The Last Graduate
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- Create Date：2021-09-29 04:19:10
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Naomi Novik
- ISBN：B08M4DMT5J
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Anne - Books of My Heart
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Review September 30
Deeps
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Perks of a pre-order coming early: you get that burst of Joy， it’s HERE and you get to read it。 Downsides: when the end has left you reeling and you have to wait ages to know the answer， and you have no idea when the sequel is going to be released ？！？！This book picks off right where A Deadly Education ended， and I loved that we didn’t miss even a moment of the story of El and her friends。 We don’t see as much of them （it feels like， especially Orion） but we do get a lot more narration。 To the po Perks of a pre-order coming early: you get that burst of Joy， it’s HERE and you get to read it。 Downsides: when the end has left you reeling and you have to wait ages to know the answer， and you have no idea when the sequel is going to be released ？！？！This book picks off right where A Deadly Education ended， and I loved that we didn’t miss even a moment of the story of El and her friends。 We don’t see as much of them （it feels like， especially Orion） but we do get a lot more narration。 To the point it tired me out， and I loved sinking my teeth into the world-building info dump in the first book。 You know those friends - those friends you LOVE， and you’re willing to sit through a difficult conversation/situation because you care for them。 I waded through those bogs of description just because I had fallen in love with the concept of the Scholomance and the characters。 I fell in love with the premise （and our wizard friends， new ones too） even more in this book but I won’t deny it was tedious at times。 Knocking it down to 4。5 stars for that。 However， am I still going to re-read this book more times than I’d care to admit， and keep an eagle eye out for the 3rd novel？ You bet。 。。。more
Katelyn Beane
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Ugh that ending just sent a dagger through my heart and now I have to wait who knows how long until I can find out more。 I cannot believe that ending， it had me on the edge of my seat waiting for something horrific to happen and then the very last line。 I have no words to express just how I am feeling after reading that last line。 I loved this book right up until that last line which destroyed me。
Sherry
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I guess I might have expected it from the way the first book concluded， but this one should have a warning up front about the cliffhanger ending。 It is BRUTAL。After spending most of her time in the deadly dangerous Scholomance trying to survive all alone， El enters her final year on a positive note。 She’s got friends now， as well an offer of a helpful alliance with other powerful student wizards that might allow all of them to make it out alive on graduation day。 El even has a boy who likes her， I guess I might have expected it from the way the first book concluded， but this one should have a warning up front about the cliffhanger ending。 It is BRUTAL。After spending most of her time in the deadly dangerous Scholomance trying to survive all alone， El enters her final year on a positive note。 She’s got friends now， as well an offer of a helpful alliance with other powerful student wizards that might allow all of them to make it out alive on graduation day。 El even has a boy who likes her， Orion Lake， and she can’t help liking him back， despite her mother’s warning to stay away from him。 But then the school gives El terrible course load and allows the monstrous maleficaria to target her rather than the other students， and she starts to wonder whether she’ll make it through the rest of the year， much less survive graduation。 The Scholomance seems to have it in for El， but why？Well， there is a reason， but to find out， you’ll need to read the book。 😉The worldbuilding in this series is masterful。 In my opinion， it blows Harry Potter and Hogwarts out of the water as a fantasy。 The Scholomance is absolutely insane， but Novik makes it seem almost plausible。 （Why shouldn’t every student’s room have a way for them to fall into a mystical void， really？） The magic system is extremely complicated， but it’s very well thought out and consistent， which makes the fantastical feel more real。 I just love El， too。 She fights so hard against her natural bent toward evil magic， but she can’t quite master being （horrors） nice。 Grumpy El doesn’t suffer fools gladly， and unfortunately for El， she’s attending the Scholomance with far too many of those。 That includes Orion， and El being El， she doesn’t hesitate to let him know when he’s being an utter idiot。 She castigates herself just as often， though， because El’s own behavior is growing ever more idiotic， as she finds herself increasingly looking out for others rather than own survival。 For a wizard with seemingly unlimited power and a gift for destruction， El might just turn out to be as much of a hero as that numptie Orion。 So， I’m glued to the page through the entire story， entranced by El and her world and her adventures and rooting for her and the others to make it out alive， and then—that final line。 WHY？？？ You had me on the hook for the last book anyway！ It’s just wanton cruelty。 Highly recommended， but you should brace yourself for the ending。 It’s a doozy。 A copy of this book was provided through NetGalley for me to review; all opinions expressed are my own。 。。。more
