The Last Graduate

The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik

The Last Graduate is a fun read, packed from start to finish with unexpected plot developments, great character arcs, and epic magic performed by student mages. I stayed up way past my bedtime to finish it. For a book that has a lot of darker fantasy themes, it really is a delightful read.

I really enjoy El as a character because she is so very sardonic, and she has the potential - and even the prophesied destiny - to be a super powerful evil sorceress, but fights so hard to just be a normal kid. Or at least as normal as you can be when you're attending a the magic school that wants to kill everyone. I like seeing the cracks in her tough outer shell as she makes friendships and alliances, and the strength in her resolve as those relationships begrudgingly foster a spirit of altruism in her.

The world building of the Scholomance, and the magic system therein, is rich and complex and Novik does a wonderful job making it feel tangible. The characters are dynamic and we get some really great insight in this installment.

I always find reviewing middle books of series to be a little difficult, because I don't want to spoil the first book, and also the story is not complete yet. This one definitely ended on a cliffhanger, and I can't wait til September to find out what is going to happen next!

“There’s no such thing as normal people, I said, a desperate flailing. “There’s just people, and some of them are miserable, and some of them are happy, and you’ve the same right to be happy as any of them—no more and no less.”

“I’m not some sort of pallid romantic who insists on being loved for my shining inner being. My inner being is exceptionally cranky and I often don’t want her company myself.” 

“the same kind of calm as going through a crying jag and coming out the other side, where you know nothing’s changed and it’s all still horrible but you can’t cry forever, so there’s nothing to do but go on.” 

“It turns out that magical mice high on incense are really good at not being caught.”