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A review by gabberjaws
The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Let me get this out of the way right now: The Last Graduate does NOT suffer from Sophomore Syndrome. It picks up immediately where the last book lets off, but is instantly more thoughtful and refined than its predecessor.
Novik is a master at picking you up and plopping you into different worlds. All of her work has been so consistently atmospheric and well-built; it’s honestly my favourite part about reading one of her books. It's also one of my least favourite parts because when the book's done it takes forever for my to pull myself out of its world. Like,,, now what?
The stakes are so much higher in this book, and El, Orion & Co are utterly root-for-able. El herself grows in such leaps and bounds in this book, it’s so freakin’ heartwarming. Where A Deadly Education spent the brunt of its course focusing on building El and Orion's friendship, The Last Graduate shifts its focus onto Els relationship with other people. The first book saw her open up to the possibility of friendship and human connection, and now it's time to see where it can take her.
It resulted in an entirely wholesome, sweet journey of a young girl learning to care for other people and let them care for her; after a lifetime of loneliness and solitude. And because Novik is evil incarnate, she gave us THAT ending. Which, don't get me wrong; she built up to it. That ending was coming since the first book. It was expected, and it made narrative sense. BUT IT STILL HURT AND WAS CRUEL AS FUCK AND I'M STILL NOT OVER IT.HOW DARE SHE MAKE ME WORRY FOR MY SWEET HIMBO CHILDE FOR A WHOLE YEAR NOW
PS:
Gonna go on record right now and say that, as a brown woman from the global south, I personally didn't think the first book was racist. (Minus that whole bit with the locs, which was fucked up and unforgivable) It 100000% needed sensitivity readers, but I do feel like perhaps some of the seemingly racist bits were presented out of context by other readers in some reviews. I didn't review the previous book as I felt like it wasn't my place to say anything, and I did not want to invalidate people who may have been hurt by the book. I'm saying all this now in the interest of full disclosure, and as always am open to listen to people who might have been harmed.
Novik is a master at picking you up and plopping you into different worlds. All of her work has been so consistently atmospheric and well-built; it’s honestly my favourite part about reading one of her books. It's also one of my least favourite parts because when the book's done it takes forever for my to pull myself out of its world. Like,,, now what?
The stakes are so much higher in this book, and El, Orion & Co are utterly root-for-able. El herself grows in such leaps and bounds in this book, it’s so freakin’ heartwarming. Where A Deadly Education spent the brunt of its course focusing on building El and Orion's friendship, The Last Graduate shifts its focus onto Els relationship with other people. The first book saw her open up to the possibility of friendship and human connection, and now it's time to see where it can take her.
It resulted in an entirely wholesome, sweet journey of a young girl learning to care for other people and let them care for her; after a lifetime of loneliness and solitude. And because Novik is evil incarnate, she gave us THAT ending. Which, don't get me wrong; she built up to it. That ending was coming since the first book. It was expected, and it made narrative sense. BUT IT STILL HURT AND WAS CRUEL AS FUCK AND I'M STILL NOT OVER IT.
PS:
Gonna go on record right now and say that, as a brown woman from the global south, I personally didn't think the first book was racist. (Minus that whole bit with the locs, which was fucked up and unforgivable) It 100000% needed sensitivity readers, but I do feel like perhaps some of the seemingly racist bits were presented out of context by other readers in some reviews. I didn't review the previous book as I felt like it wasn't my place to say anything, and I did not want to invalidate people who may have been hurt by the book. I'm saying all this now in the interest of full disclosure, and as always am open to listen to people who might have been harmed.