The Last Graduate: TikTok made me read it (The Scholomance, #2)

by Naomi Novik

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Sequel to the Sunday Times bestselling and Lodestar award-nominated A Deadly Education

'The dark school of magic I have been waiting for' Katherine Arden, author of The Bear and the Nightingale

'Fantasy that delights on every level' Stephanie Garber, author of Caraval
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Return to the Scholomance - and face an even deadlier graduation - in the stunning sequel to the ground-breaking, Sunday Times bestselling A Deadly Education.

The dark school of magic has always done its best to devour its students, but now that El has reached her final year -- and somehow won herself a handful of allies along the way -- it's suddenly developed a very particular craving . . .

For her.

As the savagery of the school ramps up, El is determined that she will not give in; not to the mals, not to fate, and especially not to the Scholomance. But as the spectre of graduation looms -- the deadly final ritual that leaves few students alive -- if she and her allies are to make it out, El will need to realise that sometimes winning the game means throwing out all the rules.
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Wry, witty, endlessly inventive, and mordantly funny -- yet with a true depth and fierce justice at its heart -- this enchanting novel reminds us that there are far more important things than mere survival.

• ISBN10: 1529100887
• ISBN13: 9781529100884
• Publish Date: 28 September 2021
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 28 July 2022
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Cornerstone
• Imprint: Del Rey
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 400
• Language: English

Reviews

[thepunktheory]

Full review on my blog!

It’s been a hot minute since I read the first book in this series. In fact, I read that pretty close to when it was released without realizing it would be the start of a trilogy and not just a standalone. The first book would have worked rather well as a standalone had it not been for the cliffhanger on the final page. Literally, the last paragraph is even called for there being another book! Obviously, I was intrigued but I decided to wait until the third book is out as well, so I could finish reading the series in one go.

Honestly, it was worth the wait. I had enjoyed the first novel in the series but this one was incredible as well. I love the entire idea behind the story. It’s so smart and so different from other magical school concepts I’ve come across before. I appreciate that the main character isn’t some happy-go-lucky type. While in some regards she has to follow the blueprint of your YA heroine that we all know, overall, none of this feels like much of a cliché. I get that the main character needs to be good at something or influence something otherwise there’d be no reason for them to be the main character. Furthermore, while El has a penchant for dark things and eradicating worlds, this is not super Mary Sue. Yeah, big evil spells come easier to her, but she still needs to put in a ton of work to learn, to practice, to survive. And while she is an integral part of saving the day, even being this powerful she couldn’t do it alone.

While I like the main character El and can relate to her antisocial attitudes, the most intriguing part of the Scholomance novels is the worldbuilding. What started in the first book and is still the case in this one is a very contained environment that we get to experience. The school is essentially cut off from the rest of the world, so most of the things we learn about this world have to do with the school. Sure, we do get some extra info but it’s more of a secondhand explanation if that makes sense. I love that even in this rather small space we learn so much about this world, how everything works, what types of magic and spells and monsters there are. This setting could get boring quickly if not done right, but I think Naomi Novik did an amazing job pulling it off.

[Quirky Cat]

Pardon me as I squee, because the new Scholomance novel is finally here! Noami Novik's second Scholomance novel, The Last Graduate, is a book that I have been counting down the days for. This is a dark world that immediately captivated me, and I am not ready to say goodbye anytime soon.

The Scholomance is a place where magical children are sent to be safe. Well, safer. The school is still dangerous as hell, but it has better odds than trying to make it out in the world on your own. As it turns out, there are lots of monsters that love to eat those with magic but no knowledge of how to defend themselves.

El is one such student, and she has made quite the impression in her time here. Mostly on Orion, one of the top students of her class. Yet the time draws nearer for their graduation, and there's no telling how many lives will be lost when that happens. Unless El and Orion have something to say on the matter.

“I couldn’t be his savior; I had enough to do saving myself.”

As a huge fan of the first novel in the Scholomance series, I was absolutely thrilled when I got my hands on the sequel: The Last Graduate. This world is exactly what I picture when I think of a dark magical academy, and with good reason.

First, let's discuss the world. I love the idea of the big bad monsters in the world being SO bad that the safest option is to lock up all the children and hope for the best. It's dark, yes, but also pretty fascinating. It makes for the perfect excuse to throw all of these characters together into such a deadly situation.

Speaking of the characters – yes, please! El changed so much throughout The Last Graduate. I'm so proud of her! I am also proud of many of the secondary characters; including the rest of her team and a few newer characters.

Then there's Orion. For a time there, I was really worried about him. I suppose, in a way, I still am worried about him. We learned a lot about his character in this book, and I feel like at least some of it will explain the cliffhanger that came with the conclusion of A Deadly Education.

That being said, if I thought the cliffhanger from A Deadly Education was bad, I was not emotionally or mentally prepared for the conclusion of The Last Graduate. It hit me SO HARD in all the feels. It was brilliant, intense, and horrifically evil on Novik's part. Now pardon me as I go and pretend that The Golden Enclaves releases soon (September 27, 2022, according to Goodreads, for those curious).

Thanks to Del Rey Books and #NetGalley for making this book available for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Read more reviews over at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

The Last Graduate is the second book of The Scholomance trilogy by Naomi Novik. Released 28th Sept 2021 by Penguin Random House on their Del Ray imprint, it's 400 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats.

Naomi Novik is a gifted author. This time she turns her sights on the YA fantasy magic wizard school in trilogy format and the result is engaging, readable, and a full-octane-out-of-control roller coaster ride from start to cliff-hanging finish. It's very much a series book, and there are *major* spoilers for readers who choose to jump in here instead of reading the books in order.

The prose is so immersive and the tension arc so perfectly controlled that the reader is swept along breathlessly. Although the book is chock full of threat and violence, it's cleverly enough not graphic violence, and will undoubtedly be devoured by readers of YA fantasy in droves. The staging and scenes are quite visual throughout and during the entire read it was very easy to picture the action; it's written very cinematically. When the (inevitable) films come out, the screenplay writers will have likely mostly just transferred the book directly to script and turned the special effects engineers loose with the rest of the film budget.

I'm not the target audience (by several decades), but this series could easily prove to be the current generation's Maze Runner or Hunger Games. (Note, I did not compare to Twilight or Harry Potter, it's much better written than either). There is a strong romance element but the "kissy bits" are easy to ignore if that is the reader's wish.

The author's nod to traditional eastern European folklore is duly noted, however, as a die-hard World of Warcraft player, I twitched every time I read "Scholomance" (the school where the action takes place).

Five stars. Strongly suggested to read the series in order.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

[alindstadtcorbeax]

Star Rating: —> 5 Stars

Well DAMN!

[Terri M. LeBlanc]

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!

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.