Tracy
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All right， here's my only giveaway。。。 "___ it， Naomi！" is how I finished the book ;）Otherwise， I love how the kids had to come together。 The problem solving， ceasing all the back stabbing - great stuff！ The school itself - very interesting。Can't say much more！ All right， here's my only giveaway。。。 "___ it， Naomi！" is how I finished the book ;）Otherwise， I love how the kids had to come together。 The problem solving， ceasing all the back stabbing - great stuff！ The school itself - very interesting。Can't say much more！ 。。。more
Katie {awonderfulbook}
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Rating: 7/10The second book in the Scholomance series feels more plot driven than the first， with Galadriel - ‘El’ - and her allies focused on getting through graduation alive。 This means that they need to hone their skills in a series of tests the Scholomance throws at them。 El begins to feel like the school is against her， but soon realises that there’s more going on than she thought。The story picks up directly after the first book， where El receives an ominous warning from her mother。 She soo Rating: 7/10The second book in the Scholomance series feels more plot driven than the first， with Galadriel - ‘El’ - and her allies focused on getting through graduation alive。 This means that they need to hone their skills in a series of tests the Scholomance throws at them。 El begins to feel like the school is against her， but soon realises that there’s more going on than she thought。The story picks up directly after the first book， where El receives an ominous warning from her mother。 She soon puts this to the back of her mind， however， as she must focus on finishing her lessons and helping her friends through the Scholomance’s graduation simulations。 These are a series of daunting tests of strength， skill， and endurance。 El’s role in graduation preparations develops significantly as the plot ramps up in the final two thirds of the book。 The story grows into more than the senior class graduating as El’s unique skills come into play。While it is more plot focused， there are still lots of asides from El about the way enclaves - or magical communities - and other aspects of the world Novik has created work。 This feature was present in the first book too， often slowing down the plot。 I’m unsure how much of this information will be relevant for the final book， but I suspect Novik wouldn’t include it if it wasn’t going to become relevant。 I also wonder if El’s grandmother’s prophecy of destruction is going to come into play in the final book。Without a doubt， the strongest element of this series is El。 Novik gives her heroine the same name as Tolkien’s elven queen。 I can only imagine that she was inspired by the dark vision Galadriel sees of herself if she were to accept the ring when Frodo offers it to her。 Novik’s El has an affinity for terrible dark magic。 She could destroy the Scholomance and everyone in it if she wanted to。 What’s so interesting about her is that she very much wants the opposite of that， and this book explores El’s character in a more concrete way than book one does。 In book one， she was sarcastic and closed off， and wouldn’t allow anyone to get close， while still very much desiring closeness。 Now she has allies， friends， even， and though she’s still rather prickly and sharp tongued， there’s a deep level of pleasure and gratitude in her that she’s no longer alone。 In El， we see the effect of her dark magical burden combine with the terror of life in the Scholomance， and it’s entirely not surprising that she is the way she is。El narrates the entire story from her own perspective， and her conversational style and sarcastic tone are enjoyable to read。 It’s also enjoyable to see her become more open to trusting other people。 There are moments where she shows her vulnerability and hopes for the future that are nice to read。 It’s also really interesting to note the progression from where El started the first book and where she ends this book。We learn more about some of the other characters too。 El’s friends Liu and Aadhya are fleshed out further， and the bond between them grows。 Her relationship with the monster killer Orion develops also， and we learn that he wants more than to hunt monsters。 It’s unfortunate that Orion disappears for a good portion of the book， though， as I feel the emotional payoff of the story isn’t quite strong enough because of his absence。 We needed to know him better， I think， for the story to work。Once again， Novik has left us with a cliffhanger。 It will be interesting to see how this is resolved in the final book。 Hopefully we won’t have too long to wait for it to come out。Many thanks to the author and the publisher， Del Rey， for providing an advance reader copy for review via NetGalley。Blog: awonderfulbook。com | Instagram: katiemotenbooks | Twitter: katiemotenbooks 。。。more
Evelien
