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Finalist for the 2022 Epigram Books Fiction Prize

When the eccentric new education minister unveils a radical local exchange programme called INSTEP, two Secondary Three girls find themselves uprooted from their lives and transplanted into unfamiliar new surroundings. Rowena, a mediocre student at one of Singapore’s top girls’ schools, and Janice, the overachieving pride of a “heartland institution”, must each find a way to survive one term at the other’s school.

But just when they think they have it all figured out, a rash of misfortune threatens to shut INSTEP down. How will the girls fare? Will INSTEP survive past its pilot phase? Can the girls save the day?
"Ziqin's daring novel explores questions that we've all wanted to ask about education and our own individual identities. Do we change with our environment, or do we shape it? Do we have any control over our successes or failures? Who are we really? This is a must-read for those who have wondered how their lives might have turned out, if they’d only gone to a different school."
—Adrian Tan, author of The Teenage Textbook and The Teenage Workbook

"No one who has survived the pressure cooker-like education system in Singapore can possibly fail to relate to this quirky tale of two spunky teenagers out to challenge the status quo. Ng Ziqin's young heroines are a breath of fresh air in YA Singlit."
—Sebastian Sim, award-winning author of And the Award Goes to Sally Bong!

"This novel brings me back to my own school experiences. If only I was half as smart and resourceful as Rowena and Janice! I enjoyed reading how these ordinary students from different points along the academic spectrum engage with their various hurdles, in order to form a new path for more students to follow."
—Pauline Loh, author of the Leopop trilogy

"An earnest look at the hopes we pin on Singapore's education system and its meritocratic ideals. Ziqin's novel is both charming and frank. It reaches across class lines in examining how different our formative years could be, if only we were given different opportunities to explore—whether we want them or not."
—Darren Chen, author of The Good Guys
Ng Ziqin is an undergraduate law student at the National University of Singapore. Her writing has been featured in RICE and Asia Law Network. In 2020, she placed third in a youth op-ed competition with her piece, “We Need to Stop Promoting Science as the Default JC Stream.” Her biggest literary heroes are Terry Pratchett and Adrian Tan, and she has a growing taste for mystery novels and psychological thrillers. One day, Ziqin hopes to achieve her lifelong dream of retiring in a cave house, where she will write whodunits that take place in Yishun. Every School a Good School is her first novel.

Authors

Every School a Good School