El and Orion are at it again! The second book in the series is just as much fun as "A Deadly Education." They think they got rid of the monsters, but they are still seeping through the cracks of the Scholomance and waiting for the feast at graduation. El is still determined not to be an all-powerful dark magician, but she isn't sure exactly who/what she wants to be instead.

Throughout this adorable romp, alliances at the Scholomance are forged, and shift, and make room for new friends and enemies, but this is no ordinary high school clique tale; it ain't the Breakfast Club if you're the breakfast. I didn't think there was any way the ending of this one could be as epic as the first one, but it was. Fantastical, sarcastical, nonstop fun. Can't wait for the third in the trilogy, to see where Novik takes these crazy magical kids next.

Naomi Novik is my queen! She is the most exciting voice in Fantasy today because the magnitude of her worldbuilding is utterly original. The Scholomance is a punishing, terrifying place of magical knowledge, and the character of El is a brilliant heroine for the modern-day teenager—a young person who always leads with love, no matter how much she hates that. This is a book that makes kids feel brave and powerful and capable. This is absolutely a book for the "pandemic generation". It's about children making sacrifices and surviving against all odds while still wrestling with the feels all young adults have. THE LAST GRADUATE is an allegory for kids with old souls and fresh ideas who want to make the world a better place by working together! There is so much wisdom and worldbuilding to unpack, and SO. MUCH. FUN. TOO. And that ending ... my god, that ending. Has there ever been a more stressful cliffhanger?! How long must I slowly die before I can read book #3?

The worst part of the book?? It's a cliffhanger! Really enjoyed the first book, and this is also great...we learn more about the school, and how the new seniors are trying to graduate without dying. Highly recommend this title, and cant wait for the next one.

This book is the sequel to A Deadly Education, which was flat-out amazing if you like slightly dark and broody sarcastic protagonists and unique world building. It’s not often a sequel matches the epic-ness of a really fantastic first novel, but let me say to all of you Deadly Education fans: you will not be disappointed with The Last Graduate.
The sequel picks up right where the first book leaves off. Galadriel – ehm, El – has actually acquired friends, and a not-boyfriend-but-kind-of in Orion. Things could be looking up, but this is the Scholomance and it only moves down. El has possibly the worst senior class schedule ever, and the school seems to be setting her up to eat some of the first-years and embrace the malificer path or be forced to save them over and over. Orion, of course, has been hunting mals since he was entombed in the school, and sees no reason to give up his hunting now. So as the seniors rush to survive their last semester of classes, mals become more scarce, and Orion spends more time hunting them to the detriment of his schoolwork. El’s mouse familiar (I will not spoil the delight of her name here) gains a personality to match her mistress and she quickly became one of my favorite parts of the story, adjacent to El and Orion not-dating, which was delightful.
The second half of the book, like the second half senior year in the Scholomance, is focused on the run to survive the graduation hall filled with mals. As the school presents more and more dangerous scenarios in the gym, it quickly becomes clear to the senior class that their graduation might be unlike any other before. This duology has joined my list of favorite books alongside Novik’s earlier Uprooted, and Robin McKinley’s Sunshine. The world is unique, the characters matter-of-factly diverse, and the plot solid. Naomi Novik is simply a magician. Five stars. Go read it.

I thought this was a duology and I am ruined because I need the next book.

I love this series. I think it's weird and dark and mysterious, like a grumpy Hermione and golden retriever Harry are trying to save the entire school together against monsters and without any outside help. I loved it.

Do not continue reading if you don't want spoilers....

You've been warned....

DID HE GO WITH HER?!?!?! DID HE?! There are books with cliff hangers and then there is this book. I finished it a day ago and I lost sleep over the ending. I'm an emotional mess. If Novik left Orion in that school when everyone else got out I am going...well I'm going to do nothing because she's the author and I will continue to read this series because I love everything else about it. But I will be devastated. Crying into my oatmeal devastated. Is this what sets El off to fulfill her dark prophecy?! Oh God, I don't think I can wait a year and some change to find out. Naomi, if you need beta readers before this goes to NeGalley or just need someone to talk through the plot points for the next book, I'm your gal.

Some are put off by the stream of consciousness like prose in this series, but this is how my brain works and the entire format makes complete sense to me. If you are a little put off by it, please give it a few chapters because I assure you they are well worth it. It's inspiring how El, with the help of her closest comrades and the school, convince all the students to get the hell out of that place. Let me out, let me out, let me out. The school itself takes on a personality and you are rooting for everyone to get home safely, even with the last chapter being nail biting, sitting on the edge of your chair intense.