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I。 Am。 Obsessed。I really enjoyed last year’s A Deadly Education。 I loved the sarcasm， humor and El in general as a protagonist。 After that cliffhanger， I was a little nervous about picking up this sequel considering how much I liked the first instalment。 I really shouldn’t have been。The Last Graduate picks up almost immediately where A Deadly Education left off。 El and her classmates are now seniors， and have to prepare themselves for the historically bloody graduation ceremony。 I’m not going to I。 Am。 Obsessed。I really enjoyed last year’s A Deadly Education。 I loved the sarcasm， humor and El in general as a protagonist。 After that cliffhanger， I was a little nervous about picking up this sequel considering how much I liked the first instalment。 I really shouldn’t have been。The Last Graduate picks up almost immediately where A Deadly Education left off。 El and her classmates are now seniors， and have to prepare themselves for the historically bloody graduation ceremony。 I’m not going to reveal more， but I promise you you’re in for a ride！I loved The Last Graduate even more than the first one。 Even though it’s a little slower paced at the beginning， it completely sucked me into the dark academia-setting of the Scholomance。 El is still an amazing， witty protagonist， and grows so much throughout this book。 She’s still sarcastic and rude， but she tries her best to make alliances with others even though she isn’t sure she likes that。 One of the things I was hoping to see more of after finishing A Deadly Education was more Aadya and Liu， and boy did Naomi Novik deliver！ El’s friends received a lot more screentime and their friendship was my favourite part of the book。 I felt that in general there was a lot more focus on character relationships and this is where the book really shines。The story （especially the last half！） is action-packed， full of clever twist and turns。 There’s a lot going on in this world， but the banter and the snark really balance this out and made this a page-turner which I finished in a day。However， if the infodumps in the first book didn’t work for you， this one might not either。 El might pause in the middle of a sequence to explain paragraphs of info to the reader and I personally love it but I can see why this wouldn’t work for everyone。Overall， I loved this book， and I honestly regret getting an arc because now I’ll have to wait longer for part 3。 I think this is a great follow-up to A Deadly Education and I think fans will be delighted to read this sequel。 Also， if you thought the cliffhanger of the first book was cruel， you are not prepared。Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me this arc in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
AJ
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Advance Reader Copy provided by Random House Publishing Group | Del ReyReview cross-posted on NetGalley___Novik once again displays her YA fantasy chops in Book 2 of the Scholomance series。It's a pleasure to see El's character development in this installment， as well as side characters getting their chances to shine in the spotlight。 A Novik book through and through， which means "The Last Graduate" has the expected amounts of sundry explanations that attempt to build the world， but only serve to Advance Reader Copy provided by Random House Publishing Group | Del ReyReview cross-posted on NetGalley___Novik once again displays her YA fantasy chops in Book 2 of the Scholomance series。It's a pleasure to see El's character development in this installment， as well as side characters getting their chances to shine in the spotlight。 A Novik book through and through， which means "The Last Graduate" has the expected amounts of sundry explanations that attempt to build the world， but only serve to make me yawn。 Now， there is also the added drudgery of mundane high school/secondary school routines that stall the plot even more。 Despite this， I'm having a lot of fun。 The edginess borders on camp。 The power of friendship rivals the power of magic。 The characters remain true to their teenage selves no matter how high the stakes rise。 Pockets of cheesiness crop up， but don't detract much from the general vibe。 The romance is mad and our characters acknowledge that it's mad yet they （I） insanely persevere。 I had my suspicions early in Book 1 and I'm extraordinarily pleased to say that Novik confirmed them here。 Worth the finish。If you know what you like and you know the genre， this series can't steer you wrong。 I'm already salivating over the next installment。 4。5/5 。。。more
Skippypeanuts
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First of all， thank you to Librofm for a copy of the audio book。Anisha Dadia once again did a great job of bringing El and all of the students of the Scholomance to life。 We join El right where the first book left off as she starts her senior year。 Right away things are complicated， from her mom's note， a ridiculous schedule， and the fact that it seems like the school is specifically trying to kill her。 I couldn't turn off this second installment of the series and I can't wait for the next one！ First of all， thank you to Librofm for a copy of the audio book。Anisha Dadia once again did a great job of bringing El and all of the students of the Scholomance to life。 We join El right where the first book left off as she starts her senior year。 Right away things are complicated， from her mom's note， a ridiculous schedule， and the fact that it seems like the school is specifically trying to kill her。 I couldn't turn off this second installment of the series and I can't wait for the next one！ 。。。more
