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allyareads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Death, Gore, Child death, Violence, Blood, and Body horror
_nem_'s review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
As with the first book, I enjoyed the descriptive passages sprinkled into the story. The middle of the book seemed fairly slow and then the end went so fast. I do like the world created in the Scholomance and after the cliffhanger that it ended with, I will definitely be reading the next book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Death, Forced institutionalization, and Classism
erkietheturkey's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Classism, Death, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child death and Sexual content
lacowie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Classism
katjonzz's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Violence, Child death, and Death
Moderate: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Gore, Murder, and Sexual content
Minor: War, Vomit, and Fire/Fire injury
cassielaj's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This series is everything I didn’t know I wanted. El is an incredible character, and we get so much continued growth from her in book 2. We also get a better sense of the students at the Scholomance as El and her friends navigate their senior year. The magic is still fascinating and complex, the stakes are higher than ever, and the commentary on inequality, class, and privilege is resounding.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Classism
Moderate: Cursing and Death
Minor: Sexual content
berglindsh's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Classism and Vomit
Minor: Animal cruelty
phoebemurtagh's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Vomit, Body horror, Classism, Confinement, Death, Gore, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual content and Cursing
Minor: Death of parent and Animal cruelty
ailsaod's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Certainly didn't disappoint but I liked the first book a bit more. I think the way the cliffhanger ending of book 1 came into play was good as it made Orion an unknown quantity once again and I liked how Novik uses the characters lack of knowledge about the situation outside the school. However the romance between El and Orion made me want to reach for the eye-bleach. It was just so awkward and they both had a terrible case of the stupids but I'm definitely not saying it was badly written - they are both weird teenagers locked in a building together, if anything it is too accurate. I did like the resulting disapproval from El's mouse familiar though!
While the romance was painful I really enjoyed the platonic relationships and rivalries. After seeing the isolation El experiences at the beginning of book one it is very satisfying to see her with such a great group of friends! El very much grows into herself not just socially but also with regards to her powers and what she wants her life after the Scholomance to look like and that is also really nice to watch. Which makes that ending a real kick in the gut!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Sexual content, and Classism
Minor: Pregnancy, Death of parent, and Child death
rinku's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
The Scholomance series is such a weird series, but it has something about it that makes me come back to it. I liked The Last Graduate more than its predecessor because the characters have grown to me, and I was hence for invested in the plot.
El and our other characters are in their final year at Scholomance and must plan how they will make it out on graduation day. They realize that they have to work together to accomplish this and that El will play a special role in this process. The plot is so hard to put into words, but it’s so interesting and intriguing, like how the school as a living(?) entity is targeting and manipulating El. Furthermore, this series has just such a special atmosphere that can’t be compared to anything I’ve read before. There are other elements that make the story so good, like the realistic portrayal of how it’s like to be a teenage girl or the even geopolitical dimension around the different wizard enclaves.
Some things still make not much sense to me about the story and the world, but I’ve arranged myself with it. For example, I just don’t see any positive thing about being a wizard. I don’t understand as well why they don’t give the students at least real food or why there are no grown-ups protecting the kids.
I still love the characters, even though I partly forgot some of their names since of the side characters are rather flat. El’s character development was amazing in this novel and it’s so wholesome how she teaches the freshmen the best ways to survive Scholomance. In general, it’s great to the how the students started to protect each other. Next to El, Orion is also such a great and funny character. They have such a great energy and are so cute. Another thing I also like is the fact that most of the more important side characters are female.
Novik apparently loves cliff-hangers since The Last Graduate ends again on such a mean one that I can’t wait to see how the series will be wrapped up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Child death, and Sexual content
Moderate: Classism, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail