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A review by theseclouds
The Beginning by K.A. Applegate
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
3.5
I first started reading these books as a teenager over 20 years ago. I think back then I made it maybe a third of the way through the series before I simply lost track of it. Then as an adult I somehow came up with the insane plan of (re)reading them and finally getting to the end, because even after all this time I simply couldn't let go of these kids and their stories. I needed to know how it ends. I needed to know they'd be okay.
Don't get me wrong, I'm so happy and proud of myself for making it here, because I went through years where I didn't read a single book and now somehow I made it through most of this series in two years. But this series really was such an emotional roller coaster and even as an adult I still find so many of the storylines so harrowing, so I don't even know how teenage!me would've reacted.
I made it to the end, and somehow that made the hyperfixation grow more extreme than ever before. I was honestly tempted to go right back to the beginning, but for now I've resolved to stick to youtube deep dives and video essays. What an incredible piece of children's literature. It had its low points, sure, which you must expect with such a long-running series. But the highs certainly outshine them all, and there's storylines and characters and moments I will carry with me for the rest of my life.
Don't get me wrong, I'm so happy and proud of myself for making it here, because I went through years where I didn't read a single book and now somehow I made it through most of this series in two years. But this series really was such an emotional roller coaster and even as an adult I still find so many of the storylines so harrowing, so I don't even know how teenage!me would've reacted.
I made it to the end, and somehow that made the hyperfixation grow more extreme than ever before. I was honestly tempted to go right back to the beginning, but for now I've resolved to stick to youtube deep dives and video essays. What an incredible piece of children's literature. It had its low points, sure, which you must expect with such a long-running series. But the highs certainly outshine them all, and there's storylines and characters and moments I will carry with me for the rest of my life.