Tasha Robinson
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Oooh， this book is going to drive people nuts， and I'm all for it。 This sequel to A Deadly Education is much simpler than the first book — less to explain and set up， but also less focus on characters besides El， and more focus on her plans and her internal struggles。 I'm surprised to see this one's actually longer than the first book， because it feels so much shorter and goes so much faster as the action and urgency wrap up。 And then it ends on a monster of a note that people will see coming a Oooh， this book is going to drive people nuts， and I'm all for it。 This sequel to A Deadly Education is much simpler than the first book — less to explain and set up， but also less focus on characters besides El， and more focus on her plans and her internal struggles。 I'm surprised to see this one's actually longer than the first book， because it feels so much shorter and goes so much faster as the action and urgency wrap up。 And then it ends on a monster of a note that people will see coming a long way off and stress over right up until it happens… the author is a monster， and again， I'm all for it。 。。。more
Nikki McClaran
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Thanks to NetGalley， Naomi Novik and Random House Publishing for letting me read and review an advanced copy of this book。The Last Graduate picks up right where A Deadly Education ended。 El， Orion， and the crew have saved the day for many others， but now， as seniors， they must save their own。 Unsure of whether they've truly fixed the cleansing system to reduce the population of the mal's that will undoubtedly attach them graduate day， El is feeling more pressure than ever to get prepared。 The on Thanks to NetGalley， Naomi Novik and Random House Publishing for letting me read and review an advanced copy of this book。The Last Graduate picks up right where A Deadly Education ended。 El， Orion， and the crew have saved the day for many others， but now， as seniors， they must save their own。 Unsure of whether they've truly fixed the cleansing system to reduce the population of the mal's that will undoubtedly attach them graduate day， El is feeling more pressure than ever to get prepared。 The only problem？ The school， the actual literal school， seems to have it out for her。 Unlike A Deadly Education， which felt more like a typical school-set YA fantasy， The Last Graduate delves more into the politics of their world， and its people， forcing El to not only confront the physical challenges that lay ahead but the psychological and mental ones that are much harder to figure out。 Prejudice， distrust， power plays- it's all here。 I， for one， really enjoyed that aspect。 I also fell more in love with El as a character。 She's grown a lot since the first book， and here， you see her figure out who she wants to be， not only in the school but if she ever makes it out alive。 There were definitely times I wanted to yell at her （and Orion） for many of their immature behaviors， but they're only 17/18。。。 what can you expect？Why is my rating not higher？ I remember A Deadly Education being a bit dense to read due to the writing style。 I feel like it's gotten even worse here。 There were so many paragraphs I ended up skimming （which I never do） simply because they felt so unnecessarily long。 The writing style， itself， is also a bit cumbersome to read。 Several times I had to say the sentences out loud because I couldn't figure out what it was trying to say。 Also， there's a lot of worldbuilding here if you count descriptions of the mals （the monsters attempting to eat them） but the logic of the school and the world itself has been a bit difficult to believe。 Wizards are supposed to be the apex predators as adults， but for some reason， they've never been able to figure out a better system than sending all of their children to a school that feeds them moldy food each day？ This criticism feels like it should be placed in the first installment， but there are quite a few times it's explained/justified here （though never in a super believable way）， which is why I think it still bothered me。 Have no doubt though， I'm super excited to read the next installment。 （view spoiler）[ Especially as this ended on a major cliffhanger。 （hide spoiler）]。 。。。more
Janine
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If you enjoyed A Deadly Education， I have no doubt you will enjoy The Last Graduate。 It continues the fascinating premise of a school like no other。 One which has the sole purpose of trying to protect magical teenagers， whilst simultaneously managing to put them in frequent mortal peril！ El's final year takes it to a whole new level of madness and danger。 The world building within the scholomance is brilliant and I particularly enjoyed learning about its original design and intentions。 Just like If you enjoyed A Deadly Education， I have no doubt you will enjoy The Last Graduate。 It continues the fascinating premise of a school like no other。 One which has the sole purpose of trying to protect magical teenagers， whilst simultaneously managing to put them in frequent mortal peril！ El's final year takes it to a whole new level of madness and danger。 The world building within the scholomance is brilliant and I particularly enjoyed learning about its original design and intentions。 Just like the first book， this one does end with a pretty big cliffhanger。 It still has satisfying resolutions for a lot of what builds up over the book so I wasn't too frustrated， but if you really can't stand a dramatic cliffhanger ending， perhaps wait until we have a date for book 3 before you start reading this one！A highly recommended sequel for fans of A Deadly Education。 Action-packed， intriguing and kept me guessing right up until the last second （and beyond！）Thanks to NetGalley for providing me an e-copy of the book in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Kari
