In The Afterlight Buddy Read

[Daniel]

A bunch of us are going to be buddy reading in the coming week! Everyone is welcome to join!

There are no set chapters per day, we just read at our own paces and start each post with how far along you are, i.e., Chapter #, %, using spoilers where needed. Have fun!

[Daniel]

I just finished my reread of Never Fade! I was slightly confused during the climax, but I think I understand everything now! Ready for the last book!

[Karen’s Library]

Yay! I should have my copy this week! I've been eagerly anticipating this read!!

[Alison]

so I gotta be honest... after reading never fade and sparks rise... I couldn't wait any longer to read in the afterlight. I'm 300/pages in b cuz I haven't had a ton of time to read. but so far I like it. can't wait to hear yalls tjoughts!!!

[Jenny, Always smiling! :-D]

I read yesterday and it was SO SAD....

Will probably start this tomorrow! Maybe tonight :)

[Daniel]

I'll start this either tomorrow or Tuesday!
Super excited to read this with you guys.

[Alison]

yes jenny!!! it was

[Alison]

woohoo!!!!

[Alison]

sorry I couldn't wait :(

[Jen]

I couldn't wait either, Alison. I really want to hear everyone's thoughts too!

[Alison]

:)

[Alison]

on page 388, and y'all, its getting soooo good!

[Alison]

yup, just finished it :)
my all the fav quote is "carpe the hell out this diem" love it!!!!

[Jenny, Always smiling! :-D]

Okay, started reading today and I'm at 36% and LOVING it so far! (view spoiler)[ Okay, at this point I'm not liking the way Cole is right now. Way too control freak. Also, I'm kind of worried about Ruby's last meeting with Clancy. I think he pulled something on her. I seriously had to go look at my book to get his name again. Too many "C" names in this book, and my brain is getting confused!! LOL (hide spoiler)]

[Alison]

Yes jenny!!!! (view spoiler)[ I know. I was the same way. But i really liked cole from the secind book for some reason. Most have been thay stewert southern boy charm :). But of course liam is my number one :) (hide spoiler)]

[Karen’s Library]

Gah, my book is in Nevada right now. It's at least 2 days out. :(

[Daniel]

I'm 40 pages through and it's a little slow to start.

[Jenny, Always smiling! :-D]

Really? I didn't think so at all, I thought it moves rather quickly in the beginning (view spoiler)[ Finding out the agency is trying to double cross the kids, then their escape (hide spoiler)] But after the first 100 pages, it slows down a bit while Ruby, Liam, and Cole hash things out. I am still loving it! Didn't read any out of it yesterday, but going to read today!

[Jenny, Always smiling! :-D]

Oh and something really amazing happens at about 20% in! This is where its helpful if you read

[Alison]

yea Daniel it seems a little slow in the beginning. but just a hair to me.

[Daniel]

GAH! FEELS!
Around 20% through and it's so much better now.

[Karen’s Library]

Just got my copy today so I'll most likely start tomorrow night. Too late tonight and if I start I may not be able to put it down. ;)

[Daniel]

I've been busy for a while so I'm still about 200 pages through. I love all the tension between the characters- it really adds to all the suspense.

[Jen]

All that tension did start to bug me after a while. The whole thing between (view spoiler)[Ruby siding with Cole all the time and Liam having another idea, and their relationship never being defined - are they mad at each other? Are they friends? Are they with each other romantically? All that waffling back and forth started to drive me a little crazy - and I didn't like that Ruby wasn't even conflicted about Liam's opposing viewpoint most of the time. (hide spoiler)]

[Karen’s Library]

Jenny wrote: "Oh and something really amazing happens at about 20% in! This is where its helpful if you read "

I think I hit the amazing part!! (view spoiler)[ Zu is back!!!! (hide spoiler)]

[Karen’s Library]

Daniel wrote: "GAH! FEELS!
Around 20% through and it's so much better now."

Yup...!! ;)

[Jenny, Always smiling! :-D]

Karen wrote: "Jenny wrote: "Oh and something really amazing happens at about 20% in! This is where its helpful if you read "

I think I hit the amazing part!! [spoilers removed]"

Yup you got it!!

[Jenny, Always smiling! :-D]

I'm up to 72%, sorry I haven't updated here much. (view spoiler)[ Okay, I'm getting really tired of all the secrets. I have no idea how this is going to wrap up into a happy ending at this point, not very hopeful!

I LOVED that whole interview with Zu, though, that part was incredible! (hide spoiler)]

[Karen’s Library]

Daniel wrote: "I'm 40 pages through and it's a little slow to start."

