Author Event: Soman Chainani

I have been a fan of Soman Chainani since I stumbled upon the first book in his series The School For Good and Evil. I have a habit of looking into the library for sale section to see if I can find anything good to buy for a really good deal. I had found The School For Good and Evil for $1.50 and thought that it looked interesting so I thought why not. I didn't go into with high hopes because I haven't had a ton of luck with middle grade books. I was eating my words after I finished the book because it was amazing. 
Soman takes the idea of fairy tales and flips them in such a way that the reader gets to decide who is the hero and who is the villain. It is not so cut and dry as it is in other books. 
I really enjoyed the question and answer portion of his author event because I found him to be charming and very funny. (Side Note: I tend to love authors personalities because they tend to be more introverted and socially awkward like me. It's nice to know that I'm not the only one 😅)
He told the story of how he came up with the concept for School For Good and Evil series which I found funny. He said that when he was young he grew up on Disney movies but he found that he always rooted for the villain rather than the hero/heroine making him seem weird to other children. He spoke about how, if you think about it, Ariel (The Little Mermaid) loved a person that she had never spoken to, was a traitor for speaking to her father's enemy, and gave up her voice for a man. His point of view was both refreshing and hilarious because it made me think. I've never been a huge fan of The Little Mermaid anyway but he made some solid points. She is not a particularly good example of a heroine. She is selfish and has little regard for her family and friends and how they feel. 
I have the review for The School For Good and Evil up on my blog if you would like to know more about the book and my thoughts. I have included the links for Goodreads, Amazon, and Soman's website below if you want more information about him or his books. 

Goodreads:   https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42080479-the-school-for-good-and-evil?ac=1&from_search=true 

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/School-Good-Evil-Soman Chainani/dp/006210490X/ref=sr_1_3?crid=QHQNYJWV31CZ&keywords=school+for+good+and+evil&qid=1553471532&s=gateway&sprefix=school+for+%2Caps%2C175&sr=8-3

Soman's website: http://www.somanchainani.net/