The Last Graduate picks up right where A Deadly Education leaves off, at the beginning of El’s senior year at Scholomance. The year where alliances are made and the pressure is on because the percentage of kids who make it through the graduation hall is low indeed. After fixing the cleansing equipment, though, it looks like El’s class might have the best graduation rate of Scholomance in years—if they can make it through their senior year.

The chances of that look high, too. Monster attacks have largely left off and El has a class schedule that should allow her to build up enough mana to make it home—if the monsters would stop seeking her out. While everyone else is breezing through, only dealing with the smallest of threats, all the big monsters who are left seem to drop right into whatever room El is in. She has to decide to look after herself or everyone else as each attack takes mana she can’t afford to lose. New alliances might be the answer, but sometimes thinking bigger is the only way to get the school off you’re back, and El’s dreams are already really big. Maybe she’ll actually be able to see them through.

The Last Graduate is a fantastic book in large part to Naomi Novik’s stunning world. I wish it hadn’t ended where it did, but after ranting about it to a friend for a few hours, she realized I was well and truly invested, and that’s all that we ask for in our favorite reads.

May the next book come quickly, and the wait not be slow.

If you loved the first, you’ll love the second. Novik turned everything upside down in a really wonderful way—I was amazed and delighted at how things developed. That cliffhanger ending did me in, but I adore this author, and I can’t wait for book three!

This was such a good follow up to A Deadly Education, picking up exactly where the first book ends. "The Last Graduate" follows El through her senior year as she and her allies struggle with the looming spectre of graduation. While the first book presented the Scholomance as a place that normalizes selfishness through necessity, this book addresses the basic flaws in that idea and wonders what would happen if they students began to look out for each other instead of just for themselves. El's slow growth from prickly loner to prickly ally and champion is fantastic. I love seeing her slowly figure herself out and learn to follow her ideals instead of doing what she feels is expected of her.

The Scholomance itself is as terrifying and fascinating as ever. Novik really digs into why people in a magical world would take such a lethal gamble with their children's lives, and we get more background on exactly how the school is supposed to function. The mals are super creepy as always, and I love how the book never lets us forget that all of this magic comes at a price. The few friends that El ended up with at the end of book one are back and just as good as ever, and she even manages to widen her friend group (kicking and screaming the whole time of course). Orion continues to be an adorable moron, and his relationship with El definitely progresses in this book, although it never takes center stage (which I like, since there's so much going on in the Scholomance that it would feel pretty off if the students were obsessing too much over romance).

As other reviewers have mentioned, this book ends on a pretty massive cliffhanger (although it also does reach a satisfying conclusion for the main arc of the book). If this is the kind of thing that bothers you then you may want to wait until book three is available before reading. I promise that after reading the last line you will immediately want more. The only reason that I'm sad that I got to read an ARC is that it makes the wait for book three that much longer. I can't wait to see what happens next.

Another excellent entry in Naomi Novik's newest series, and one that picks up directly after the ending to the first book so that title is required reading if you want to understand pretty much anything that is going on.

El continues to be a deliciously frustrating protagonist who is trying to grow as a person in light of what she has experienced, and I enjoyed her character arc as she tries to face down what she views as an now overtly hostile school that has its sights set directly on her. Despite feeling like I had a handle on what was going on in the book, I was surprised multiple times by some mid and late twists that had me skimming back over my copy of Deadly Education and this book to refresh my memory on some details to make sure I understood what was going on correctly.

An easy recommend for fans of the first book, though a warning should be issued that the same kind of cliffhanger ending situation that A Deadly Education had going on absolutely happens in this book as well, so be prepared to wait for the next book when starting this one.

This starts exactly where the last one ended. The last sentence of the first book if the first sentence in this one, which I liked, because I didn't have to worry about any time jumps. I did not re-read the first one, and it's definitely not necessary as Novik gives enough of a summary in spots to reorient the readers.

But the real MVP of the story is Precious. And I can't really say more than that because of spoilers, but I love Precious.

It does suffer a little from middle book syndrome. The pacing was a little off--not necessarily slow, but off--in a few places that's preventing me from giving it 5 stars.

It does feel like the first book--El's snarkiness knows no bounds--and I don't think readers will be disappointed. I really enjoyed El's character growth and learning more about the world outside the Scholomance.

Of course, there's a MASSIVE cliffhanger which is going to be agonizing waiting for book three. That's what I get for reading a galley a week after it's available.

I just finished reading an advance reader copy of The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik, and my initial reaction is

WHAT JUST HAPPENED? WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT?

Novik did an exceptional a job ratcheting up the tension at the end and making me want that next book NOW! Did what just seemed to happen really happen? I want to know! Now!

Overall I did not think The Last Graduate was quite as good as the first book, A Deadly Education, although it was still quite good. Main character El’s personality changed a little too much, other than her snark and her meanness toward Orion (which is hardly deserved when he is just a nice guy who wants to date her). I found it a little hard to believe that she changed that much. But I was looking for character growth, and I got it. I wasn’t quite sure why the mouse familiars exist. They didn’t really seem to add a lot to the story. (And why doesn’t El’s mouse Precious like Orion? Is it just jealousy?) Also, that title? It’s a spoiler.

There is some very nice stuff about being different and finding friends anyway. (“[I]t was the miracle all over again, the miracle I still couldn’t quite believe in: I wasn’t alone anymore. They were saving me, and I was going to save them. It felt more like magic than magic. As though it could make everything all right. As if the whole world had become a different place.” (Chapter 2 of the advance reader copy) There is a romance, but the friendships are every bit as important, as are the relationships between people who aren’t friends but still agree to work together to achieve a goal. At no point did my interest in reading this book wane.

If you enjoy books about magical schools, I highly recommend The Scholomance series; however you might want to wait until book 3 is on the horizon so you don’t have to wait, like me. The ending of book one left me in a similar state. When is that third book coming out, anyway?
#TheLastGraduate #NetGalley

The Last Graduate is a sequel to A Deadly Education and picks up precisely where the prior book left off on the last sentence. Trapped inside a school built to train young magic users and help better their chances of survival in the outside world, El and all her classmates have made it to their senior year and graduation is in sight, if they can stay alive until then. The rapid pace set in A Deadly Education has slowed down in an effort to clearly explain what is going on in the school and why El and her friends must make the choices they do. Unfortunately, the increase in exposition runs the risk of losing the reader. At one point, the narrator goes on a side note for multiple pages and then jarringly jumps right back in to the current point in the plot line and I had to re-read the section a few times in order to understand what was happening in the story. The last portion of the book picks up the pace again and ends on epic cliff hanger that astute readers might be able to see coming but will leave all craving for the next installment.

Just like after A Deadly Education, I have trouble thinking much upon finishing this book beyond, "When is the next one coming out??" I expect to be consumed by this for some time. Likely until I get my hands on the third Scholomancy book. And even then, even if El's story is wrapped beautifully and satisfyingly, I fully expect to want more.

The second of, I think, a planned three novels. I loved the first and recommended it to all my friends. I love the second just as much.
The first novel is the story of a junior year at a High School for magical kids. About 25% of any Freshman class makes it out the end alive. The second novel is the senior year and thanks to what the juniors did in the first novel it looks like more than 25% of their class may get out. Or not.
I loathe spoilers but do like reassurance about a book. I have decided that saying this book goes thru graduation is not too spoilery. Ms. Novik does not take us up to graduation and leave us hanging for the next. For that I am grateful.
The chapters are all titled. The last chapter is Patience and patience is what I am sorely lacking right now. I want more!

Excellent follow-up to A Deadly Education. It covers El's senior year in the Scholomance as she and her friends (and everyone in the school) prepares for the next graduation day.

Again, the book is told entirely from El's POV as she describes her life (to an unidentified audience). There is little dialogue but lots of action. It took me a while to get back into the pacing of the narration. In fact, this story may be well served as an audiobook.

Novik seems to have responded positively to the racist critiques from the first book. That said, El is still a POC character raised by White caregivers, a common trope that needs to be retired.

Warning: this book ends with a cliffhanger. Really. Not a surprise revelation in the first book. I'm going to have a long wait until the third book comes out.

The follow up to A Deadly Education was a fast paced ride. It picked up in the same moment where the last book ended. The entire book felt rushed, which in part helped illustrate the anxiety of the seniors and their upcoming "graduation". The twist of the school seemed, not in the spirit of what El originally though the school was, but it worked for the plot. The hygiene parts were unnecessary and I felt that the author spent too much time on it. Overall the book was an acceptable fantasy and those who read and enjoyed the first one will most likely like the follow up.

3.5 stars.

First, for the good - Novik seems to have listened to the feedback about racial insensitivity that she got after the publication of the first book in the series. While I don't believe this one is perfect, it was much more considered than A Deadly Education. I will be looking to see what BIPOC reviewers think, but this felt like an improvement to me.

As far as the book itself goes, I find myself torn. It was definitely a page-turner. El, while a frustrating character, grew in some important ways throughout this book. Novik clearly knows how to build tension. There's a plot twist about 60% of the way through the book that changed the direction of the narrative in a way I truly wasn't expecting.

