The Last Graduate
- Downloads：5770
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-06-18 07:51:47
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Naomi Novik
- ISBN：0593357280
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
A budding dark sorceress determined not to use her formidable powers uncovers yet more secrets about the workings of her world in the stunning sequel to A Deadly Education， the start of Naomi Novik's groundbreaking crossover series。
At the Scholomance， El， Orion， and the other students are faced with their final year--and the looming specter of graduation， a deadly ritual that leaves few students alive in its wake。 El is determined that her chosen group will survive， but it is a prospect that is looking harder by the day as the savagery of the school ramps up。 Until El realizes that sometimes winning the game means throwing out all the rules 。 。 。
Praise for A Deadly Education
"The scholomance is the dark school of magic I've been waiting for， and its wise， witty， and monstrous heroine is one I'd happily follow anywhere--even into a school full of monsters。"--Katherine Arden， New York Times bestselling author of The Bear and the Nightingale
"Novik deliciously undoes expectations about magic schools， destined heroes， and family legacies。 A gorgeous book about monsters and monstrousness， chockablock with action， cleverness， and wit。"--#1 New York Times bestselling author Holly Black
"A must-read 。 。 。 Novik puts a refreshingly dark， adult spin on the magical boarding school。 。 。 。 Readers will delight in the push-and-pull of El and Orion's relationship， the fantastically detailed world， the clever magic system， and the matter-of-fact diversity of the student body。"--Publishers Weekly （starred review）
At the Scholomance， El， Orion， and the other students are faced with their final year--and the looming specter of graduation， a deadly ritual that leaves few students alive in its wake。 El is determined that her chosen group will survive， but it is a prospect that is looking harder by the day as the savagery of the school ramps up。 Until El realizes that sometimes winning the game means throwing out all the rules 。 。 。
Praise for A Deadly Education
"The scholomance is the dark school of magic I've been waiting for， and its wise， witty， and monstrous heroine is one I'd happily follow anywhere--even into a school full of monsters。"--Katherine Arden， New York Times bestselling author of The Bear and the Nightingale
"Novik deliciously undoes expectations about magic schools， destined heroes， and family legacies。 A gorgeous book about monsters and monstrousness， chockablock with action， cleverness， and wit。"--#1 New York Times bestselling author Holly Black
"A must-read 。 。 。 Novik puts a refreshingly dark， adult spin on the magical boarding school。 。 。 。 Readers will delight in the push-and-pull of El and Orion's relationship， the fantastically detailed world， the clever magic system， and the matter-of-fact diversity of the student body。"--Publishers Weekly （starred review）
Reviews
Gemma
，
The Last Graduate is wild。 I’m torn because the story and character development is amazing， but the writing is very dense and hard to keep up with。 As with the first book， most of the book is told to the reader， with little dialogue and a lot of world building。 As such， the beginning took some time to get through as there was no clear conflict or resolution that the main character must overcome until nearly the end of the book。 We’re aware that all students of the Scholomance need to survive the The Last Graduate is wild。 I’m torn because the story and character development is amazing， but the writing is very dense and hard to keep up with。 As with the first book， most of the book is told to the reader， with little dialogue and a lot of world building。 As such， the beginning took some time to get through as there was no clear conflict or resolution that the main character must overcome until nearly the end of the book。 We’re aware that all students of the Scholomance need to survive the final trials at graduation since the first book， but this isn’t set into motion until the second half of this book。 I will say that the climax of the book is explosive and thrilling， and was easily the strongest part of Graduate。I wish the writing wasn’t so dense。 The paragraphs are long and detailed with extensive world-building， to the point where I can only name off a few creatures because none of them seem important to remember anymore。 The author spends much of the book describing why something exists or its importance in the world’s history， but most of it isn’t relevant information for the plot。 Dialogue is few and far between; although El clearly speaks to her friends， we don’t actually get much conversations apart from a few lines once in a while。 I’ve yet to figure out why Novak deemed certain lines important enough to break away from her standard storytelling as the longest conversation I can remember presented in the book is banter between El and her friends。 El goes through a lot of changes。 When we first meet her， she is rude and standoffish and only looks out for herself， but by the end， she comes to care for others and is determined to save everyone。 The emotional impact is what made the finale so strong to me。 The buildup， the characters and their relationships， El’s growth as a character all came together for an intense final battle that left me wanting more。 I am pleased to find out that there will be another book in the series as I’m not quite ready to let El go just yet。 。。。more