I thought it was a bit slow at the beginning as well. Now I'm going through the maddening parts Jen talked about. I'm about 33% in. Oh, loved that (view spoiler)[ Vida fixed Chubs' glasses!! (hide spoiler)]

[Jenny, Always smiling! :-D]

I finished this last night, and it was AMAZING!!! By the way, Sparks Rise does play into the ending a little but (view spoiler)[ We never find out what happens to Sammy and Lucas!!! That annoyed me. (hide spoiler)]

Overall I loved this book and this trilogy, even the heartbreaking bits. I was so sad (view spoiler)[When Cole died, and Liam was on the phone with Ruby...OMG TEARS!! I love that Liam came and got her in the end and saved her. Liam is one of my fave characters ever! Clancy was just evil, HATED him, and I knew he was doing something to Ruby. I think I said that above that I wasn't trusting him. I think what Ruby did in the end to Clancy was so awesome and more than Clancy probably deserved. I'm glad she was able to "fix" her parents' brains too, so they could remember her. I'm not surprised what the government was deciding in the end. Traded in one evil for another. (hide spoiler)]

This was so good, raised so many questions and thoughts about government control, mental issues, kids who do criminal acts, etc. I can't wait till you all finish to talk more!

I really recommend reading In Time, its one of my fave novellas I've ever read. Sparks Rise gives you some back story on Sammy and Lucas, but it is really sad, and as we didn't get a resolution from it in In the Afterlight, I think its skippable.

Jen--your thoughts??

[Jen]

Like you say Jenny - loved this book but it had its problems. I think it's my least favourite of the three. While the ending was spectacular, all that conflict in the middle had me just itching to get through it and get to the action already!

Clancy - got what he deserved in the end, but did he really deserve it? We all make choices with what we have, our own experience. He was a monster, and he made monstrous choices. But it certainly wasn't his fault that he was made into a monster to begin with. A bit of Frankenstein going on there, I suppose.

Cole - I kind of knew what was going to happen to him - in these sorts of stories, it's typical to go the way it did. He was kind of a study in contrasts - he loved Liam but he showed it in a very controlling way, unwilling to listen to reason. On a critical level - he worked well into the story to provide all that conflict. But he did drive me a little crazy after awhile. Lots of mixed messages.

Zu - well, kind of saw that coming as well. It was a bit cliche even though as a character she is just so adorable.

Vida and Chubs - LOVED that relationship. Just, loved! Oddly, the thing I liked the most was that we really didn't get an inside look at it. Just an outside observer's view, which made it all the more entertaining.

Ruby - what a feat of character development from beginning to end. She went from scared little girl to confident, triumphant young woman. I think that pretty much sums it up for me.

Liam - oh, Liam, my heart. One of the most favourite characters I've ever read - and wished I could know in real life. He was just extraordinary. Flawed and yet consistent. Amazing. He really made this series what it is.

I did like the novellas, but they really were extraneous. I didn't feel that they added all that much. That said, In Time was a nice little story.

I agree Jenny, it did raise many issues. And it didn't really give definitive answers, which served as both a good thing and a bad thing. Mainly it didn't try to solve any fundamental issues of human nature, which is to its credit. It stayed in the gray area where fictional treatment of these things really belong.

Ultimately, I think the thing that gave it credibility was the same thing that gave the Unwind series (Neal Shusterman) credibility - the fact that it could happen and that people would probably behave the same way. Sad.

I love, love, love this series. Can I say that enough times? Such love for this series. And it's all about the characters -

Karen, your turn!

[Jenny, Always smiling! :-D]

I agree completely on Vida and Chubs! I LOVE Chubs, he is my second fave character in this series, next to Liam. Well, he's tied with Zu I suppose! Just loved that little quartet!

I also liked that it didn't try to answer any of those controversial questions, either. Making you think about them should be the goal of any fictional book, I agree completely with that. It is sad to think that's how people would have reacted, but I do think you're right, most people would probably react the same way. It would be up to our leaders to lead us the right way, and sadly, right now our government has no such leaders.

The conflict in the middle didn't bug me too much--and I think a lot of it actually came from Ruby, as she just couldn't pick a side. Most of the time, she was with Cole, but she did disagree with him a lot of the time too. The genius of this was that finally she realized (view spoiler)[ that no side was really right, it was going to have to be a combination of both plans to make it work. Does this not sound like our own government right now? Picking sides, won't budge or compromise at all! I found that really interesting. (hide spoiler)]

[Karen’s Library]

I'm still working on this one, but I'm at that conflict part in the middle so having a hard time staying with it right now. Hope I get to some action soon.

I like how strong Ruby has become from the first book to now.

[Daniel]

I just finished. I'm a bit confused so let me run everything through again. Can anyone tell me if I have it correct? Once I have my stuff together, THEN I'll post my thoughts.

