This is dark academia done right—smart, original, and genuinely challenging. Novik doesn't soften the edges: the Scholomance is a nightmare death trap, students die constantly, and our protagonist is wrestling with a prophecy that she'll become a mass-murdering dark queen.

But here's what makes it work: El is a phenomenal character. She's prickly, cynical, isolated, and fully aware that everyone expects her to turn evil. And she keeps choosing not to. The book is really about moral choice in impossible circumstances, about resisting destiny, about what we owe each other when survival is on the line.

The magic system is intricate, the world-building is dense (maybe too dense at first—those opening chapters are heavy), and the social dynamics of the school create fascinating ethical questions about privilege, inequality, and collective good.

This isn't for younger teens. Educators specifically say no to 12-year-olds, and I agree. The violence is real, the atmosphere is relentlessly dark, and the prose demands focus. But for mature 14+ readers who want something sophisticated and morally complex? This is excellent. Just know what you're getting into: this is adult fantasy that happens to have teen protagonists, not a cozy YA read.