Haleyyy
，
WHAT JUST HAPPENED AAAHHHH！！！ I really enjoyed the first book of this series but this book completely blew me away。 Novik's writing of El had me laughing constantly， she's such a fun character to follow。 This book was impossible to put down！ All the different evil creatures， the craziness of the school， the adorableness of Orion。。。 I am going to be going crazy until the 3rd book comes out！ thanks for the ARC netgalley！ WHAT JUST HAPPENED AAAHHHH！！！ I really enjoyed the first book of this series but this book completely blew me away。 Novik's writing of El had me laughing constantly， she's such a fun character to follow。 This book was impossible to put down！ All the different evil creatures， the craziness of the school， the adorableness of Orion。。。 I am going to be going crazy until the 3rd book comes out！ thanks for the ARC netgalley！ 。。。more
Andee
，
BLOG|INSTAGRAM|TWITTER|YOUTUBE Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review。3。5 stars， rounded up。The Scholomance and its students has returned。 As has the stream of consciousness narration that did the first book many， humorous favors。 Unfortunately， it did not do the same in the sequel。 It dampened some of the more extreme events in the book and made it hard to understand fully what was going on。 In a book that is， conceptually， a BLOG|INSTAGRAM|TWITTER|YOUTUBE Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review。3。5 stars， rounded up。The Scholomance and its students has returned。 As has the stream of consciousness narration that did the first book many， humorous favors。 Unfortunately， it did not do the same in the sequel。 It dampened some of the more extreme events in the book and made it hard to understand fully what was going on。 In a book that is， conceptually， a bit confusing on its own – this wasn’t a great experience。As a series continuation， I enjoyed this and it answered many questions I had。 It also left things open-ended enough that I am curious about what happens next。 From an enjoyment reading-only perspective though， I really struggled with this。 Full review on October 8th， 2021。 。。。more
Rosie Rizk
，
Monsters， a deadly school， and students desperate to survive Graduation。Another year in the school that's built to torture， maim， traumatize， and preferably eat its students by means of magical monsters and similar hazards， while also being the safest place for said students。 As expected， senior year is significantly worse than ever， where the school has it in for El， the students glimpse El's own horrific capabilities， and El has to balance her precarious social life， which for her， is way more Monsters， a deadly school， and students desperate to survive Graduation。Another year in the school that's built to torture， maim， traumatize， and preferably eat its students by means of magical monsters and similar hazards， while also being the safest place for said students。 As expected， senior year is significantly worse than ever， where the school has it in for El， the students glimpse El's own horrific capabilities， and El has to balance her precarious social life， which for her， is way more difficult than casting mass murder spells。The story picks off right where it ended， with El receiving a charming letter from the mother she hasn't heard from in years， warning her away from the first friend she ever made in her entire life。 Since this warning could be related to El's potential turnover to wicked witch of the world， it's probably good advice。 In the meantime， she still has to pass and survive daily life at the school， make plans for surviving Graduation （some monsters are big， some are BIGGER）， and avoid getting entangled in any enclave schemes。 Best of all， even with friends and a bit more optimism， El is still the same aggressive， rude， pragmatic girl that I love。 Where others put breaks on their rudeness for social politeness， El speaks from the depths of her dark hating heart， free and true to herself。Worst of all， her exposure to friends， to hope， and all those horrible good things like getting to know and care about other people has El getting concerned for those people and doing crazy things like sticking her neck out for them。 Growing a conscience before Graduation is the worst possible timing。There were plenty of plot twists in this book。 Everything seemed so clear and obvious， only to turn completely inside out halfway through in a way that works perfectly in hindsight。 I also liked how some of the side characters got their own mini arcs and backstories without taking over the main plot。The ending - wow， was that a cliffhanger。 Be warned: even though it feels like everything is all neatly wrapped up on the penultimate pages， the final words throw a major cliffhanger that I can't even imagine how the next book in the series will fix。 Usually， by the time one gets up to the final book in a series， all the major plot points have been set up， and it's smooth sailing through the final book。 We only read those final books for the details and satisfaction of coming to the end of the journey。 Here， I totally thought we hit happily ever after， only to be hit on the head with a hammer。 Not an evil hammer， per say。 It just reverberated louder because I wasn't expecting it at all。 But who am I to complain？ This means that there's going to be completely new adventures in the next book， and where is it already？I received a copy in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Alexis
，
Sarcastic， grumpy Galadriel is back in the second installment of The Scholomance series。 Facing their final year at Scholomance， El and her delightful band of misfit wizards are determined to survive。 When the school seems out to get her alone， El’s only hope of surviving may just be embracing her dark destiny。 I may be the odd one out here by saying I don’t understand why this is a separate book and not just part two of A Deadly Education。 The biggest issue I had while reading A Deadly Educatio Sarcastic， grumpy Galadriel is back in the second installment of The Scholomance series。 Facing their final year at Scholomance， El and her delightful band of misfit wizards are determined to survive。 When the school seems out to get her alone， El’s only hope of surviving may just be embracing her dark destiny。 I may be the odd one out here by saying I don’t understand why this is a separate book and not just part two of A Deadly Education。 The biggest issue I had while reading A Deadly Education was the lack of plot development， the entire book just felt like character driven world building。 What The Last Graduate fails to do as a sequel is reaffirm the plot of the last book， instead only referencing it when necessary。 It simply jumps right back into the story。 Had I read the books with a longer break between them， it would have taken half the book to get back into the groove of it。 That said， the book really was phenomenal。 I love the way the story is narrated through Galadriel， so the reader knows as much as she does or doesn’t。 It really allows the reader to be immersed into the plot and connect to the characters， because you feel like you are one of the characters。 This book also put more time into developing the gaps in the magic system and in the function of the school that were missing from A Deadly Education。 The writing is wonderful， the pacing is great， El’s character development was incredible。 The only thing I really wanted was more Orion。 I’ll be thinking about the ending obsessively until the third installment。 Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Jada
，
The Last Graduate is a great follow-up to A Deadly Education。 It picks up right where A Deadly Education leaves off and follows El， and her friends through their senior year at the Scholomance。 The Scholomance is a magical school unlike most you've read about。 It is much darker than most "school for magical kids" stories and that was one thing I really enjoyed about it。 I read The Last Graduate in one day and this was no exception， I read the whole book start to finish in one sitting。 The settin The Last Graduate is a great follow-up to A Deadly Education。 It picks up right where A Deadly Education leaves off and follows El， and her friends through their senior year at the Scholomance。 The Scholomance is a magical school unlike most you've read about。 It is much darker than most "school for magical kids" stories and that was one thing I really enjoyed about it。 I read The Last Graduate in one day and this was no exception， I read the whole book start to finish in one sitting。 The setting and world building are one of my favorite aspects of this book。 Naomi Novik writes great， really detailed and vivid descriptions that make you feel like you are in the Scholomance。 The magic system is pretty well developed and really unique。 I haven't read anything else like it and I read a lot of young adult fantasy and have read countless magical school fantasy series。El is also one of my favorite characters I have read lately。 There is great character growth and development from the first book to this one， and great development throughout this book as well。 I can't read books any longer where the characters don't change or grow at all。 El's growing realizations that her friends care about her and will stick around really showed how much she has grown from the first book。I would recommend this book to fans of young adult fantasy with a darker twist。 The book ends on a huge cliffhanger and I will be counting down until the third book will be released。Thank you to netgalley and Random House for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review。 All opinions are my own。 。。。more
