A Meet and Greet Author Review: Soman Chainani

On September 30, 2023, the Bartholomew County Public Library held an author meet and greet event for Soman Chainani. Chainani is best known for writing the children’s book series, The School for Good and Evil. The series is about two girls who are sent to a magical school where they are trained to be villains or heroes in their own fairy tale. The book series was later adapted into a movie and is currently available to stream on Netflix.  

At the beginning of the event, Chainani began by telling us about his childhood and how it was his inspiration for The School for Good and Evil. He grew up watching the Disney classic adaptations such as The Lion King and The Little Mermaid. He argued that villains and heroes are not inherently always evil or good. This is what ultimately led him to write a series that showcases villains and heroes in a more realistic way.  

At the end of his presentation, Chainani took questions from the audience. With so much speculation on the internet for a second movie, this was what I was curious to know. Unfortunately, Chainani stated, “There are no plans for a second movie. In the first movie, we went over budget and the movie was filmed during the earlier stages of COVID. Finding extras was extremely challenging and in many of the scenes where viewers see students walking around the school corridors, it felt empty.” 

When he concluded the Q&A, we were all told where he would be signing books and that there were copies of his books available for us to purchase. When I met Chainani, he asked me if I had read the entire series, and at the time I met him, I had just started reading book three. He stated that the third book has a lot of things going on and that I will love it.  

After meeting Soman Chainani, I now have a better appreciation for the series. The series offers many stereotypical behaviors and expectations for heroes and villains in the curriculum of the book’s fairy tale school. He clearly referenced his childhood inspiration from Disney movies. With the character depth of focusing on a more realistic approach to good versus evil, I begin to understand why critics would consider him “alt-Disney.”