A review by rinku
The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik

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. 
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