Despite all of this, I remain unsure about this series. Though El does grow, she does so slowly and in a way that had me yelling at her in frustration. Some of the rules of the school seem to change to fit the needs of the plot instead of remaining consistent. Novik's habit of writing a plot moment followed by "I will now explain something that happened in the past and in order to establish a worldbuilding rule" got exhausting.

Also, if this is something you care about - it ends on a giant cliffhanger. (If you thought the first one had a cliffhanger, it doesn't even begin to compare to this one.)

Will I read the third one? Probably. But I don't really feel good about that.

What a fantastic follow up to A Deadly Education! This book literally picks up a day or two later after graduation in the first book. El has an unbelievably hard schedule for her senior year with a free afternoon once a week. When she realizes she shares this room with a group of freshman that are continually getting attacked by mals she begins to suspect the school has it out for her specifically.
I could not put this book down. If you enjoyed Deadly Education you'll enjoy this ride just as much. It ended on a huge cliffhanger so it looks like there will be another one to come! I'm so excited!

Oh, this book was very satisfying. The first-person, kind of stream-of-consciousness narration has grown on me a lot since the first book in the series, where it put me off a little. This entry in the series showed the senior class of the Scholomance going above and beyond coming into their own. It was full of sinister magical boarding school monsters and epic inspiring heroics. I can't wait to read what happens next!

I loved this even more than the first book, which I found difficult to get through in places. However, I breezed right through this book. Watching El grow and change as a person was my favorite part of this book, and I love her as a narrator- she’s just so human. I did occasionally have a hard time keeping track of some characters, but overall I loved this and was thrilled to finally read it!

Scholomance isn't the sort of magical boarding school with twee houses or twinkly-eyed head masters offering wisdom. Instead, Scholomance is a magical teenager's best chance of making it to adulthood. This is because young wizards are DELICIOUS to monsters, and the odds of making it to adulthood without the protection of Scholomance are low.

The Last Graduate picks off immediately where A Deadly Education leaves off. El, Orion, and their peers are now faced with the ultimate challenge: their senior year. As El begins her new classes and tries to recover much needed resources for the upcoming battle, she realizes that the game has changed-- and gotten even more deadly.

If you enjoyed A Deadly Education, you will probably like this too. Our POV character is still Galadriel (or El, as she prefers), and she's still a snarky, sullen teenager. Novik continues to capture that voice so well. Like the prior volume, this is primarily exposition with A LOT of tangents, which will undoubtedly grate on some readers but I found charmingly engrossing (I went to bed late and picked it up first thing the next morning).

I can think of many second volumes in other series where it feels like nothing happens. That is not the case here. The stakes are even higher (and with much more to lose). There's some really good character development, not just for El but a host of secondary characters. There is also a CRIMINAL cliffhanger that leads me to believe Novik subsists on reader tears.

The first volume received some accusations of bad representation (detailed here), which the author addressed in this post here. I found value and enjoyment in the first book despite these flaws, and Novik vowed to do better in the future. While I would very much like to hear from desi and black readers, I feel like Novik made a sincere effort to deliver on her promise.

I'll wait with bated breath for the third volume.

This is the perfect sequel to A Deadly Education. In fact, after reading The Last Graduate, I am now rereading A Deadly Education. Excellent!!!

I saw this book come up on Netgalley and thought I would die of wanting in the hours it took for approval. I loved the first book in the series, and have waited with absolutely no patience for the sequel - and it was worth it. I think Novik continues to grow as a writer, and I enjoyed El growing as a character!

I loved the last book so much that the lack of love that people gave it made me sad. If you're insulted, it's not my place to tell you not to be. But the way people didn't love El's hedgehog dilemma made me sad. El has spent her whole life being rejected by everyone except her mom. In the first book, she hesitatingly gains two friends. In this book, she has to deal with actually opening her heart to trust her friends. Their world is so selfish that this isn't easy, and she needs to be spoken to several times.

This installment looks more into the reasoning of why the school is created. The school feels alive, which shouldn't be a surprise since this is a magic school created by wizards to protect wizard children. But how the book takes this is very intriguing.

Simmering in the background is knowledge of the outside world the freshmen bring. It isn't enough to fully know what happened. This makes me very anxious for the next book. Doesn't help that I got another cliffhanger for an ending.

This review is based on an advanced reader copy provided through Netgalley for an honest review.

I have made a horrible mistake. I should not have read this book yet. Now I have to wait 18 months for book 3. This shall be agony. This series is so good. This is what YA books are supposed to be.