Review: The Last Graduate

The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a great follow up to A Deadly Education and I'm very much looking forward to The Golden Enclaves.  This does end with a bit of a cliffhanger, but the 3rd book just came out so I'm not too mad about it.  This does not work well as a standalone, you need to read the first book to understand what the heck is going on.  It is dark academia, so you can expect some darker moments.  

This book is told in a bit of a stream of consciousness style which takes a bit of getting used to especially if you are listening to the audiobook.  I'm not normally a fan of that type of writing, but Novik does a great job sucking you in with her worldbuilding and characters.  The magic system is kind of complex with each of the kids having their own affinities and the various creatures being unique.  Normally I want to know details about the magic system, but I feel like the author did a good job explaining it in enough detail that you kind of understand it, and what you don't understand you just accept.  

This follows El, Orion and the rest of their friends as their graduation approaches.  El has received a cryptic note from her mother warning her to stay away from Orion, but El has only just started to tolerate him.  She has also started to make friends, and she realizes that she likes having people around.  As she and the other seniors work to finish up their classes and prepare for the fight of their lives to exit the Scholomance, El figures out that the school is trying tell her something with all of the weird things that have been happening to her.  Weird is normal at school, but extra strange things have been happening to El all year and she can't figure out why.  As she and her friends begin their graduation practice, she realizes that the school has been preparing her for something big.  Writing up a review for this is tough because I don't want to give spoilers.  

This was action packed, had lots of humorous moments and characters you love!  I really enjoyed the series to date and can't wait to get my hands on the next book.  I have to know what happens next.

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