This is an edgy magic story and I enjoyed it quite a bit. When something as fantastical is presented in a way that’s realistic, at least in the way characters interact with it, I am overjoyed. It’s a delicate balance to measure and I think this book does it quite well.

Galadriel (El) is a wizard with a dark prophecy looming over her. Her mother protected her as a child from those that wanted to get rid of her before she grew up. Now she’s a teenager in a magic school that wants to kill her. She’s no stranger to danger, so this school doesn’t phase her. The academy is in a sort of pocket dimension where strange creatures, called mals, constantly are sneaking into the building to try and eat the kids. These creatures feed off of mana, and young wizards are a tasty buffet to them. The students teach themselves through studying and the school provides assignments based on what they are reading. There are no teachers, but the kids are self-motivated because the school is very selective about who can attend. There are enclaves of wizards across the globe that go to school here because of the knowledge within. The only problem is how dangerous it is.

Galadriel doesn’t do herself any favors. She is crass and short with many of her classmates and doesn’t make friends easily because of it. Most students avoid her altogether. When the school hero, Orion, saves her multiple times from peril, she is not appreciative. She knows it makes her look weak to be rescued, but she’s also afraid of showing her power. El is a natural with magic and that’s why the prophecy her grandmother spoke foretold of her unleashing havoc on the world, actually terrifies her. She doesn’t want to let loose her power for fear of becoming what her destiny says she will become. She uses this as a defense mechanism to push people away and it works on everyone except for Orion. Everyone fawns over him, but she doesn’t and that’s basically their entire relationship. Galadriel is downright mean to him and he either doesn’t get it, or is kind of a masochist.

The story is mostly a bunch of events in an episodic format. It works and the final story did feel like a finale. Constantly they are being assaulted by mals and some students turn on one another, just so they can have a better shot at graduating. Trading supplies, buddying up to go to the bathroom and working together to fight mals are common occurrences. There’s also politics as the enclave kids have their “better than you” attitude and look down on those that aren’t part of one. Enclavers have have more resources than other kids, including mana. Mana isn’t an infinite resource, but rather a renewable one. You have to put forth effort to generate mana or you’ll have to draw on life essence to use spells. Those that do so are called maleficers and many of them go crazy or lose functionality in parts of their body. It’s better to generate and store mana in crystals but it’s hard for some. Effort equals mana and the more effort you put into something, the more mana you’ll get out of it. Simply working out or doing math problems or even crocheting can generate mana. One of the funniest quotes from the book is as follows, “Yes, now I was worrying I’d be turned to the dark side by too much crochet.” I laughed out loud when I read this because it sounds ridiculous! I’m not going to explain it though, you should really just read the book.

The entire school is dangerous, but people send their kids here because the real world is more dangerous because the mals roam free. Those without magic are unaffected by them (they can’t even see them), but young wizards are preyed upon because of the draw of untamed magic. Mals feast on mana, so without protection they are in mortal peril every day. It’s better to send them to the school to give them a chance despite the danger. Most of the students try to join an enclave before they graduate as graduation is a dangerous ceremony that not many survive without backup. Basically, the graduation hall is full of mals and to graduate, you have to fight your way out. Because of this, alliances are formed simply for the sake of survival.

There were times where I was bothered by El’s behavior. She has a hard shell and it never seems to crack. There were a few moments near the end where we got to see some of her true self, and it was a nice change of pace. I’m sure the rest of the books explore her character in more depth. I will definitely be continuing the series as I enjoyed the way this story was told. Her perspective is an interesting window into the world and I look forward to seeing how her character develops throughout the series.