A new standalone Naomi Novik novel or installation in a series is somewhat like the rare and elusive experience of continuing a very good dream after briefly waking up. The seamless narrative continuity, the astonishing landscape of endlessly inventive but oddly familiar curiosities, and the equally complex snarl of relationships, are all steeped in the peculiar logic and emotional resonance of those heroic fiery stories that are forged in sleep. And these are the most compelling stories, the ones that are so all-consuming that the distinction between the story and the self, the person reading the book, is completely erased and you live the book while reading it, and the continuation of your next breath or heartbeat depends on turning or swiping the next page. So yeah, The Last Graduate is one of those kind of books.

To the benefit of the reader The Last Graduate picks up directly from the last line of A Deadly Education, when Galadriel or El has just unfurled the short cryptic note from her beloved mother, warning her to stay away from Orion, the socially oblivious, much adulated maleficaria killing machine who has appointed himself El’s personal protector, much to her scathing, clearly stated, and often hilarious irritation.

As detailed in A Deadly Education, Galadriel has spent her life lying low, resisting her natural inclination to lay waste to cities and vanquish her perceived enemies through horrifically imaginative methods of extermination, which seem to be only spells the Schoolmance will disgorge to her. Her status as a rejected and somewhat feared social outcast/loner has been reinforced by a lifetime of ostracism, which has accelerated during the brutal survival mode trade economy of the 4-year Schoolmance education. However, not everyone feels the brunt of imminent mal-inflicted death. The Schoolmance and the outside wizard world are governed by enclaves, whichfunction as a blend of corporate power, mediating mana (life force magical power) and protection with entrenched legacy membership, protected by the labors of the wannabes in the hopes of a lesser affiliation and eventual membership for their offspring or family. Novik exceeds at world building and world mirroring, as the structure of the enclaves uncomfortably resembles the elitism, entitlement, and stratified power structure between the haves and have nots in our own society. In her growing and often reluctant self-awareness as an outsider, El’s desires evolve from her highest aspiration of an enclave invitation, to a realization and rejection of the system-wide inequity and corruption that this membership entails. Much of her fury is directed at Orion for being a clueless hapless beneficiary of the enclave’s rewards, and yet, since Novik rarely deals in absolutes when developing her characters, El must also uneasily come to terms with the fact that Orion is also being exploited by his enclave, the extent of which causes another glass shake of the Schoolmance globe.

This is heady stuff and as El’s powers grow, along with the Schoolmance’s escalating attempts to thwart them, she is forced to come to terms with “the great responsibility that comes with great power,” while battling for her life with energetically persistent mals and even her fellow seniors. The surprising decisions she makes in response to this, and the resources and help she receives in realizing them are unpredictable and often wrenching.

Initially El’s skirmishes take place in her new homeroom, on the nearly inaccessible 5th floor in a room rigged to be a mal paradise, which she shares it with freshman aka those she does not want to acknowledge or recognize to avoid grieving for their inevitable deaths. This strategy does not hold for long, though the Schoolmance is far from finished with El.

As graduation day looms closer, the coalitions shift and crackle like loose electrical lines, especially evident during the simulation graduation day training exercises in the gym. The previously unresponsive gym has some long dormant surprises for El’s class, causing the seniors to abruptly change factions and partnerships to better their chances, resulting in a near daily shake up of the power grid.

These rehearsal graduation runs with simulation and sometimes real mals unfold with such zest, terror, and high-powered adrenaline that Novik’s background as a video game designer is clearly apparent, as well as her delight in creating them. Her nail biting battle scene choreography dizzyingly drives the twists and spins and zigzag escape hatches that often turn into the opposite. It’s nerve-wracking and enchanting and makes a satisfying counterpart to El’s ongoing analytic, always critical interior monologues, and they play off each other well.

The plot threads are dense and intricate but never dropped, and overlaid with them are a raft of new characters including Liesel, a beautiful, terrifyingly ambitious fast-track valedictorian; Sudarat, a terrified freshman whose Bangkok enclave mysteriously dissolves before the first week; and El’s familiar, the mouse, Precious, who demonstrates some decidedly unfamiliar independent inclinations concerning El’s well-being. Also vying for billing are the many mals from leeches to larvae to wicker basket men to the frightening mystery of the whereabouts of the maw mouth twins: Patience and Fortitude.