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Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read and review an advanced copy。 First off， be aware this is the second book in a trilogy so you will want to read the first one before reading this one。 And this ends in a cliffhanger much like the beloved shows i watched as a kid and then had to wait all summer to find out what happened， everyone has to wait another year or so to fund out what happens after the end。 In this book， the writing style is the same as the previous which I am not a huge fan Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read and review an advanced copy。 First off， be aware this is the second book in a trilogy so you will want to read the first one before reading this one。 And this ends in a cliffhanger much like the beloved shows i watched as a kid and then had to wait all summer to find out what happened， everyone has to wait another year or so to fund out what happens after the end。 In this book， the writing style is the same as the previous which I am not a huge fan of。 We do get to see more of the side characters and see more personality from El which is nice。 I personally， just find the writing hard to stay interested in， even in exciting scenes。 I think this concept would work better as a TV show than a book but it is definitely worth giving a try。 。。。more
Celene Seals
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Like in the first book， we return to the Scholomance， a place like Hogwarts but with a feel like Hunger Games， because this magical school tries to kill you the entire four years you attend while learning magic。 I enjoyed this sequel more so than the first。 Partly I believe， because I was attached to the characters already and loved the continuation of their next semester。 I was flying through this book and really enjoying the storyline。 However， about midway through the book， I hit a snag and b Like in the first book， we return to the Scholomance， a place like Hogwarts but with a feel like Hunger Games， because this magical school tries to kill you the entire four years you attend while learning magic。 I enjoyed this sequel more so than the first。 Partly I believe， because I was attached to the characters already and loved the continuation of their next semester。 I was flying through this book and really enjoying the storyline。 However， about midway through the book， I hit a snag and began to drift and lose interest making it harder to finish。 I feel the author spent too much time in the trial obstacle course the students were practicing before the big finale of graduation and I became bored with it。 I still enjoy the characters。 I like sarcastic El and good natured Orion。 I also liked how Chloe had more of a likeable role in this book and played a bigger part。 I also enjoyed the political aspect with the enclaves and how it played a significant role with the students as they neared graduation。 It definitely picked back up for me at the end。 It was action packed！ And whew！ That ending！ This one ends on another cliffhanger and， of course， left me ready to read book 3！ ***Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me an advanced copy of this book！ 。。。more
Kim Chapman
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As with A Deadly Education， book 1 the Scholomance， I liked the characters， especially El， who you get to know a lot better in this book。 The world building and setting is good。 But I still cannot get on with the writing style used。 It’s really slow going and long winded。 I think if you enjoyed A Deadly Education then you’ll enjoy this book also。
Adriana
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This book is so good。 It blows almost every other modern set fantasy I've read out of the water。 From the expertly paced plot and brilliant character development to the unexpected turns the plot takes， every word in this book is there to pull you into the story and care deeply about its characters。 It's not just about El and Orion anymore， it's about the friends El never thought she'd have， the other graduating seniors， and all the kids fighting for survival within the Scholomance。 The stakes ar This book is so good。 It blows almost every other modern set fantasy I've read out of the water。 From the expertly paced plot and brilliant character development to the unexpected turns the plot takes， every word in this book is there to pull you into the story and care deeply about its characters。 It's not just about El and Orion anymore， it's about the friends El never thought she'd have， the other graduating seniors， and all the kids fighting for survival within the Scholomance。 The stakes are even higher and it's going to take everything El and the rest of the students have to make sure they survive Graduation。 I try not to mention things like this in reviews but I am mightily peeved at Novik for the cliffhanger she leaves us with and would have appreciated some advanced warning。 I am reading the next book in this series as soon as I can get my hands on it because my heart cannot accept that ending。 I don't have the words to recommend this book as much as I want to other than just promising that the read is truly worth it。Many extremely happy thanks to NetGalley and Del Rey Books for the early read！ 。。。more
