A review by ergative
The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik

5.0

What a great book, and what a worthy sequel to the first! I love the school, I love the way the culture of students and the nature of the school, its history, and the politics of the outer world--both between enclaves and also the privilege that enclave kids enjoy and bring with them into the scholomance--deepen over the course of the story. The changes that El makes to the gym were a wonderful touch. I didn't find the ending at all cliffhangery; it completes the story arc in an incredibly satisfying way, and to the extent it's a cliffhanger, it's one that I don't mind waiting a year to have resolved. I sort of predicted that it was going to happen. It's fine. I'm satisfied. But I will, of course, preorder the third book as soon as it has a title!