The Last Graduate (Scholomance Series #2) by Naomi Novik
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Web ID: 14601548perfect
i got this book as soon as I finished the first book, sure it was going to be perfect. it turned out I was wrong, because it was way more. it does have some bad words and a cute sex seine but other than that good for children
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
weird and dark and so fu
Still loving this series. This is a really strong return to the Scholarmance which picks up right where we left off with El and Orion and the whole gang. I love the way Novik writes El's constant internal monologue and opinions on everything going on around her, it really pulled me into the story and the ins and outs of the power dynamics and shifting alliances in the Scholarmance. And that ending !!!! This series is so weird and fun.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Very fun read
Sometimes I read to put myself to sleep. This is not one of the books I did that with. I'm writing this review at almost 1am after finishing it. It was very captivating. At times I did feel it dragged, and I struggled to like the protagonist at first. I also think that's what makes the writing so well done though
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Exciting continuation of this amazing series
This was a great continuation of the series. I loved how we got to see El develop into a powerful sorceress and her developing relationships with not just Orion but her friends at the Scholomance as well. The first book felt very bleak because the school was so grim and dark and El was so alone but this book felt so much lighter in comparison. El finally has a chance to really unleash her powers and she's not alone anymore. I loved her reluctant hero journey. She is such a grump but such a good person and I love that combo, it's not something I've seen often and especially not for a woman character. But oh my gosh, that ending, wow I cried a lot and had to just stop and process it for awhile. But very excited to see where the next book will go. Would recommend this for people that like: - grumpy woman, sunshine man - badass women - dark atmosphere - found family
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Devoured this faster than a maw-mouth on a rampage
I wasn’t really sure what to expect going into the middle book of The Scholomance series. But as soon as I had read a chapter or so of The Last Graduate, I knew I was in trouble because work, social obligations, all that humdrum jazz etc. was gonna get in the way of gobbling this book up faster than a maw-mouth on a rampage. I have finally finished this masterpiece, and I’m shook, exhilarated, thrilled and slightly dazed. I’m not even exaggerating. I’d interpret that as if you enjoyed A Deadly Education, you’re likely to enjoy this one even more. Things get even wilder than they did in book one while retaining the same razor-sharp, snark-infused narration of alleged dark sorceress, Galadriel Higgins, plus immersive, cut-away exposition and world-building (you’ll either love or hate it), clever parallels to real-life in class and privilege, a gorgeous diverse cast full of authentic culture and languages, and a whole lot more of Orion, Aadhya & Liu. Beyond that, The Last Graduate was a surprisingly lot more emotional read for me than A Deadly Education. I really cared about El’s character growth, her relationships, and her choices. The book really builds up to one of the biggest crescendos I’ve ever experienced and I’m so darn relieved I don’t have to wait for the third book to come out to find out what happens because I would not know how to cope. My heartfelt thanks to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey and author Naomi Novik for the opportunity to read this work in exchange for an honest review.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
From Loaner to Leader
The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik is the second book in The Scholomance series and begins not long after A Deadly Education ends. During the book, our protagonist, El, continues to develop both socially and emotionally and her relationships with her peers reflects this change. Her determination not to harm any living thing drives many of her actions. Orion continues to be a constant presence in her life and time would tell how this relationship would progress. It was inspiring to read as El, who was prophesied to destroy everything, as she became a leader who went from being concerned only for herself to someone who was concerned with the wellbeing of the entire student body. This was El and Orion’s graduation year and they were making every effort to make it out of the school alive. This fantasy world that the author has built is original and incredibly creative. Her ability to write the journey of an extremely awkward, socially inept teen to a still abrasive but much more connected young woman was a joy to experience. The friendships that were formed between the students were important and meaningful.. I found it hard to put this book down, despite the fact that it was harder work to read and follow than the author’s other novels. I wholeheartedly recommend The Last Graduate to all readers of fantasy, especially YA fantasy. It has magic, it has danger, it has friendship and love, and it has a well developed plot, and it ends in a very unexpected cliffhanger. How can it miss? I am voluntarily submitting this honest review after reading a complementary copy of this book thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey .
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
An Epic Graduation
I loved diving back into the world of the Scholomance with Novik's second of the series. El is a young woman to be reckoned with who finds that she has a lot of heart despite having always believed she was destined for monstrous things. She is amazingly quick witted, courageous and snarky as all hell. The world building is truly genius and not quite like anything I've read before. I'm very much looking forward to the final book after an utterly explosive ending.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
A fun and well done sequel!
This is the second book in the Scholomance series, the sequel to A Deadly Education, where we follow El, Orion and their friends through their senior year of the Scholomance. This is expected to be their most deadly year. An overall 3.75 stars from me! We start off basically right where we left off in the first book, with El and Orion and friends. Since we got most of the Scholomance world building (with pictures and graphs!) in the first book, we don’t need much more here. We do get a bit of scheduling explanations (which do become important) and we do learn more about the enclave regions outside of the school along with the politics that go with those. Those politics are often reflected in school behavior and so do become important throughout the story. Overall, for me, this was woven in really nicely. Since we do start off where we left off, the atmosphere is similar to the first book, a very dangerous survivalist type school. Things are high stakes and life threatening for the students but with a touch of humor at times. Since El has made friends in the first book, there are some found family and wholesome elements to the sequel more than I found there to be in the first book. I was pretty surprised at this, and didn’t expect it to take that route! I enjoyed where it went even though I was not expecting it, and look forward to more of that in the third book. The main premise of the plot is not so different from the first book: survive in school both literally and metaphorically. Do you schoolwork, find useful spells and create useful objects etc to take out with you into the world. However, since the atmosphere and plot blend in this bool, I found that the atmosphere took on some of the found family trope, the plot did the same. As the atmosphere became more wholesome, so did elements of the plot. There were points towards the 60-70% mark that were anticlimactic for me. There was a lot of build up, and no culmination to that build up felt disappointing though it is part of the story. There are times where I find the writing to be too detailed from the MC’s perspective. Those paragraphs of details are interesting and make the MC more unique and thoughtful, however they can feel like a lot to slog through when reading the book. Overall, I had fun reading this book. It’s a different type that I typically read and it’s a quick read. I found certain parts of the plot to be anticlimactic, so I don't know that this would ever be a re-read for me, but I do plan to find out what happens and how the story ends.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com