Cherie
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That ending！ I need book 3 right now。
Sarah
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Oh。 My。 God。 You know who I want to have a word with right now？ Novik。 How dare you do this to me！？！？
Sam Worby
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I loved this book so much。 It’s over the top， ridiculous and full of plot holes but it’s brilliant。 It had me in tears so many times。 Really looking forward to book 3。
Minna
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Ok。 I'll start with the standard: thank you， thank you， THANK YOU to NetGalley， to Del Rey， and to Ms。 Novik for the opportunity to read an ARC of this amazing book。 An honest review was requested but not required。I've been sitting on reviewing this because， well， THAT ENDING。 OMG。 THAT ENDING。 That ending in which I frantically tried to turn pages on my kindle app， absolutely convinced that there was more， please God let there be more， maybe my copy is defective？So， basically， this happened:den Ok。 I'll start with the standard: thank you， thank you， THANK YOU to NetGalley， to Del Rey， and to Ms。 Novik for the opportunity to read an ARC of this amazing book。 An honest review was requested but not required。I've been sitting on reviewing this because， well， THAT ENDING。 OMG。 THAT ENDING。 That ending in which I frantically tried to turn pages on my kindle app， absolutely convinced that there was more， please God let there be more， maybe my copy is defective？So， basically， this happened:denial: THIS CAN'T BE IT。 Obviously my ARC is defective。 There are more pages; I just can't get to them。 Power down， restart， re-open app， WHERE ARE THEY？！？！？！？！？anger: This is such crap。 Naomi Novik， you absolute jerk。 How DARE YOU end the book this way？bargaining: Ugh。 Ok。 Let's check Amazon and Goodreads RIGHT NOW and see if there are any comments from people who maybe， possibly， got a non-defective ARC？ And I can just message them and find out the REAL ending？depression: How am I going to make it through the next year/year and a half/two years？ How could it end this way？ This is the WORST。acceptance: OK。 There is a book #3。 There *IS* a book #3。 All is not lost。 I can wait patiently。 I can plow through my TBR while I wait to distract myself。 CURSE YOU NAOMI NOVIK。Yes well ok so basically this book was amazing。 El is so much more relatable now that her crusty， cranky exterior has been exposed and we all know there is a tiny， vulnerable， caring heart on the inside。 Her friendships with Aadhya and Liu are so rewarding， not to mention her gradual thaw towards Orion （finally！）。 There is just *so* much to love here。 Every little tiny detail just adds to the atmosphere of the school， the magic， the relationships between the kids， the world in general。 Naomi Novik is such a master of building these complete worlds that the reader can totally believe and immerse themselves in。 Don't be fooled: this is definitely a sequel; you should ABSOLUTELY NOT read this without having read A Deadly Education。 But good news abounds also！ It's also NOT a bridge book。 This book has a definite plot of its own， with a forward momentum and an end goal （graduation）。 Best of all， That Ending leaves El in a perfect position for a third story， which OMG， please be advised， to get my hands on it， I will trample you like a senior in the middle of an enclaver team heading out the front doors of the Scholomance。 Sigh。 It was amazing。。。。 and now I will have to waaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiit patiently for book #3。 。。。more
Issi
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Wow， I struggled to get into this one！ I was hoping after all the world-building in the first book this one would be more focused on the plot and characters。 However， much like the first novel， this was a lot of telling and not showing。 For example， our main character El would start to perform a spell and instead of just letting us see what happens as a result of that spell， would give us a few paragraphs of inner monologue describing how she was taught the spell by a boy in her school and descr Wow， I struggled to get into this one！ I was hoping after all the world-building in the first book this one would be more focused on the plot and characters。 However， much like the first novel， this was a lot of telling and not showing。 For example， our main character El would start to perform a spell and instead of just letting us see what happens as a result of that spell， would give us a few paragraphs of inner monologue describing how she was taught the spell by a boy in her school and describing that interaction， taking us out of the action completely。 Personally， this style of writing just is not for me。 I did really enjoy the last third of the book， however， as El finally had more than just a paragraph or so of interaction with other characters and the plot was starting to pick up。 Much like the first book this one ended on a cliffhanger and I am interested in these characters so I will be picking it up！ 。。。more
