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.

Somehow even better than book one, with an even more viscous cliff hanger. Naomi has created something rather unique, despite writing about a magical school for gifted children which is a topic we might have all thought was rather played out by now. Naomi Novik has proved yet again she has something new to add and she's dragging us all right along with her. This was terrific.

4.5 stars.

I have been checking every day since I finished A Deadly Education and I devoured this one in two days. It suffered a little from middle books syndrome (not quite as exciting as the first) and left on another cliffhanger, but I can't wait for the third (and final?)

I am contemplating starting A Deadly Education again just so I can follow it up with The Last Graduate and fall deep into the Scholomance all over again.

I've been obsessively waiting for this book ever since I finished reading A Deadly Education. And now I sit here obsessively waiting for book #3. Ah the curse of loving a wonderful author!

This picks up right where the first book left off and just doesn't stop. I love the character development and was literally holding my breath to see if my favorites would escape. I'll be recommending A Deadly Education at my library's next staff recommendations program and will tell our patrons to look for this title on 9/28/21.

***Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***
Senior year is stressful enough with final exams and, you know, just trying to stay alive in a school that actively tries to kill you. El and Orion are back in full force in this second installment by Naomi Novik. This year there's more at stake, more than they even realize. A thrilling follow-up to an amazing series!

I don't even know what to do with myself right now. I've been sitting here blinking into the void for 20 minutes. I'm not going to say it was everything I wanted, as I still don't have answers about that infuriating message (are you kidding me?!), but I'm so delighted with the rest of it that I almost (ALMOST, Ms. Novik) don't mind.

An ominous note from home, a schedule filled with dreaded senior seminars, and a sort-of-maybe boyfriend? Galadriel "El" Higgins definitely has a horrifying final year ahead of her at the Scholomance, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. But she's making friends and alliances despite the odds, and now has the wretched task of trying to survive to see Graduation. But it seems the school isn't too pleased with her heroics, and is doing everything in its power to push El over the edge. El, however, isn't the sort to go down without a fight, and she's got plans to escape the Scholomance once and for all.

Naomi Novik does it again with the second installment of The Scholomance series. El is still the prickly and raging heroine I fell in love with, but now she has everything to lose. I was on the edge of my seat from the first page, and the action continued its rampage all the way to the last. El's final year feels like a sprint to the finish line, complete with an obstacle course full of unexpected hurdles. New characters abound, providing a multifaceted student body and well-crafted senior year of mayhem. If that's not enough, El is also evolving emotionally, with the help of Aadhya, Liu, Chloe, and even Orion (rather emotionally stunted though he may be). What really shines in The Last Graduate is the character development El and the other students experience throughout their senior year. Her inner struggle against turning maleficer, and fulfilling her proscribed destiny tore at my heart strings, as did the strengthening alliance bond. Novik packs her sequel with so many heartwarming moments, even El's towering rage can't resist the tide of emotion.

The Last Graduate provides a uniquely complex story in a standout voice. El is such a strong, unapologetic heroine, finally coming into her own and actively repaying Orion in life-saving moments. Her dedication to doing right, in the face of every expectation otherwise, is inspiring as much as it is delightfully spiteful. Readers will cheer on El and her friends through every emotional, physical, and spell-slinging moment, and will surely be left screaming for more.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing for providing me an advanced copy in return for an unbiased review! And thanks to Naomi Novik for creating such a bomb series!!!

I plan on posting this review two weeks before the release date on Goodreads.com