The Last Graduate picks up shortly after events of A Deadly Education (and if you didn't read A Deadly Education and ever though to yourself while reading HP that going to school where dark magic is trying to kill you every year doesn't sound great...this is the book for you) . El is still trying to resist her fate as a dark sorceress, Orion Lake is still running around killing monsters, and all of the new seniors are trying to figure out if last year's seniors truly escaped and how they can prepare for their own graduation. This installment in the series is plot-wise focused on preps for senior graduation and thematically still focused on the responsibilities of privilege and power. Orion and El's kind of romance is present but not a huge focus-- like the first installment, this one is more concerned with El's other relationships, particularly her female friendships. It was a joy to be re-immersed in this complicated and compelling world and the ending cliffhanger has me anxious for the next installment. Definitely plan on getting this one for my library and recommending it to my students!

Where do I even start with this book? So, no spoilers, but A Deadly Education quickly became my favorite book of 2020. I’ve read it 3 times. I knew there was going to be a sequel and part of me just knew it wasn’t going to live up to my expectations! I love that The Last Graduate starts moments after the events at the end of A Deadly Education. It felt like the immersion that I enjoyed about the Scholomance and El’s journey never stopped. I love El’s combination of violent empathy, her snarky wit, her absolute revulsion for everyone around her while simultaneously wanting desperately for everyone to get out of the Scholomance alive. I found myself easily relating to her relationship to her mother. As a person with low empathy I often think about how I could be a better person so that my mother is somehow honored, or at least tangentially knows that I’m a good person. El has fought her whole life against becoming the sort of world destroying terror that prophecy would have her be. The side characters are wonderful, the details are tremendous and I can’t believe how much Naomi Novik makes me believe this world exists. Everything, down to the smallest detail, is complete and tied back into the mals and defense of such. Orion Lake is such a good foil to El’s character. In both books he exasperatedly saves everyone he can, all while frustratingly trying to break through El’s walls. When they team up to train for getting through graduation the excitement ramps up and when the explosive conclusion finally happens…it left me dying for more of the story! Waiting for the third installment is the most difficult thing about reading The Last Graduate, here’s to hoping that Novik writes fast!

Oh poor Galadriel Higgins. El’s affinity for super destructive magic, her desire to be semi-anti-social, and her torn feelings for one Orion Lake really put her in an interesting spot coming into her senior year at the Scholomance.

Now that graduation is upon El, she has set it in her mind that she will get out as many students as possible. As she begins to enlist more and more of the student body in her seemingly hare-brained plans, they all begin to understand just what a powerhouse El really is. To make matters worse, it appears that the school is beginning to turn on her.

I absolutely love this series, and was super excited to be given the opportunity to tackle an early copy of book 2. The Last Graduate really does take off right where A Deadly Education ended, and Ms. Novik has really honed her masterful craft of deft first-person narration. El really is the embodiment of snarky power, and the wide variety of characters, each with their own foibles, really make for an enjoyable experience.

There is so much more I would love to gush about this book, but I would give away far too much.

Once this book drops, I’ll definitely be picking up the audiobook. Anisha Dadia did an absolute masterful job with the first book, and I really can’t wait to hear her doing book 2.

The Scholomance series is one of those series that is quickly becoming one a favorite. It's managed to squirm its way in as a book that I can't help but theorize and wonder about, not only what happens next, but the character's thoughts and where they'll go. This is coming together more and more as deeply thought through series with echoes of each character is every narrative and more.

The Last Graduate picks up immediately where A Deadly Education leaves off (with a warning from the outside world). While it took me a minute to get back into the world and the characters where the previous book left off, it didn't take long to get back into El's head and the ministrations of the school. This year, in fact, gets more detailed on schooling, despite the fact that El and the other seniors aren't required to spend half the year in actual classes. The students are so intently focused on survival so often, I think I forgot that this was, in fact, a school, and has a purpose of teaching students and they're not just running their education themselves. There's also no end to the different things to learn, even about the previous years which we skipped witnessing with El but can still learn with the other students.

One of my favorite things about this series is how well it builds up the world and makes me eager to learn more, and to discover how the rest of the world operates. I originally thought this series would end with the second book - after all, it's the end of the school year - but I'm positive there's more to explore and develop, both in the world and with El and Orion (their relationship, their motivations, and much more). What's more, I can envision different routes these characters and the plot can take, not just a simple, expected, continuation. I know I'm eagerly awaiting what we will see next in the Scholomance's universe - especially since this last book left me empty in the void, knowing I didn't have another one to read!

The Last Graduate delivered everything I wanted! My high expectations were met and exceeded. I was so looking forward to this sequel to A Deadly Education and now I wait patiently(or maybe impatiently) for the next in the series. Novak’s ability to create a complex and diverse cast of characters is enviable. The Scholomance series is a great blend of horrific monsters, dark magic, and humor all through the lens of a jaded young adult. I love it to pieces. I’m sad it’s over and I can’t wait for more. That ending! Oh my goodness! I need more!

This second installment picks up immediately after the ending of A Deadly Education. El saved the senior class from a massacre, along with her from Orion Lake, now it’s her turn to survive senior year.
This is a engrossing read and I love the unique setting of the school. And the last few pages were WOW! Naomi Novik is a master of fantasy. Can’t wait to read the final jnstalllment.

