What did you think of the last handful of chapters?

[Patricia]

It was a 5 star rating until the last chapter. The author should have left you know who dead. Between the time he died and the ending I had accepted it and seems like Amy did too. Him being brought back in the last chapter seemed like the author changed her mind at the last minute and set up this far fetched idea that he had never died. No, I did not want him to die, however, those things happen in books. I was enjoying this change of events for the story. I kept saying to myself that all the good guys always live happily ever after. Next thing I know........HE dies. Wow what a twist. Not to be I guess........oh well. Should have gone with the natural flow of the story line and ended it there with her being the only surviving heroine.

[eny]

The last chapters of the book were definitely an emotional roller coaster. I really expected him to die but BOOM! he survived. I guess it goes to show that people always want a happy ending (at the least the author thought so).

[Arwyn]

I agree, they should not have just brought you know who back. They could have left it witha cliff hanger though. The weak signal out in the woods with her going to find it. THE END... It lets you have your own ending that way.

[Needmorebooks]

i totally agree! i was so sad he had died, but was glad when the ending was unconventional. but than, BAM! it went back to the ''normal" ending. but other than that, i actually liked the book. a lot of people are saying that they didn't like it, but i did :)

[Leela]

Spoiler Alert***
I had a hunch that he'd come back to her... It would have been too depressing after already losing everyone she loved, to lose the last person she had & be left alone faced with the daunting task of taking charge of a colony of scared people.. all alongside another colony of people whom she doesn't like nor trust! That ending woulda sucked IMHO. Together, they were always the glue that held things together.

[Rios]

I was practically screaming at the last chapters! I was in shock when he died. I didnt accept it at all. I was so upset when Amy turned into one of the mutants. But I knew elder would accept her no matter what

[[deleted user]]

Sarah wrote: "I was practically screaming at the last chapters! I was in shock when he died. I didnt accept it at all. I was so upset when Amy turned into one of the mutants. But I knew elder would accept her no..."

I agree, it was really sweet and I liked the way the author ended it, because I'm just one of those people who always want the epilogue/ happy ending, but hey, we're all different

[Kristina]

I think it hit home that he "died" when the blank pages were there, and the even chapters were missing. I think that solidified it for me; I love Beth Revis's style of writing. The way she does things, it's powerful.

I loved the last few chapters. I never trusted Chris. He kept disappearing! Not to mention Amy's dad was confused when he showed up at the compound towards the end, even though he said he was supposed to be there. Nope, so didn't trust him.

[Booklover6]

Leela wrote: "Spoiler Alert***
I had a hunch that he'd come back to her... It would have been too depressing after already losing everyone she loved, to lose the last person she had & be left alone faced with t..."

I agree. The way Beth killed everyone off who was important to Amy was really harsh.

[Booklover6]

Sarah wrote: "I was practically screaming at the last chapters! I was in shock when he died. I didnt accept it at all. I was so upset when Amy turned into one of the mutants. But I knew elder would accept her no..."

SPOILERS!!

I didn't like the whole 'Amy is now a mutant with no chance of being changed back' thing. Beth could have given us some hope, since we have an impending planet wide war to 'look forward to'

[Lise]

Oh my G : Shades of Earth? Gave me super whiplashes right up to the final page and even long after. I remember feeling shell shocked when I finished the book. My poor brain was like, 'how to process this? too much, too much, overload..'

So about a week later when I could process, I would have to say I'm thrilled Elder lived because I love him and I was scared that I had lost him. I get that not everyone likes deus ex machina but I don't think this was the case here. Simply, after everything she had been thru, one good thing survived, rising like the phoenix, from the ashes of her trials; and that was a miracle. I'm thankful for it and happy for her.

It's not just a happy ending for the heck of it. It's beautiful because we know what they have to go thru now won't be easy, but they'll be facing things the way they always have-side by side.

[Rachel]

Don't get me wrong, I loved Elder. I was upset when he "died" and there were all those blank pages... Then he shows back up against all odds in a seemingly impossible way and I was sitting there trying to process it all to no avail.
I would have liked him to stay dead. I'm just not big on happily ever after endings I guess.

[Jessica]

Lise wrote: "Oh my G : Shades of Earth? Gave me super whiplashes right up to the final page and even long after. I remember feeling shell shocked when I finished the book. My poor brain was like, 'how to proces..."

I could not agree more!!!

[Shannon]

I think that Amy accepted Elder's "death" too well and that she should have at least cried or had a tantrum or SOMETHING. She acted like there was no hope but still seemed to accept that he was dead which didn't really make that much sense.

[Shannon]

Booklover6 wrote: "Leela wrote: "Spoiler Alert***
I had a hunch that he'd come back to her... It would have been too depressing after already losing everyone she loved, to lose the last person she had & be left alon..."

the way everyone dies in these books are just like the way everyone dies in Divergent!

[Ryan]

Shannon wrote: "Booklover6 wrote: "Leela wrote: "Spoiler Alert***
I had a hunch that he'd come back to her... It would have been too depressing after already losing everyone she loved, to lose the last person she..."

EXEPT VERONICA ROTH KILLED ONE OF THE MAIN CHARACTERS!!!! :( but i knew elder was going to live

[Bluewaterstorm ~ Skeletons ~ Evil and Sassy Girl ~ For a reason ~ To be known as a Legend ~]

There were so many emotions running through me as I was literally on the edge of my seat to finish the last few chapters, and Elder, Amy, Chris, and Zane were all so.....so....... I cant even describe it, It was that damn good of a book!

[Jillian]

Honestly the main thing that kept the book over three stars for me was the ending. I was pretty pissed that so many characters died so casually. Amy was so obsessed with getting her parents back in previous books, but in this book they were almost throw away characters. It was like, oh, meh, they're dead, that sucks. Um, they were the last people living from Amy's life back on Earth. Doesn't that mean anything?? And Chris. What a bastard. He got off way too easy. If I had mutant powers I'd have beat him within an inch of his life. But that's me I guess.

I think there should have been a fourth book, as this was a bit rushed. But it did not tarnish the trilogy for me, so I'd say it was between 3.5-4 stars.

One thing that makes me defend Shades of Earth more, besides the ending, is that some reviewers have called it racist, without explaining why. If you mean there is a lot of racial tension between characters, well obviously. Humans are tribal and pull shit like that. Addressing those issues doesn't make a book racist. Not addressing it would be more racist. Was it because you didn't like the way a character was portrayed? What?? Beth Revis is one of the least racist authors I know of, so that makes me upset.