Kristin
，
4。5Thank you netgalley for this arc。If you like dark magic & academy books， this one you will love。I also loved the ending。 Kudos to Naomi Novak！
Iris
，
Blew my grimy little socks off
Crystal Palmisano-dillard
，
My jaw is dropped。 El’s senior year starts off strangely。 Only she， and the freshmen students she’s been thrown in with for a class， are being constantly attacked by the mals。 Regardless of her new affiliation with Orion this only increases the distrust other students have for her （except her besties）。 Then alliances start to become a necessity as graduation looms。 The school seems to be throwing everything it can at them at higher and higher levels。 To what end？ Maybe not what you’d think。 Also My jaw is dropped。 El’s senior year starts off strangely。 Only she， and the freshmen students she’s been thrown in with for a class， are being constantly attacked by the mals。 Regardless of her new affiliation with Orion this only increases the distrust other students have for her （except her besties）。 Then alliances start to become a necessity as graduation looms。 The school seems to be throwing everything it can at them at higher and higher levels。 To what end？ Maybe not what you’d think。 Also El and Orion continue to grow closer and want more from and for each other。 How will that impact their graduation when it’s always been everyone for themselves？ #netgalley 。。。more
Katrina Goldsaito
，
When Naomi Novik builds a world it is with such depth and precision that even the logistics of the inner workings of a school， a world， the rules of magic， the politics of enclave are delicious and exciting。 The Last Graduate delves in to privilege and have decided it's also an allegory for inspiration and the creative process。 All those mals。 I'd follow the stories of these wonderful， multiethnic， multiracial characters through middle age， old age。 Up to Scholomance #13？ Thanks to #netgalley fo When Naomi Novik builds a world it is with such depth and precision that even the logistics of the inner workings of a school， a world， the rules of magic， the politics of enclave are delicious and exciting。 The Last Graduate delves in to privilege and have decided it's also an allegory for inspiration and the creative process。 All those mals。 I'd follow the stories of these wonderful， multiethnic， multiracial characters through middle age， old age。 Up to Scholomance #13？ Thanks to #netgalley for the uncorrected proof <3 。。。more
Brianna
，
Naomi Novak is a brilliant storyteller。 The Last Graduate is book two of the Scholomance series and does not disappoint。 El finds herself in her senior year facing a horrifying graduation day full of mals。 This book drew me in and did not let me go。 I can not wait to find out what book 3 entails！ This is a must read！！
Angela Shores
，
Better than the first one！！
Shreshtha
，
I am utterly ruined after reading this book！The second book picks up right from where the first one ended， and we all know how much that the last line of A Deadly Education had troubled us and The Last Graduate does follow in with the first one's footsteps。。。But we'll talk about that one later！As we all know that A Deadly Education had not answered most of our questions and most specifically the answers about the machinations of the scholomance。 The Last Graduate delves deeper into the scholoman I am utterly ruined after reading this book！The second book picks up right from where the first one ended， and we all know how much that the last line of A Deadly Education had troubled us and The Last Graduate does follow in with the first one's footsteps。。。But we'll talk about that one later！As we all know that A Deadly Education had not answered most of our questions and most specifically the answers about the machinations of the scholomance。 The Last Graduate delves deeper into the scholomance and gives us more understanding of how it works！The best feature of this book is certainly the subtle ways in which we get to see how El has changed just because of spending time with Orion。 （both of them are just so sweet together-you'll get all those moments that we wanted but didn't get in A Deadly Education）。 Moreover， it's not just the slight contrast we see on El after the events of book 1 but also we get even more character development of El throughout this book。 The ending and start of this book have some very stark differences。 Also， we get so much foreshadowing that most people will miss all those moments while reading them but get to know about them all when they move further into the story！I absolutely loved the way this story is paced and El is the most wonderful narrator who can add humor to even the bleakest of situations。 She's the biggest baddest bitch of all female characters that I have come across！And that ending？？！！ I am not in that emotional range right now to even talk about that ending！ For all the people who've read the previous book-the cliffhanger in this book is even more deadly than in A Deadly Education。 。。。more