But next to the increasingly enticing forbidden fruit charms of a suddenly buff Orion Lake, the great love story of The Last Graduate is one of slow trust and friendship, between El and the members of her alliance, Aadhya, Liu, and seemingly privileged enclaver Chloe. This territory is new and often emotionally dangerous for El. And as with any BFFs that have your back, they also call you on your merde. Aadhya, who is perhaps closest to El, is also her self-appointed social nuance coach: “You’d rather run away and wallow in angst than ask for help or anything else extremely horrible like that.” Of course El is hardest on herself and her relentless self-doubt, bouts of rage, introspection, honesty, and knife sharp retorts, make her one of the most engaging anti hero/heroes in recent literature.

And Orion? Novik excels at a slow-building almost antagonistic sexual connection between her characters that unwinds almost in the background until extreme circumstances trigger its emergence; it happens here and she reinvigorates the wartime romance trope so effectively that you can almost feel the steam wafting up from the e-book. The long payoff to the actual graduation day pays off, hugely. The actual graduation scenes are so vividly conceived and written that the experience is almost more like watching a film than reading a novel. And all of this occurs before El can really puzzle out the message behind the message in her mother’s short ribbon of a note.

The emotions are all earned here, often painfully, but never gratuitously and unlike the Victorian-era engineering wonders of the Schoolmance, we never hear the gears wheels and pulleys cranking in service of the plot. Novick’s sly wit surfaces repeatedly through small, almost throw away details, such as the possible dinner offering of Shepherd’s Pie made from real shepherd. And the ending, well it’s goes far beyond being a run of the mill cliff hanger, perhaps it's more like a cliff hanger located in the middle of an active fault line, and you could almost entertain the idea of going into suspended animation for a year or more to lessen the time until the final installment of this exceptional series is released. Fortunately, Novik has other fine books to read and reread during this finger-drumming, thumb-twiddling time. The best things are always worth waiting for of course, except at the conclusion of this book, it also feels as though you are time traveling to a childhood car trip, and focused entirely on a single question: “Are we there yet?” No, not for at least another year, sigh.

Much like "Deadly Education," I find that I overall like this book more for the worldbuilding than narrative of El. It was frequent that the book would be sidetracked in the middle of a scene, but the writing style is good, so I kept reading. El is very abrasive, which was frustrating to read at times, but not enough to where I would stop the series. I recommed this for readers that enjoy dark and magical worlds, because Novik's world ultimately made the "Deadly Education" books great reads.

A lot of the issues I had with the first book have definitely been mostly resolved upon finishing this read. El is for sure in a different place since the end to A Deadly Education, and I love watching her relationships and status as a senior unfold throughout the course of the novel.
I still have some issues with the writing style, specifically when El goes too deep into a miscellaneous tangent about an event, monster, etc. it was significantly more prominent in the first book, and I like that it was toned down somewhat in this sequel. Although, on the same wavelength as that, I'll forever adore El's wit anf sarcasm. Her voice is such a punch to my senses every time I sit down with these books, and it's one of Naomi's writing strengths within this world. Pure addiction for me!
Now where my feelings become a bit hurt is the absolute CRAZINESS that was that ending. No spoilers but truly I don't know how to function in my wait for the next book (finale I believe?). I don't think anyone is ready for this, and I cannot wait to see other reviewers'/ readers' thoughts. It will be a shock- for sure!

I had such a love/hate relationship with this book.
I loved the characters, absolutely loved them. El was so gruff almost to the point of stand-offishness but I LOVED her. She had Orion trying to make moves the whole book and she was like NOPE, I want to live and get through graduation and it was fantastic. I loved the friendship she struck up with Liu and Aadyah in the first book and it just got even more wonderful in this one. They really had each other's backs the entire book and we just really got to know them better which was fantastic. And they never gave up on El no matter how stand-offish she was. We also got to know characters we only knew a little bit in the first book so much better in this one. I think the characters were my favorite part of this book.
The plot. (This part will probably include spoilers!) At first we think, ok, this book is going to be about El, Aadyah and Liu trying to get out of this killer school and back to their families. But really, it was about El realizing what her powers can really do and how she can use them (I will not say how she ends up using them). It was about changing your mindset. For centuries, these students have been selfish, only thinking about getting themselves out at the end of 4 years. That was literally the only way anyone got out. Mal eating your friend? That's fine, because it's not you. El finds out that with her power she can turn this whole mindset on its head, but can she get everyone else to go along with it?
That was the part of the plot/writing style I absolutely loved. There was just SO MUCH info dumping. All the time. We would be in the middle of a one page conversation, have a 5 page info dump about something only slightly relevant and then go right back into the conversation and 99% of the time I didn't even remember what the original conversation had been about. That totally took me out of the story and I really felt like I slogged through those parts.
The ending was absolutely fantastic. Maybe a tiny bit dragged out, but it was amazing. THAT CLIFFHANGER THOUGH. If you don't like cliffhangers DO NOT read this book until the third one comes out or you will probably end up throwing your book at the wall!

Much like the first book in series I wasn’t really sure what was going on because so much is going on and it is both overwhelming and underwhelming all at the same time. That makes zero sense, but just trust me.

The first half of the book was pretty on par with what I expected after everything that happened in book one. El is in her final year at scholomance the school seems to be targeting her directly now, and she’s trying to survive what it dishes out while protecting some newbs.

But the last half… Buckle the fuck up y’all!!!!! I wasn’t expecting any of that, and that ending??????????

This was such an engrossing read. It completely sucked me in from start to finish! El is in her last year at the killer magic school and the school seems to be out to get her like she has a target on her back! El would like to try and focus on graduation, but instead she’s defending herself and some new freshmen from maleficaria. This is an action packed, entertaining second book full of the sarcasm I loved in the first one. But that ending!!! Ahhhh!!

Naomi Novik is a master of fantasy and this book os no exception. Every time I read one of her books, I am amazed at the worlds she is able to create.

The second book in the Scholomance series starts on the first day of senior year. El’s mother has warned her to stay away from Orion, the school seems to be out to get El and they have graduation to prepare for.

The year starts out the way it has every year with the Scholomance impeding El's every move. The stakes are higher and the tension is greater as the students form their graduation alliances. I am in awe at the world of magic Novik created in just two books. I loved this book and wish that I had read it a little slower because now I have to wait that much longer.

Fair warning, the ending of this book had me scream out loud and practically throwing the book against the wall. Don’t say I didn’t warn you but it was worth every second. When does the third book come out?

This series can be summed up as "El is altruistic and really grumpy about it."

If you liked the first book, you'll like this one too. It feels like part two of A Deadly Education rather than its own separate installment, which is no bad thing.

It's hard to talk about much without giving things away. Some vague explorations of plot and themes below.

The high stakes and timeline are clearly defined so the tension stays high. The central challenges in this book (and the solutions El and company come up with) were NOT the ones I would have predicted and I love that. The amount of worldbuilding logic Novik has put into this series still blows my mind. While the tone is just as dark and grisly as the previous book, there's enough snarky humor and hopeful friendship to help cut through it.

There's a thoughtful exploration of privilege here, and how those in power have just accepted that a certain number of "have nots" will need to be sacrificed because "that's just the way it is." Or is it? The Scholomance is a nearly self-contained microcosm of the real world, a mini global ecosystem where its inhabitants start to realize that they, collectively, have the ability to try things a different way. Who bears the cost, and can such ideals be applied outside of a magical puzzle box floating in the void?

I do have some complaints: This time El's stream of consciousness exposition-ing occasionally intruded too much. When a pages-long explanation occurred in a conversation, by the time the next person responded I would have to flip back to remind myself what was even being talked about.

As much as I love most of Novik's work overall, none of her romances have really landed for me, this series included. Orion is sort of an enigma (despite some explanation about why he is The Way He Is) but he does not feel entirely "real" to me the way El does, even after two books. I was also annoyed at having to skip over some sexual content.

I could dock a star but I had so much fun racing through this book that I just don't want to.

I have a pretty good sense of where things are headed for book 3 and I'm excited about it, but knowing Naomi Novik there's definitely going to be some twists I do not foresee...

i've been a devoted fan of novik since uprooted, and have been having the best time with her scholomance series. it's so original and strange, and the voice is really distinctive. (admittedly, i found el a really annoying narrator for a good chunk of the read, but once i adjusted, i had a great time). so excited about this one!