Tika
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Fully enjoying this series。 I don’t usually react out loud to audiobook but I definitely said “WHAT？！？” out loud at the end。 Onward to book 3， which doesn’t even have a title yet， arghhhhh。
Shilo Quetchenbach
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I jumped right into this one immediately after finishing the first so they've blurred together a little bit， but I can say for sure that I absolutely loved it。 The writing style is gorgeous and I love El。 She has the best sarcasm and knee-jerk angry reactions to things。 Her default state is basically seething with fury。 And having her as a narrator and seeing the Scholomance through her eyes made me love it so much more。 She has such a vivid personality and is basically a force of nature that ma I jumped right into this one immediately after finishing the first so they've blurred together a little bit， but I can say for sure that I absolutely loved it。 The writing style is gorgeous and I love El。 She has the best sarcasm and knee-jerk angry reactions to things。 Her default state is basically seething with fury。 And having her as a narrator and seeing the Scholomance through her eyes made me love it so much more。 She has such a vivid personality and is basically a force of nature that makes it impossible to look away from her。I loved seeing El grow through the story as she learned how to be herself when not alone all the time， how to depend on （and like， and even care about） other people。 I also love the incredibly wide variety of terrible monsters that Naomi Novik has dreamed up。 It's impressive， really， in a horrifying sort of way。 I saw the twist at the end coming from a ways off （really it was inevitable） but it still got me and that cliffhanger was terrible！ I can't believe I have to wait a year for the conclusion lol。As with the first book， I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since I started， and I've spent rather a lot of time since finishing it dreaming up potential ways it could continue。 Honestly I've got no clue where the story is going next but I will be happy to be along for the ride。*Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine， Del Rey for providing an e-arc for review。 。。。more
Eleanor
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Well， Novik certainly knows how to end a book。
Katherine Ehlers
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Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review。In The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik， El and the rest of her class are seniors， staring down a year of preparation before the desperate sprint through the graduation hall that will determine if they make it out of the Scholomance alive。 If practicing to make it through hordes of hungry malificaria wasn’t enough， the school seems to be targeting El specifically， throwing constant attack Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review。In The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik， El and the rest of her class are seniors， staring down a year of preparation before the desperate sprint through the graduation hall that will determine if they make it out of the Scholomance alive。 If practicing to make it through hordes of hungry malificaria wasn’t enough， the school seems to be targeting El specifically， throwing constant attacks that force her to choose between saving the students around her and building enough mana to make it though graduation herself。 As the year goes on， it seems clearer that El will have to pit herself against not only the school and her fellow students， but the very systems underpinning magical education， with the lives of the entire graduating class and possibly every magical child in the balance。After reading the final sentence， I had exactly one reaction to express to the author and it’s this: How DARE you？ Having gotten that reaction off my chest， it would be followed by extended and embarrassing begging to find out what happens next because it ends on a massive cliffhanger。 As the second book in a trilogy， most of the story feels like a typical bridge book， but I thought I knew where the story was going and was content to spend more time with the characters I loved and Novik’s excellent writing while this book set up the story for the finale。 And then around 75% of the way through， Novik ripped the rug right out from under me and the pace of the book kicked into high gear。 I absolutely did not see the ending coming （although in retrospect I should have） and am now experiencing extreme frustration over how long it’s going to be before I might conceivably get my hands on the final book and find out where this is going。 Beyond telling an amazing fantasy story， The Last Graduate brings in threads of friendship， ethics， privilege， finding your way， and questioning systems of power that keep us focused on surviving as an individual over thriving as a group。 El continues her journey of stubbornly rejecting her prophesied fate to become a dark sorceress and it’s a lot of fun watching her grumpily march through learning to help others， ask for help herself， and accept that other people might care about her。 This isn’t a good place to enter the series if you haven’t read the first book， A Deadly Education （which is great and you should read it if you haven’t）， and the slower start of the book makes this 4 stars for me instead of 5， but overall this is an engaging continuation of a story I’m eager to see finished in the third book of the trilogy whenever it comes out。 。。。more