Leslie Stokes
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 El - got everyone out of the Scholomance on graduation day， left Orion behind because he pushed her through the gateOrion - so good at killing mals he doesn't want to do anything else， in love with ElChloe - New York enclaver， helped El and Liu and Aadhya come up with the plan to get all students outThe plan was to pack the Scholomance with mals from the outside world， get all students out of the school， then El would rip the school from its foundations and send it off into the void。 She was one El - got everyone out of the Scholomance on graduation day， left Orion behind because he pushed her through the gateOrion - so good at killing mals he doesn't want to do anything else， in love with ElChloe - New York enclaver， helped El and Liu and Aadhya come up with the plan to get all students outThe plan was to pack the Scholomance with mals from the outside world， get all students out of the school， then El would rip the school from its foundations and send it off into the void。 She was one word from finishing that spell when Patience （maw-mouth） came through the gate and completely covered the shield surrounding her and Orion。 When O shoved her through the gate， I'm assuming the shield went with her， so Orion got engulfed by Patience？ 。。。more
Mehak
，
OH MY GOD IS IT OUT I WANT IT OMG！！ AHAHHHHHA AAAAAHHHHH AAAAAHHHHH AAAAAHHHHH AAAAAHHHHH IM GONNA DIE
Allison
，
Review to be posted on publication date。 Thank you #NetGalley and Random House for the ARC！
Alana
，
I THINK they asked reviewers to hold off on this one till close to review date but I think I accidentally deleted the email so I'll just go with *INCOHERENT SCREAMS* as a placeholder for nowReview based on ARC I THINK they asked reviewers to hold off on this one till close to review date but I think I accidentally deleted the email so I'll just go with *INCOHERENT SCREAMS* as a placeholder for nowReview based on ARC 。。。more
Cressa
，
Are you kidding me？？？！！！！！ The ending， the freaking huge cliffhanger。 Its been a long time since I finished a book and wanted to throw it across the room screaming because of the ending。 Now that I've calmed down a bit。 I really enjoy the relationship between El and Orion。 It feels like what two horny teens really would do。 I appreciated the accurate sex scene （ not spicy but you got the drift）。 I like that El has opened up herself and how much he life changed because of it。 Now I have to wait a Are you kidding me？？？！！！！！ The ending， the freaking huge cliffhanger。 Its been a long time since I finished a book and wanted to throw it across the room screaming because of the ending。 Now that I've calmed down a bit。 I really enjoy the relationship between El and Orion。 It feels like what two horny teens really would do。 I appreciated the accurate sex scene （ not spicy but you got the drift）。 I like that El has opened up herself and how much he life changed because of it。 Now I have to wait a year to find out what happens and hope I'm able to get another ARC。 Thank you for ARC From Netgalley。 。。。more
A。J。
，
Think of The Last Graduate as a pot of water， and you’re the frog happily splashing around in it， until suddenly you realize the water’s slowly been getting hotter and now it’s boiling and you’re left going “ohno ohno ohno oHNO。” Yes。 That is this book。 TLG takes everything good and glorious from its predecessor and makes it even more magnificent。 The character depth is extraordinary—El and Orion will forever go down as two of my favorite literary characters， and their relationship is one for th Think of The Last Graduate as a pot of water， and you’re the frog happily splashing around in it， until suddenly you realize the water’s slowly been getting hotter and now it’s boiling and you’re left going “ohno ohno ohno oHNO。” Yes。 That is this book。 TLG takes everything good and glorious from its predecessor and makes it even more magnificent。 The character depth is extraordinary—El and Orion will forever go down as two of my favorite literary characters， and their relationship is one for the books。 TLG has tremendous heights and abysmal depths—we see the characters fight， laugh， cry， all of it。 I laughed aloud many， many times， and had to recline with smelling salts several others。 Naomi Novik is a master of voice， character， and world-building， wielding dark humor to layer a killer story。 Anyway， I finished TLG sometime around midnight and couldn’t peel my gaze from the ceiling for about half an hr before I could pull the feels and thoughts together enough to function。 I will hereby camp out on my front door until my future pre-order of book 3 arrives。 Meanwhile， if you’d like to sign my petition requesting that future books henceforth be published as a complete finished series， please send a carrier pigeon （or mouse familiar） my way。 Eternal gratitude and reverent awe to Netgalley and the publisher for this e-arc of my most anticipated read of the year。 -Ande 。。。more
