By Soman Chainani
At the end of the first book, Agatha kissed Sophie to save her. As Sophie came back to life, her and Agatha took hands and glittered away, back to their hometown and their old lives, leaving behind their friends and Agatha's Prince Tedros.
And that is where the 2nd book starts off. Sophie and Agatha are back home, celebrities after their exciting encounter in the fairy tale realm. Sophie eats it up, loving every minute of the fame, but Agatha isn't so sure. What's worse, where she thought that all she needed in the whole world was her best friend, her heart sings a different tune. She starts to wish for Tedros, believing that maybe she made the wrong choice. But what can she do?
Suddenly, arrows appear out of nowhere, flying though the air with deadly aim for only one person: Sophie. Sophie is locked into the church for safe keeping, but soon the town realizes that the only way to save themselves is to give Sophie up. Agatha tries to save her, but they are both transported back to The School for Good and Evil. But now it's completely different.
Because Agatha chose Sophie over her prince, fairy tales are starting to rewrite them selves. It's no longer the School for Good and Evil, but the School for Boys and Girls. Girls have distanced themselves from their princes, banding together and believing they now don't need a prince to save them. They can save themselves. This leaves the boys by themselves over in the School for Evil to fend for themselves. But their angry. And it's all Sophie's fault.
Agatha tries to fix the problem. She realizes, and is told by her teachers and other friends, that the only way to make things right is for her to kiss her Prince. She finds a way to get to him, but before they can kiss, something happens. Now Prince Tedros believes Agatha, too, is out to kill him and destroy his happily-ever-after. He wants both Sophie and Agatha dead and has promised his treasure to anyone who can make that happen.
A new trial is pronounced, a trial between boys and girls. Whoever can outlast the other wins. If the girls win, the boys will become the girls' slaves. If the boys win, Sophie and Agatha must be brought to the boys for public execution. Sophie and Agatha work together with their friends, trying to stop all of this from happening, but the trial comes. Things go awry during the trial and the Evil School Master, destroyed in the last book, returns, still wanting Sophie at his side. Sophie chooses him because Agatha has finally kissed Tedros, sealing their love. Sophie kisses the School Master, thereby sending Agatha back to their hometown alone. But before she can fully disappear, she grabs Tedros and he goes with, saving his life.
What I liked: It was a fantastic book, as good as the second. It started a little slow, but picked up. Some of the characters were new and parts of it were a little predicable (maybe that's just me), but there were still a plethora of twists and turns. You got to find out a little more history about some of the characters. Many of my favorite characters from the first book returned, adding comic relief and biting wit. I especially like the character of Dot. In the first book, she was a very plumb young Never (evil) witch who turned everything she touched into chocolate. She was constantly eating chocolate. In the 2nd book, she now is slim and beautiful, turning everything she touches into vegetables, which she is constantly eating. And she really doesn't want to return to being a Never. She's made friends and enjoys being beautiful and taking care of herself. I look forward to seeing how she is in the 3rd book.
This series is fantastic for upper elementary, middle school, or anyone who loves great stories dealing with fairy tales. It's not full of fairy tales, but it just has that fantastic quality to it. I can't wait to read the next book!
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