A Deadly Education by Naomi NovikMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
At first, I didn't think I would enjoy the book because it started out with a lot of world-building and backstory, but three hours into it I found I was thoroughly enjoying El's quirky voice and the superimposition of the life of a high school outsider/loser/nerd on top of this magical school (and this particular high school outsider/loser/nerd adored that). Read deep into the night until my eyes started to feel "gummy" (like El's), slept for three hours, then woke up early to finish.
Note: I also did not find this to be a racist story; rather, I enjoyed the fact that so many positive characters were from diverse backgrounds (the Senior Valedictorian was from Argentina, for example).
Ordered books #2 and #3 today.
View all my reviews on GoodReads