Jayme Waltz
，
NAOMI NOVIK！ How dare you。 I have no words。 This review will have to come at a later date but if you've read the first book， you HAVE to read the second。 And。if you haven't even read the first， what the hell are you waiting for？ NAOMI NOVIK！ How dare you。 I have no words。 This review will have to come at a later date but if you've read the first book， you HAVE to read the second。 And。if you haven't even read the first， what the hell are you waiting for？ 。。。more
Steph
，
A Deadly Education was one of my favorite reads last year and I can honestly say The Last Graduate was even better。 It is a tough one to review because I don't want to give anything away。 Let's just say that it is a bit of a rollercoaster ride and as soon as I think I can predict the whole book， the game changes。It picks up where it left off， which I always enjoy。 The school decides to send loads of mals at El and we can laugh at the irony that Orion isn't getting any mals and it is making him m A Deadly Education was one of my favorite reads last year and I can honestly say The Last Graduate was even better。 It is a tough one to review because I don't want to give anything away。 Let's just say that it is a bit of a rollercoaster ride and as soon as I think I can predict the whole book， the game changes。It picks up where it left off， which I always enjoy。 The school decides to send loads of mals at El and we can laugh at the irony that Orion isn't getting any mals and it is making him miserable。 El has a lot of character growth in this book。 El and Orion evolve beautifully， but he is barely in the book for a while。 The ending has a terrible cliffhanger and I would love to peek at the last book to see how it plays out。 If I could force Owlcrate to do a special edition of this book that matches their first， I totally would。 。。。more
Monica Hills
，
I could not stop reading this book！ I found myself ignoring my work so that I could read。 This was a spectacular second book in the Scholomance Series。 El is officially a senior。 She has a lot on her mind like how she is going to survive graduation and why her mom would want her to stay away from Orion。 To make things worse it seems like the school is actively out to kill her。 El starts to have the exact opposite kind of problems that she had in the first book as her classmates start to realize I could not stop reading this book！ I found myself ignoring my work so that I could read。 This was a spectacular second book in the Scholomance Series。 El is officially a senior。 She has a lot on her mind like how she is going to survive graduation and why her mom would want her to stay away from Orion。 To make things worse it seems like the school is actively out to kill her。 El starts to have the exact opposite kind of problems that she had in the first book as her classmates start to realize that she may be the only one who can help them graduate。 This book is action packed and filled with vivid detail that had me transported into their school。 I cannot rave enough about how much I loved this book。 My only complaint is the ending。 I received an advanced copy which I am so happy I got but the ending was an incredible cliff-hanger。 Now， I have even longer to wait to find out what happens。 This book is an amazing example of something different， edgy and a book that a teenager or 40 something adult would enjoy。 Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey Books for the advanced copy。 。。。more
Taryn Palmisano
，
The Last Graduate follows the aftermath of A Deadly Education。 Getting rid of the mals proves to have created another problem for not just the seniors at the Scholomance school for the magically gifted。 The least of it being how bored Orion is with so little mals to kill。 El has caught feelings and started devising a plan to make sure everyone can safely graduate。 She’s just going to need a bit of help。 Ok， a lot of help。 From everyone。 The Last Graduate is thorough， inventive and intelligent。 The Last Graduate follows the aftermath of A Deadly Education。 Getting rid of the mals proves to have created another problem for not just the seniors at the Scholomance school for the magically gifted。 The least of it being how bored Orion is with so little mals to kill。 El has caught feelings and started devising a plan to make sure everyone can safely graduate。 She’s just going to need a bit of help。 Ok， a lot of help。 From everyone。 The Last Graduate is thorough， inventive and intelligent。 There is such intricate world and character development that it is very easy to get lost in it。 The beginning has a lot of summarizing and describing what happened in the last book as well as what’s happening currently。 The first three months or so of the story feel very rushed when done like this。 It’s a bit like being trapped inside El’s head instead of experiencing the story。 Later on it seems to get over that。 The wonderful thing about a Novik book is that there is always something fresh and new。 Something that I’ve never heard of before or read before。 It is one thing to write a good book。 Which Novik can do splendidly。 It is on a whole other level to add something to the genre that will inspire authors to come。 Novik writes such inspiring works。 I would recommend this book to people who like it a little dark。 The one’s that root for the under dog。 Anyone who thought the idea of a magical school was a bit creepy instead of exciting。 。。。more