What a wonderful compelling sequel to A Deadly Education! The ending left me wanting more and wondering if there will be a third book in the series!

Novik's second story in the Scholomance series left something to be desired. While I did enjoy being back in the world with my favorite dark heroine El, I couldn't help but constantly skip pages and think to myself "ugh there is SO much filler"

If you loved the first one you may enjoy this read too. There is still a lot of random info dumping as well as tangent thinking; however, the story progresses in a nice manner.

The ending IS a shocking cliffhanger and i'm still reeling from it because I did not enjoy this book enough to pick up a copy of the third book. you have been warned.

Wow! If you liked A Deadly Education, you'll love the Last Graduate. This was an excellent sequel.

Ok, so the first book ends in a cliffhanger, which is immediately resolved. I won't tell you how, but one way or another, things work out....or don't.

The last book had to do a lot of worldbuilding and didn't have loads of plot, but this book, much of the worldbuilding having been taken care of, gets a bit more in the plot department. And it's a masterclass in character development. El, who grew a lot in the first one, grew in ways I never saw coming in this one. And gosh, my love for the character grew in leaps and bounds as well. The side. characters continue to be a lot of fun, and Precious is...well...precious.

This was so much fun. I will tell you that it ends in a cliffhanger that puts the book 1 cliffhanger to shame (which is to say, it's massive), and I'm going to be on pins and needles waiting for the last book. What a fun read! If you liked the first one, the sequel is absolutely not to be missed. 5 stars. I loved it.

The Last Graduate picks up right where A Deadly Education left off: with our protagonist El in the Scholomance, staring down at a message from her mother which warns her to stay far away from Orion Lake, a heroic fellow student whom she somewhat begrudgingly calls a friend (and whom, according to everyone but El herself, she is currently dating.)

Novik excels at creating interesting and fully-formed, three-dimensional characters. One of the most compelling things about El is that she’s constantly struggling against her darker impulses. She has a natural affinity for destruction and the use of malia, but she resists because – though at first she may claim otherwise - she genuinely wants to be a good person, and she finds the strength to do what’s right instead of what’s easy. The peripheral characters are also well fleshed out. I really adored the friendship between El, Aadhya and Liu, seeing how well they complement each other and how much that relationship means to them after so long fending for themselves.

I think I liked this better than the first installment. I did listen to the audio of the first one, though, so maybe that has something to do with why I liked it less, even though I don’t remember having any specific problem with the narrator when I read book one. Or it could be because there was a little less time spent on infodumps. The pacing was a bit uneven in this one, but I appreciated the character and relationship development, and the worldbuilding felt more solid (I found it a little wobbly in the first book, less so in this one. I’m not sure why.)

This book ends on a hell of a cliffhanger, so if that’s not something you can stomach, maybe wait for book three before you continue the trilogy.

Representation: Many people of color, and strong women. A number of the major characters are kick-ass women of color, and I’m HERE FOR IT. Also, queer relationships between minor characters.

TW: consensual sex (nothing too spicy, but slightly above standard YA content)

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Last Graduate picks up where we last left El, inside the Scholomance trying to make it through her senior year. When the school starts putting El in precarious and dangerous situations, is it trying to take her out, or prepare her for what's to come next?

These characters are such fun to visit. They all have their place in the Scholomance and absolutely shatter those expectations. Orion is more of a secondary character in this book, which left me wishing for more of him, but the expansion on the others surrounding El was well worth the exchange. My one massive gripe with this book AND it's predicessor is how repetitive and unnecessarily drawn out some explanations are. You have a 50 page chapter where almost nothing happens, followed by another one where only the beginning and ending 5 pages actually matter. It can get a bit maddening.

Four stars for our second trip to one of my favorite dark academia tales, just prepare for one hell of a hangover and cliffhanger. I recommend this for anyone 14+ who can hang on through some drawn out and repetitive chapters for a great payoff in the end.

A book I had to read all in one day because I couldn't put it down. Fast-paced and filled with dark sarcastic humor that just thrills my New England born and raised heart, the main character El is the most likeable and relatable grumpy person ever. The school itself is a character that is both sinister and beloved. The persistent hope that shines despite all the darkness is just so lovely to read.
Also, beware the dreaded cliffhanger ending! The first book in the series did that to us and this one does as well. Novik has an evil heart and I am enraged while also waiting with baited breath for the next in the series.

