned a bit about who El is and what makes her tick; which is what might determine her survivability on graduation day.  I totally enjoyed this extremely complex young woman who has to fight mals, other students (some of whom are homicidal), and her own tendencies (which could be homicidal).  But what really blew me away was the worldbuilding in this book.  We finally get a fuller explanation of the reason the school was built, what it was intended to do, and why it's broken - I loved it!

El is in her senior year and she has more allies that she ever anticipated.  She has also become more knowledgeable about her own abilities and while her level of power tends to influence the person to become a malificer, El is determined that won't be her.  But once her allies share mana (a necessary resource to perform magic) with her, she discovers there is little she can't do in terms of disintegrating, demolishing, destroying and generally blowing up any mal.  She also determines that she will use her supply of mana and her skills to save any underclassman she sees threatened.  This is not in concert with the general mindset of "every person for themselves" that has driven students for generations.  Together with Orion, who also sees himself as a savior to everyone, El decides they will literally save the entire senior class.  But even with their mad skills, they need complete class cooperation… and a plan.  In the meantime, El is also contending with a contrary school; it appears that the Scholomance has some particular plan in mind for El.  Her class schedule is unexpected and appears designed to isolate her from the senior class.  The school also throws some unexpected changes to the senior class' survival training; causing the entire class to view El in a new - and unwelcome - light. 

It appears to be an unsolvable problem: how to save the entire senior class when most of them either don't even know them; or, if they do, they distrust them.  And a significant part of the problem is understanding what the Scholomance intends - is the school is trying to stop them or help them…?

This book was so beautifully choreographed - that really is the only term for it.  We have this amazingly powerful and conflicted young teenager, a hideous existence that is required for long-term survival, a mystery about how and why the school was constructed; and finally - a new and radical idea of changing their very society. 

The only thing - the absolutely only thing - that I hated was the ending.  I cursed Ms Novik the moment I read the last sentence.  I don't recall being so shocked at a cliffhanger.  (She is so lucky she lives on the other side of the continent and there's no convention this year where I could corner her…)  ~~ Catherine Book

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