The Graduate (Scholomance Book Two) by Naomi Novik

Synopsis
The dark school of magic has always done its best to devour its students, but now that El has reached her final year — and somehow won herself a handful of allies along the way — it’s suddenly developed a very particular craving . . .

For her.

As the savagery of the school ramps up, El is determined that she will not give in; not to the mals, not to fate, and especially not to the Scholomance. But as the spectre of graduation looms — the deadly final ritual that leaves few students alive — if she and her allies are to make it out, El will need to realise that sometimes winning the game means throwing out all the rules.

Review
A few weeks ago I reviewed the first book in Naomi Novik’s Scholomance duology,A Deadly Education and I’m so happy I didn’t have to wait too long to read The Last Graduate, after being left on a cliffhanger. With no school holidays at the school, EL and her friends find themselves straight into their senior year, and preparing to facing the Graduation Hall, with all it’s mals, the monsters from your worst nightmares. With alliances to form, spells to practice and dummy runs to practice in preparation for making their way though the Graduation Hall, but none of this guarantees their survival, with only a quater expected to make it out of the schools gates and back to their families. Can El, Orion, and their classmates make it through, and how may will be killed? Suspense, thrills and some of the most frightening monsters make for an addictive read.

I was late in reviewing A Deadly Education, but it certainly worked to my advantage as I had an advanced copy of The Last Graduate from the lovely people at Del Rey, so didn’t have to wait too long to get back to El and her friends. El, goes from being a loner to having friends which develops further with her friendship with Orion Lake, killer of mals, saviour of her life on several occasions and member of the prestigious New York Enclave. But this year, things are different, the school seems to be coming after El; seperating her out from her senior peers in a freshman homeroom that seems a magnet for the monsters and only El can help herself. I loved seeing EL grow as a young woman, she gains confidence in her powers, showing she can save others rather than need them to save her, and getting an alliance with fellow seniors Liu, Aadya and most mportantly Chloe from the New York Enclave, so she can use some of their powers. Her relationship with Orion is still on unknown territory, with the lines between friendship and romance becoming blurred, but between them they are a formidable duo. It is El’s power and resilince that brings her to the attention of the other students, who are unsure if she is just naturally powerful or a Maleficara, draining power from other students, ultimately killing them. Whilst many just want to save their own skin, El sees the bigger picture and wants to save all.

Naomi Novak is such an amazing world builder, creating the school from hell. The students go there to learn how to protect themselves from Maleficaria, who prey on magic users and ultimately kill them, but to do that they have to go to a school full of the most frightening monsters imaginal to do so, add on to that they will probably be killed in the process; how twisted is that!! There is so much suspense in this book as El and her friends prepare for the worst and most frightening part, trying to get out of the Graduation Hall alive, and making it to the gates. Naomi Novak adds to the tension by writing and describing dummy runs in the gym that are horrific, but less so than the final hurdle. The writng is fantastic, drawing you into this claustrophobic world, the characters, the magic, the different types of wizard and their abilities, her imagination is deliciously dark.

I absolutly adored being back in the Scholomance with El and her peers, and The Last Graduate certailnly didn’t disappoint, even with the first book being a five star read. Naomi Novik is certainly a master in the fantasy genre, with her monsters, fear factor and dark plot lines. I loved El, watching her grow and gain confidence over the two books, and seeing her friendships develop. If you are a fantasy fiction fan then both books are definitely a brilliant read, that is escapism in it’s darkest form.

I would like to thank Del Rey for sending me an advanced copy of this book in return for my honest review.