Book 2 in Naomi Novik’sThe Scholomance series is coming out in September and I have been not so patiently waiting for it’s releases since I read A Deadly Education last year. I think Novik is an incredibly Imaginative writer who does a wonderful job of world building and creating unique
characters.
El and the gang are back for their senior year. Set with Novik’s impressive world building, and packed with action this book will keep you on the edge of your seat. I ended up binging this one in one sitting, and then couldn’t go to sleep, because THAT ENDING!I cannot believe we got left with such a massive CLIFF HANGER. Fair warning you may want to wait to read book 2 until book 3 comes out!
I thought Novik did a wonderfully job of growing her characters throughout the first book, and she continues evolving not just our main character, but all of the characters in this one as well. I also appreciate Novik’s protrayal of the Orion/El love story. I also grew to really enjoy many of our secondary characters.
When you think about this school, where parents send their magical children to learn, with the knowledge that they have a 25% or less chance of Graduating or getting out alive, it’s a pretty scary scenario. But the alternative for many is keeping them home where they have an even higher probability of not making it to adulthood. This scenario breeds complex characters, who know what their chances of survival are, but still make a effort to protect their siblings, cousins, other relatives. The story, especially in The Last Graduate, is such an intense look at the human psyche. Even though looking out for others makes you vulnerable especially in a school such as this one, we as a society continue to look after our young or those less experienced or weaker than us. Generally with the result that more survive when we work collectively. Since this is a YA series, I think this would be a great book for teenagers to read to gain that understanding. I digress.
I knocked half a star off because I did think the book could have been a little shorter. There was one point about midway through the story, that I was ready to get to the big action and thought ‘hurry up already’. It was a fleeting thought and even though this will probably be my favorite read of August, it’s not something I can ignore.
4.5 big stars for this book and I cannot wait til next year when we get to read the still untitled book #3!. I mean how am I going to survive another whole year with that Cliff Hanger! If you enjoyed A Deadly Education, or you are looking for a great, somewhat dark story revolving around a magical school, than this series is for you.
Deadly Education Review | The Golden Enclaves review
The Last Graduate comes out September 28, 2021. Huge thank you to Random House Publishing Group, Ballantine, and Del Rey Books for my advanced copy for my honest review. If you liked this review please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my Instagram @speakingof_books.
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