Tabor
，
I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review from NetGalleyIt's absolutely no surprise that Novik delivers a satisfying sequel to A Deadly Education that raises the stakes and delivers a gut-wrench ending that keeps you on the very edge of your seat。 This book returns as El along with her fellow classmates enters their final year at the Scholomance。 Fraught with dread and anxiety， the second book deals with the preparations for life after school， the necessary alliances and delivers into I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review from NetGalleyIt's absolutely no surprise that Novik delivers a satisfying sequel to A Deadly Education that raises the stakes and delivers a gut-wrench ending that keeps you on the very edge of your seat。 This book returns as El along with her fellow classmates enters their final year at the Scholomance。 Fraught with dread and anxiety， the second book deals with the preparations for life after school， the necessary alliances and delivers into the elite enclaves that El has disdainfully looked upon since her freshman year。 The Last Graduate is meaty and complex with world-building that only the brilliant Novik can pull off。 She expands the world of the Scholomance and even extends the scope outside of the school。 This nudges the reader into the direction of wondering what is going to happen to El after school and whether this ultimately， the beginning of our protagonist's tale。 This is not a series that is easy to delve into， but the complexities of the world and the concepts hinted at are well-worth the investment in time and mental space。 For the first book， I praised Novik's ability to capture that was a social outcast without falling into the usual stereotypical pitfalls。 She does a wonderful job of continuing to build upon El's character development from the first book and add nuance to her personality and thought processes。 As El begins to accept her powers， establishes her own alliance and even stumbles through her relationship with Orion， a metamorphosis shows itself to slowly be in the works。 However， the book carefully weaves El's great-grandmother's prophecy into the story as if to warn the reader not to get their hopes up。 And to answer your most sought-after answer， Novik deals with the cliff-hanger from the previous book in a way that is tantalizing。 I adore how Novik addresses the implication from the end of the book in El's methodical and scheming mind。 It is brilliantly addressed over the course of the book as Orion's character also slowly shows itself and his relationship with El blossoms beyond the heroic antics。 The story constantly raises the question of whether the reader truly understands the motivations and intentions of the characters that will keep you wondering until the end and then begging for the next book。 Overall， I predict that this is only the beginning of El's story。 For some reason， I keep imagining that The Scholomance series is only in its infancy。 This story feels like one being told by a narrow who is far older and wiser than the protagonist currently。 It feels like a long explanation of how a character came to power in a questionable light and attempts to answer a question posed by someone， who did not realize how complicated and long the answer would be。 All in all， I'm excited to experience this series from the beginning and I cannot wait for Novik to continue El's take。 。。。more
Lindsey
，
Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for providing me an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest reviewThe Last Graduate picks up right where A Deadly Education leaves off。 El， Orion， and the rest of their year are now seniors， and it is their turn to graduate from the scholomance。 I could not wait to read this book and it was just as fun， sarcastic， and surprising as I had hoped it would be。 I don’t want to give anything away so I will just reiterate that it was really really good！ El grows Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for providing me an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest reviewThe Last Graduate picks up right where A Deadly Education leaves off。 El， Orion， and the rest of their year are now seniors， and it is their turn to graduate from the scholomance。 I could not wait to read this book and it was just as fun， sarcastic， and surprising as I had hoped it would be。 I don’t want to give anything away so I will just reiterate that it was really really good！ El grows as a person and grows into her power。 The scholomance becomes a character in it’s own right。 And the ending！ just wow， what an ending。For some reason I had thought this was a two book series， but it’s a trilogy。 I'm excited for even more scholomance and I can’t wait to read what happens next！ 。。。more
Samantha
，
What the hell was that！ :（Thank god it’s a trilogy because
Librariann
，
** I received an advance copy of the book， because I am a librarian and librarians are awesome **I have been just DYING for this book since wrapping up on the first one last year， and I was NOT disappointed。 SLIGHTLY SPOILERY COMMENTARY （view spoiler）[ The same flaws that plagued A Deadly Education - lots of internal monologue by a prickly narrator， churning through the year by telling instead of showing - stick around in this one。 If they didn't bother you in book 1， they're not likely to make ** I received an advance copy of the book， because I am a librarian and librarians are awesome **I have been just DYING for this book since wrapping up on the first one last year， and I was NOT disappointed。 SLIGHTLY SPOILERY COMMENTARY （view spoiler）[ The same flaws that plagued A Deadly Education - lots of internal monologue by a prickly narrator， churning through the year by telling instead of showing - stick around in this one。 If they didn't bother you in book 1， they're not likely to make you NOT follow up with the sequel。 The most glaring issue， I think， was the near complete exclusion of Orion Lake from El's life （and not for a spelled-out reason） through most of the early part of the new year。 But listen， if you take this at face value， which is essentially next-level fanfiction of the Wizarding School trope， and if you are INTO THAT （which I am） this story takes you to all the right places。 It turns out the Scholomance is more than semi-sentient （of course） AND FORCES EL TO CARE FOR OTHER PEOPLE。 It's a flip of the script from the first book， where the school seems like the primary antagonist BUT HEY IT JUST DOESN'T REALLY KNOW WHAT TO DO， OK？ IT NEEDS HELP， TOO。 Also， the ENDING is TERRIBLE and it CANNOT END LIKE THAT and I AM BROKEN AND SCREAMING。 I really love the Wizard world that Novik has built and there are enough easter eggs throughout Book 2 that I REALLY wish that we can take a trip to see what it's like outside， for realsies （WHAT HAPPENED TO BANGKOK） but I don't know if that's the intent at all， and these two books certainly set out to tell a whole and complete story and succeed。 （hide spoiler）]Edited to add: OH I JUST LEARNED IT IS A TRILOGY THANK GOD。 。。。more
Nilufer Ozmekik
，
Hogwarts meets Deadly Class with Anakin Skywalker’s transition to Darth Vader vibes : this action packed， dark， extremely sarcastic， entertaining second book of the series absolutely hooks you from the first chapter and you wish not to finish in one sit: you hit your head so hard against the wall and keep cursing why you didn’t you go slower， savoring each chapter and enjoy every reading moment！ Especially that ending！ That freaking ending！ I literally howled like a crying wolf！ The impressive Hogwarts meets Deadly Class with Anakin Skywalker’s transition to Darth Vader vibes : this action packed， dark， extremely sarcastic， entertaining second book of the series absolutely hooks you from the first chapter and you wish not to finish in one sit: you hit your head so hard against the wall and keep cursing why you didn’t you go slower， savoring each chapter and enjoy every reading moment！ Especially that ending！ That freaking ending！ I literally howled like a crying wolf！ The impressive world building， action packed， heart pounding adventures， sarcastic ， balanced pace， extremely witty tone of El and her evolving characterization by learning how to control her power and her complicated love story with Orion （ yes， her mother wrote a letter to her to warm El about Orion: but could she stay away from him by listening her mother advise: hell no！ ） make your fingers glued to this reading。 I can say this new adventure is more about with will happen to our characters when they eventually graduate after their survival at the final year of Scholomance！ What kind of future awaiting for them？ Could El and Orion share a dreamy path at the outside world even though it seems more threatening they’ve been through recent years。 I’m not gonna give away more！ You gotta read this book and after reaching to jaw dropping， truly heart wrenching， WTH ending， I advise you to scream at the top of your lungs。 And start raising your hands to the air， praying for early release of third book！ I’m giving five magical， clever， mind blowing， wizard world， mana-full， happy graduation stars！ Special thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group/ Ballantine/ Del Rey for sharing the most anticipated book’s arc copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Last Graduate
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Last Graduate&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Last Graduate&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0