I have a LOT of BIG FEELINGS about the ending!!

Ok. Having taken a deep breath, I think I can figure out a real review. I really loved the first book and this one picks up immediately where it left off. There's less El and Orion in it, but more friendship and personal growth. Which is fine, but I love those two dingbats and their one shared brain cell. I thought I knew where it was going, but it shifted gears in the third act! And, just like the first one, this one has an ending that made me absolutely holler but has fully hooked me into reading the next installment.

I finished this book at 2:14 am. I was still up an hour later with my jaw on the floor and my head spinning. I almost woke up my husband. I need to tell someone about my feelings. It was so good. So cool. I love the growth that El had. I CANNOT WAIT FOR THE NEXT ONE! Naomi is queen. The End. I was given an advanced reader's copy via NetGalley, thank you to them. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was everything I wanted and more! It took me awhile to finish but 100% worth it. Can’t wait for the next book!

OMG OMG OMG that ending!!! I was lucky enough to get an ARC from Netgalley, and this was a great sequel. I did get a bit annoyed with El, especially when it came to her interaction with Orion. A bit too drawn out IMO. However, several characters became more defined, and some of the new ones definitely added to the story. I can not wait for the next one.....and I'm reasonably sure there will be a third book, there is no way the author can just leave us hanging like that!

El spent the last moments of her junior year at the deadly Scholomance school for young wizards helping to fix the school's broken machinery and save the senior class from a massacre. Now that she's done it--along with help from the annoyingly heroic Orion Lake--all that's left to do is make it through senior year. She's made friends and allies and finally stands a chance at surviving graduation, but what happens when the school starts throwing wrenches in her plans?

My heart is still pumping with adrenaline after speeding through the last few pages of Naomi Novik's The Last Graduate. This book, along with the first book in the series--A Deadly Education--are two of my favorite recent fantasy reads. Novik has masterfully built a fantasy world filled with thrilling magic and danger. I can't wait for the third and final book in the series, especially after she left us with that massive cliffhanger!!

El and her friends have made it to their senior year at the Scholomance. After the cleansing of the graduation hall last term, they are hoping more seniors than usual will survive this year. Then the school puts El in a class with several freshman, where she finds herself protecting them. Before long, she realizes she is actually starting to care about people other than her friends, and then she finds herself wanting to ensure that *all* of the seniors survive graduation. Can she save them all? Will the others trust her? And will she follow her mother's guidance in the note she sent, to keep away from Orion Lake?

The writing style in these books is quite enjoyable, told in El's conversational tone, though she does keep it all from her perspective as she cuts off another student's dialogue at least once, for the mercy of the reader, she explains. El is also very aware that she is more powerful than anyone else in the school, except maybe Orion, but before it makes her unlikeable to the reader, she acknowledges the strengths of other students as well, even if it is begrudgingly.

El and Orion are cute together, despite El's attempts to keep her distance, and perhaps it is her sometimes fury at him that makes them all the more adorable.

Overall I'm pleased with this second volume of the series!

After finishing book one I went on the hunt for a review copy of book two which as you can see above won't be out until Sept. this year. Well I have finished it and it was a bad choice to dive into this one without book three. Because, now I am dying inside and my husband thinks i'm crazy. I finished this and of course it ended on a massive cliffhanger and I will not be able to live anymore without book three in my life.

This one picks up right after the last students graduate and our heroine El has received a message from her mother to stay away from Orion. I have to say that this one picking up right where the other one left off was perfect. With what this book does I would say read them back to back. Because they are pretty seamless if you do. It is more like they took a really long book and cut it into two books. The characters in this one lord we find out so much more about them and fall in love with each of them. Then of course the Mels come to play and all h*ll breaks loose and then the story twists out of no where and these new graduates have to deal with a new set of issues.

The story flows ever so nicely and we even get some major heat in this one so be on the look out for some uber sexy!! This one isn't as gory as book one which was a twist I didn't see coming. The cliffhanger of course will rip out your soul and I need the next one like yesterday. I swear if it comes up for review I will drop everything and start reading it. Because it was just that good.

To be honest, I was so-so about the first book in this series. I like the characters and the universe, but I wasn't completely pulled in. I think in my mind it tried to be "Woke Harry Potter." Not that that's a problem, I just think the book was trying to course correct. The wizarding school genre is linked to JK, and I don't see that changing. Therefore, I imagine it'd be difficult to write any book that features a wizarding school. Authors are going to have to work around the damage Rowling left behind.

However, I do think the sequel is much stronger. Novik responded well to critique over the first Scholomance book.

I do think this series has a lot of infodumping, though. The reader doesn't have much time to just soak in the world. Every action, magical object, and classroom is introduced with a page of explanation. I understand the need to do this, but it has a tendency to condescend the reader's ability to accept the worldbuilding. Novik did a great job worldbuilding this series and it doesn't need that much explanation to back it up.