Book Review: In the Afterlight

In The Afterlight by Alexandra Bracken
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In the Afterlight is the third and final installment in the Darkest Minds trilogy by Alexandra Bracken. This installment follows Ruby, Liam, Chubs, and the rest of the gang following the climactic scene in the previous book. Everything comes to a head as Ruby, having finally accepted who she is with her powers, risks everything to regain her freedom, and the freedom of every child affected by the IAAN virus.

This must be the year of stellar finales, because this is the second one I've read that has hit all the right notes at the right time, and was generally an excellent book.

I loved seeing Ruby act the way she did in this book, especially when compared to who she was only two books ago. She knew who she was, and she wasn't afraid of her ability anymore, but that didn't mean she was ok with the abilities themselves. It's difficult to separate those kind of things, but she did (finally) and it made her a stronger person.

All the relationships. ALL OF THEM. Were delightful. Whether you were reading a scene with Ruby and Liam, Ruby and Cole, Chubs and Vida, even Ruby and Clancy, were dynamic and thorough looks at the different ways a person can mean to someone.

This book works through the struggles put up through the stellar worldbuilding Bracken has developed, which is not only impressive in its own right, but downright scary, since I felt that the way the government and the country had devolved was something not too far off from what the real world is capable of right now. A place where people can live and love and go about their lives, while consciously ignoring injustices that are literally happening in their backyard right now. Doesn't sound too fictional, does it?

All in all, I loved this installment. Each of these books has a unique personality and identity that totally sets them apart from each other, but also complements each other in a way that a trilogy ought to. I honestly can't tell you which I would save in a fire, because they're all uniquely incredible. The ending may have felt a little rushed, but that also might just be me. I've noticed that after all the buildup of previous books, any ending of a big struggle seems a little bit strange to the point where you don't always believe it. But I'm babbling. On to the next book in my (immortal) TBR shelf.

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Never Fade

Never Fade by Alexandra Bracken
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Never Fade is the sequel to Alexandra Bracken's The Darkest Minds. (Spoilers for DM ahead.) In this installment, the story begins a few months after Ruby has joined the Children's League. During a mission, the team picks up Cole Stewart, Liam's brother. He reveals to Ruby that he met Liam while he was out on his mission, and that Liam unknowingly has a vital piece of information that the League is desperate to get back. Fearful that they might discover Liam, Ruby sets out on an off-book mission to find him and retrieve the info. With her are Jude, a overfriendly Yellow, and Vida, the blue-haired foulmouthed Blue, as well as a few familiar faces. Once more, Ruby must figure out who to trust, as the puzzle pieces falling into place prove to be even more complex than she had believed.

Wow, I say. Wow. This sequel doesn't give you time to take a breath, much less slow down long enough to get bored.

So, I'll start this off by saying what I've said before about Alexandra Bracken, and what I'll probably keep saying until I die, and that is she possesses the unique ability of originality. This doesn't have to do with her concept of plot, though it is. It's her ability to A) make her setting incredibly plausible, so much so that I could see this future playing out, under the given circumstances. It is also B) to construct characters entirely individual from each other. Her voice is in the story, but the characters read as their own selves. For example, you have some characters who are innocent (relatively): Zu and Jude, for instance. These two on their own are two different flavors of innocent. Then you have characters that sound nothing like anyone else in the book apart from themselves. The one that stands out the most like this is Vida. She gets compared to Chubs a bit, but to me, she read as wholly distinct from any other character present in the book. She's (arguably) very bitchy and rude, but then she has this unwavering, almost naive loyalty towards Cate and the League.

Speaking of Cate, you also have the unique dynamic of mixed morality and moral grey areas in this book. In a lot of dystopians, you get the idea that whatever is the antagonistic element of the dystopia is very definitive. There's no need to worry about who's good and who's bad; it's spelled out. Here, however, there is none of that. There's a situation which everyone seen has a different viewpoint or conflict on. There's organizations based around the IAAN virus, on both sides, but none of them are unequivocally in the right or in the wrong. Again, Cate is a good example of this. She simplified truths, even lied on certain occasions, to Ruby, but then we see a very maternal side of her, which confuses the reader and has them wondering what they're supposed to think about her. And she certainly isn't the only character like that. *SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER ALERT* on the subject of Ruby erasing Liam's mind, both of them stand on different ends of that spectrum, yet both have very good points supporting their opinion. In the end, I couldn't figure out which I agreed with more, Liam or Ruby.

Never Fade is a fantastic book, equally as strong as its predecessor, and I cannot wait for the third one. Not only will we finish the sentence (THE DARKEST MINDS NEVER FADE...) but we will also see the fallout from this book. It wasn't left on a cliffhanger, but we are left with no confusion to the fact that s*** is gonna go down.

Ta ta.


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