The upsetting thing about getting an ARC of this book is that I now have to wait even longer for the third. This picks up straight where A Deadly Education leaves off. El is still getting used to having friends and decides, instead of accepting that most of the graduating class dying in graduation is normal, that she and Orion will save everyone. El and Orion's relationship is well done, though I was very frustrated with El for being so stubborn, and I loved the general optimism of a graduating class reluctantly working together in order to make it through alive. We learn more about enclaves and the politics behind them, as well as more of Orion's backstory. All in all, this is a very solid follow-up to A Deadly Education and I'm now on tenterhooks for the third book. It can't come soon enough!

The second book in Novik's "The Scholomance" series, "The Last Graduate" follows El, Orion, and company as they plan to graduate the Scholomance with their lives intact. This book was great fun to read and ends on a true cliffhanger. Perfect for fans of Novik's other work or "Vita Nostra" by Marina and Sergey Dyachenko.

Book 2 in Naomi Novik’sThe Scholomance series is coming out in September and I have been not so patiently waiting for it’s releases since I read A Deadly Education last year. I think Novik is an incredibly Imaginative writer who does a wonderful job of world building and creating unique

characters.

A DEADLY EDUCATION REVIEW

El and the gang are back for their senior year. Set with Novik’s impressive world building, and packed with action this book will keep you on the edge of your seat. I ended up binging this one in one sitting, and then couldn’t go to sleep, because THAT ENDING!I cannot believe we got left with such a massive CLIFF HANGER. Fair warning you may want to wait to read book 2 until book 3 comes out!

I thought Novik did a wonderfully job of growing her characters throughout the first book, and she continues evolving not just our main character, but all of the characters in this one as well. I also appreciate Novik’s protrayal of the Orion/El love story. I also grew to really enjoy many of our secondary characters.

When you think about this school, where parents send their magical children to learn, with the knowledge that they have a 25% or less chance of Graduating or getting out alive, it’s a pretty scary scenario. But the alternative for many is keeping them home where they have an even higher probability of not making it to adulthood. This scenario breeds complex characters, who know what their chances of survival are, but still make a effort to protect their siblings, cousins, other relatives. The story, especially in The Last Graduate, is such an intense look at the human psyche. Even though looking out for others makes you vulnerable especially in a school such as this one, we as a society continue to look after our young or those less experienced or weaker than us. Generally with the result that more survive when we work collectively. Since this is a YA series, I think this would be a great book for teenagers to read to gain that understanding. I digress.

I knocked half a star off because I did think the book could have been a little shorter. There was one point about midway through the story, that I was ready to get to the big action and thought ‘hurry up already’. It was a fleeting thought and even though this will probably be my favorite read of August, it’s not something I can ignore.

4.5 big stars for this book and I cannot wait til next year when we get to read the still untitled book #3!. I mean how am I going to survive another whole year with that Cliff Hanger! If you enjoyed A Deadly Education, or you are looking for a great, somewhat dark story revolving around a magical school, than this series is for you.

The Last Graduate comes out September 28, 2021. Huge thank you to Random House Publishing Group, Ballantine, and Del Rey Books for my advanced copy for my honest review. If you liked this review please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my Instagram @speakingof_books.

I enjoyed the first book in the series, but I did not expect how much I would enjoy being back in the Scholomance world. It was a fun read and I read it over two days. If you liked the first book you'll probably like this one. If you were annoyed in the first book by how slow it was and how much exposition it had--you're not going to be any happier with this book. I enjoyed the first book despite its flaws and feel the same way about The Last Graduate. I'm looking forward to the next book.

DNF 80%
I wanted to love this book so much. I ADORED A Deadly Education. The MC? freakin' awesome. The mals? *chef's kiss*. What killed me with this one, is that it dragged and dragged. I felt like I just kept waiting for the side characters to show some development, for El and Orion to DO SOMETHING remotely romantic, for their plans to fully make sense. In comparison to the first book, this one just seemed tangled and although it was really trying, it just couldn't, untangle itself. Eventually, I was picking it up less and less, and finally not at all. Maybe in the future, I'll reread both the first and this one back to back and it will have some more spark to it in my mind. I still love Naomi Novik, and would still recommend this series, but with caution that you have a clear head and some focus!
Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this title!