Chrysalis

February 15, 2019
Noah Livingston and Min Wilder navigate a life removed from the machine.Noah and Min (both presumably white) have led their classmates out of the Matrix-esque computer program that kept them alive through mankind's final days, but the hits keep on coming. Contact with a satellite group has been lost, the lake has mysteriously drained, and someone has destroyed their supplies. As tensions rise and bodies are buried, Min and Noah begin to believe that there may be more to this post-historic environment than meets the eye. Unfortunately, this is where the author's twisty, turny narrative starts to run out of steam. Instead of maintaining the breakneck pace that kept readers so engaged throughout the previous two installments, this trilogy capper coasts to the finish in its closing hundred pages. Noah and Min continue to be exciting protagonists, but their development is stalled as the series' final antagonists reveal themselves. The narrative ends nicely with one last twist that feels a bit silly but works despite itself, but readers may find themselves passively reading this tome rather than actively turning pages with glee. Regardless, the series as a whole remains a bright spot in contemporary YA fiction. A rousing examination of leadership, community, and humanity at large.A solid and satisfactory finale. (Thriller. 12-16)

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