Literature An Experienced Writer, and it Shows
I came into this book expecting something enjoyable, but not to this level. I tore through all 400 or so pages in two days. It's difficult to specifically praise this book's finer points without giving away spoilers. There are very skillfully placed Chekhovs Guns all over the place, and the story does not fall for the trappings of disney-style Black and White Morality and Beauty Equals Goodness in the ways I was expecting it to, and wound up being a refreshingly progressive take on princess and fairytale tropes alike. It's a great read for kids and adults alike with a fantastic, satisfying ending—which is making me very nervous about the sequel. With such a perfect ending, it will be dificult to make a fitting sequel with a climax that can match that of the first book.
Literature Decent writing, troubling themes
(I read the first book and part of the second; review is limited to that span.)
First up: this book is a quick read. It's four hundred pages with constant action that keeps the reader engaged. The man can write.
However there are several themes that get weirder the longer they go on. One is the clear equivocation between good and beauty vs evil and ugliness. While exceptions exist, it's clear the writer wants to punish evil characters with ugliness and reward good characters with beauty. While both Good and Evil classes spend classtime practicing beauty/ugly maintenance, in the climax good and bad actions are instead linked to immediate magic transformation. This is an odd break after so much emphasis on the hard work of personal grooming and reads as a Shocking Swerve.
There is an uncomfortable amount of sexualized description for students who are explicitly 12-13 years old, especially of Sophie and Tedros. There is repeated mention of the female characters losing their clothing or even being punished with public nudity. It's also weird to be discussing lifetime Ever After pairings of kids who are fifteen when they leave school. All in all, the book would fit better into an older high school setting than middle school. It's intended to channel classic fairy tales - but it's modern writing that should be judged by modern standards.
I stopped reading in the second book when a hero from the first decided to Murder the Hypotenuse to secure his girlfriend. Several of her friends encourage her to take him back to stop the violence. That's a literal tactic of domestic abusers and it's not ok.