Caitlyn
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Ugh， I want to like this series more than I actually do。 The concept is so unique and interesting and there is such a darkness to the novel and the plot。 For me， I think I just don’t like the author’s writing style。 It is a lot of internal monologue and descriptions that I find the plot dragging。 There is a lot of telling and not a lot of showing。I did feel like I learned a bit more about some of the side characters in this book。 But how these backstories were told was a bit under developed。 Aft Ugh， I want to like this series more than I actually do。 The concept is so unique and interesting and there is such a darkness to the novel and the plot。 For me， I think I just don’t like the author’s writing style。 It is a lot of internal monologue and descriptions that I find the plot dragging。 There is a lot of telling and not a lot of showing。I did feel like I learned a bit more about some of the side characters in this book。 But how these backstories were told was a bit under developed。 After this book， I still only really felt connected to El as a character。The ending was another cliffhanger so that will probably make me keep reading。 Overall I think the writing style just misses the mark for me when it comes to fantasy writing。 。。。more
Tessa （Talks Books）
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What I LovedThe Last Graduate by Naomi Novik is an exciting， original， and fascinating story of a magical school and its students。 El， the main character， is the story for me， and I adore the character。 She sets the tone and pace of the book， which is sardonic and fast， respectively。 El （Galadriel） is a strong young woman who doesn’t see herself as others see her。 She thinks everyone sees a black cloud destined to doom life as they know it， as was predicted by her father’s family when she was bo What I LovedThe Last Graduate by Naomi Novik is an exciting， original， and fascinating story of a magical school and its students。 El， the main character， is the story for me， and I adore the character。 She sets the tone and pace of the book， which is sardonic and fast， respectively。 El （Galadriel） is a strong young woman who doesn’t see herself as others see her。 She thinks everyone sees a black cloud destined to doom life as they know it， as was predicted by her father’s family when she was born。 What I see is a young woman coming into her own。 She’s a natural-born leader who solves problems creatively and with ease。 Her magical powers are beyond compare， and her relationships are held solid and firm in mutual respect and love。 She is one of the best， most admirable characters I have experienced in a long time， and the growth she has been experiencing during this story leaves me in awe。I also adored her pet mouse， Precious， who is intelligent and sassy， just like El。 A pet has never reflected its person more than Precious does El， and it adds bits of humor throughout the story。 And how fun is it that the small group of friends she surrounds herself with each has their per mice， and they all carry them in a container around their necks。The themes in the story are universal。 The prophecy versus free will theme reflects the importance of not letting other people define us and the importance of our choices。 At the same time， the theme of community is probably the most important one。 The kids in this school tend to think on individual terms—every man for himself and survival of the fittest。 There is no room for “we。” Only thinking of the “I” is how you might survive。 Yet each student longs to be part of an enclave。 The students who were born into one are the most likely to survive this school。 They have the means and the resources to aid them。 They traverse this dangerous world in a pack rather than as individuals。Lastly， the romance between El and Orion Lake is funny and sweet and adds truly heartwarming components to the story。 Orion has made it his mission to save everybody from killer mals that infiltrate the school anytime a portal is opened。 El quickly became the one he enjoyed saving the most。 In book 1， A Deadly Education， El realizes that Orion is around her a lot， and her reaction is priceless。 There is much about them that fits， and it is to the point where it feels like they are two parts of a whole。 CharactersI’ve already said a lot about El， but she is also surrounded by the most well-developed support characters that I just loved reading about。 Aadhya， Chloe， and the rest are a collection of misfit toys that don’t have an enclave and enclave friends。 Their friendship is solid and true， and the genuineness feels right。What I WishMy only wish is that there was more dialogue in the story。 With a large amount of exposition， I sometimes felt like I was reading and reading and not advancing very many pages。 The story is very dense， and more dialogue would free it up and make the pages turn more quickly。To Read or Not to ReadIf you love original fantasy stories with incredible world-building and characters that shine with relatable quirks and issues， you need to read the Scholomance series today。 。。。more
Victoria
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