Take a photo of a barcode or cover
hourstickby 's review for:
In the Afterlight
by Alexandra Bracken
This book was not perfect, but the last 150 pages boosted my rating up from four stars to five.
The novel begins in Los Angeles and those who survived the explosion travel to the ranch to develop a whole new organization separate from the league. They face several complications, though they are able to make do with what they have, creating a safe—and slightly flawed—place for psi kids. Ruby continues to face a multitude of personal demons, but is still determined to help those who are suppressed because of what IAAN gave them. Alexandra provides a compelling end to her stunning trilogy.
Bracken started each of the books in the trilogy with much intrigue and power, though the prologue in this book was by far the best one. The color black plays a largely symbolic role in all of the books, but the beginning of [b:In The Afterlight|16150831|In The Afterlight (The Darkest Minds, #3)|Alexandra Bracken|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1400697474s/16150831.jpg|21986944] ties it into everything. It's hard to articulate just how much I love it.
I admired Ruby so much in this novel. She may have been a powerful character in [b:Never Fade|16150830|Never Fade (The Darkest Minds, #2)|Alexandra Bracken|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1368460550s/16150830.jpg|21986942], but she developed into a really strong person on top of that. She was willing to do whatever was necessary to save the kids in the camps and keep secrets to protect her friends. Her orange abilities amplified even more, which also enhanced her strength. The only thing that bothered me about her in this book was that she blamed herself for things that weren't really her fault at all, but I suppose that would make sense because she tries so hard to protect everyone important to her.
The friendships and relationships in this book were also amazing. Vida and Chubs represented the best kind of love-hate relationship there is, and Zu truly brought out Vida's soft side, which I personally loved reading about. Liam and Ruby hit some rough patches once again, but love isn't perfect all the time, and Bracken displayed that throughout the entire book.
I didn't think Clancy could get any worse than he already had been in the previous books, but holy crap. Although my hate for Clancy is kind of inevitable, his twisted ways really enhanced my enjoyment of the trilogy.
Issues I had with this finale:
1. There was too much arguing. Almost everything Liam did struck Cole and Ruby as completely wrong and reckless, which really bothered me. I can understand some brother-to-brother squabbling, but Cole barely considered Liam's point of view. Also, Ruby didn't exactly level with him either, but I kind of liked some of the arguing between her and Liam because it added more depth to their relationship.
2. The first portion of the book was kind of slow. After Ruby found Zu, things kind of decelerated. There were plenty of moments during that section that I enjoyed, but it certainly did not compare to the WOW factor of the last 150 pages.
[b:In The Afterlight|16150831|In The Afterlight (The Darkest Minds, #3)|Alexandra Bracken|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1400697474s/16150831.jpg|21986944] may not have been flawless, but the whole trilogy was still sensational, and I'm going to miss reading about these wonderful characters that I love with all my heart.
The novel begins in Los Angeles and those who survived the explosion travel to the ranch to develop a whole new organization separate from the league. They face several complications, though they are able to make do with what they have, creating a safe—and slightly flawed—place for psi kids. Ruby continues to face a multitude of personal demons, but is still determined to help those who are suppressed because of what IAAN gave them. Alexandra provides a compelling end to her stunning trilogy.
Bracken started each of the books in the trilogy with much intrigue and power, though the prologue in this book was by far the best one. The color black plays a largely symbolic role in all of the books, but the beginning of [b:In The Afterlight|16150831|In The Afterlight (The Darkest Minds, #3)|Alexandra Bracken|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1400697474s/16150831.jpg|21986944] ties it into everything. It's hard to articulate just how much I love it.
I admired Ruby so much in this novel. She may have been a powerful character in [b:Never Fade|16150830|Never Fade (The Darkest Minds, #2)|Alexandra Bracken|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1368460550s/16150830.jpg|21986942], but she developed into a really strong person on top of that. She was willing to do whatever was necessary to save the kids in the camps and keep secrets to protect her friends. Her orange abilities amplified even more, which also enhanced her strength. The only thing that bothered me about her in this book was that she blamed herself for things that weren't really her fault at all, but I suppose that would make sense because she tries so hard to protect everyone important to her.
The friendships and relationships in this book were also amazing. Vida and Chubs represented the best kind of love-hate relationship there is, and Zu truly brought out Vida's soft side, which I personally loved reading about. Liam and Ruby hit some rough patches once again, but love isn't perfect all the time, and Bracken displayed that throughout the entire book.
I didn't think Clancy could get any worse than he already had been in the previous books, but holy crap.
Spoiler
I definitely did not think he was capable of controlling Ruby to send the messages on the computer and use her as his own personal soldier so that he could escape. Even after all that he had done though, Ruby gave him peace of mind in the end so that he wouldn't have to suffer with his lack of control now that he can't use his abilities, which showed some great character on her part.Issues I had with this finale:
1. There was too much arguing. Almost everything Liam did struck Cole and Ruby as completely wrong and reckless, which really bothered me. I can understand some brother-to-brother squabbling, but Cole barely considered Liam's point of view. Also, Ruby didn't exactly level with him either, but I kind of liked some of the arguing between her and Liam because it added more depth to their relationship.
2. The first portion of the book was kind of slow. After Ruby found Zu, things kind of decelerated. There were plenty of moments during that section that I enjoyed, but it certainly did not compare to the WOW factor of the last 150 pages.
[b:In The Afterlight|16150831|In The Afterlight (The Darkest Minds, #3)|Alexandra Bracken|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1400697474s/16150831.jpg|21986944] may not have been flawless, but the whole trilogy was still sensational, and I'm going to miss reading about these wonderful characters that I love with all my heart.
"I brought my window down, letting my free hand drift out to catch the wind. And the open road rolled out in front of us."