(view spoiler)[ So after Cole dies, Ruby finds out that Clancy has manipulated her body to go and send messages to contacts to try and get him out. Clancy has also tricked Cole into going into that Red camp so that he dies. Liam makes contact with the camp and says he can't come back. Ruby realizes that Clancy's contacts are coming soon. She talks to Clancy, and Dr. Gray comes up and shoots him. Ruby makes the others run away to another building assuring them that she will be right behind. She lets herself get taken by the contacts so she can install the security cancelling flash drive and meanwhile gives Sam her memory back. She gets the security flash drive in and is about to be killed when Liam comes in and shoots the Camp Controller. Half-conscious, Ruby is escorted out of the camp as the gang successfully evacuates everyone. All the parents are (rather miraculously) there as they have seen footage and interviews with children and all of a sudden have turned against the president. (?) Ruby is taken to a hospital and is treated. After she wakes up she is visited by her parents (do they remember her now?), Gram, and her friends and learns that everything has worked itself out in the world: the president is gone, foreign leaders are coming, and peace has been restored. She also gives Clancy a chance to essentially restart his life. She and Liam plan to return to their families but to visit each other when they can. Is all that right? Am I missing anything important? (hide spoiler)]

[Jenny, Always smiling! :-D]

The only things important (view spoiler)[ Ruby's parents don't remember her, they have learned about her from Gram, who has been telling them about Ruby, so they feel understandbly awful about the whole thing. Ruby gives them their memories back when they visit her in the hospital. I honestly think most of the parents were already against the president, insofar as wanting their kids back, they just didn't know where they were. Most parents realized after the fact that they'd made a mistake turning them in in the first place, it just happened really fast when the governement took over. There were still a lot of kids that hadn't found their parents yet by the sound of things, though, so not all parents came for their kids. (hide spoiler)]

[Daniel]

Jenny wrote: "The only things important [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ my only problem with is was that the overturn of the government happened so fast. People had been unwilling to accept the evidence as truth for years, and now suddenly, almost all of them do because of one camp attack? Seems a bit farfetched to me. But did I get everything else right? lol (hide spoiler)]

[Jenny, Always smiling! :-D]

LOL yes you did! It was a little farfetched, but a lot of that was the media coverage helped that along. (view spoiler)[ There was also suddenly a CURE. That helped change a lot of people's minds, too, that they could now "fix" their kid. (hide spoiler)]

[Daniel]

Jenny wrote: "LOL yes you did! It was a little farfetched, but a lot of that was the media coverage helped that along. [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ I get that the media coverage helped it along, but the media's been revealing information for years. Did the people just reach a breaking point? Hmm. And yeah, the cure is probably what awoke them. (hide spoiler)]

[Jenny, Always smiling! :-D]

I think that's exactly what happened, Daniel.

[Daniel]

Ok, so.
I was pretty mixed for this book. Here are my thoughts.
(view spoiler)[ the action took FOREVER. For 400 pages there was bickering, secrets, and pissed off characters. I'm ok with that, but the pacing got a little draggy. Let's see....
There was one point where I got pissed of at everyone, because they (Ruby, Cole, Liam) were completely sure that their plans would work, even when others would point out a major flaw with the other's plan. UGH. It took Ruby 50000 years to figure out that they needed a compilation of 4 plans. I thought the climax was cool and that the ending was great. It was a little too happy to be realistic, but after everything these guys have gone through, that's fine. :)
I also questioned Ruby and Liam's relationship: both were overly protective of each other and hid things from each other so as to not put them in danger. The best couples are the ones where one person knows that the other person can take care of him/herself and lets him/her go (e.g. Percabeth). I mean, I still love this relationship- Liam is an amazing guy to have been treated like a dog the entire book and still love Ruby that much.
CHUBS AND VIDA. YES. HELL YES.
I saw the Zu thing coming miles away but it was still cute when it happened.
I feel like Sam's history with that guy was detailed in a novella that I didn't read.
I loved what Ruby did for Clancy at the end. Heartwarming.
Also, is Nico gay? Did he love Clancy?
I'm missing stuff but that's all I can think of for now. (hide spoiler)]
Overall, it was a good book, and had a solid ending, but I didn't love it quite as much as the first 2. 3.5 stars.

[Jenny, Always smiling! :-D]

You are pretty much on the same page as Jen, I think Daniel. I LOVED this book, but that's just me I guess! The conflict stuff didn't bother me that bad. I saw the point of it, it was a learning curve for Ruby.

[Daniel]

I just read Jen's post- we're so alike in our thoughts, someone's going to accuse me of stealing her opinions! LOL

[Alison]

Jen wrote: "Like you say Jenny - loved this book but it had its problems. I think it's my least favourite of the three. While the ending was spectacular, all that conflict in the middle had me just itching t..."
Perfectly said!!!!

[Alison]

Love love love rwading yalls thoughts!! O loved this book, but i totally love this series so much. Liam id my all time.fav character. But i did get frustrated lot through the book. Same as i did with insurgent. Anyways, yay!!!

[Jenny, Always smiling! :-D]

This is a fun one to discuss :)

[Alison]

it really is! and I love that I able to discuss with people that love it just as much as me

[Daniel]

My review is here for those interested.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Karen’s Library]

I'm about halfway done. Just haven't had much reading time. I look forward to reading everyone's thoughts!! :) Hopefully I finish this by tomorrow night!!

[Karen’s Library]

I'm 70% in now and finally getting somewhere!

[Karen’s Library]

Jenny wrote: "I'm up to 72%, sorry I haven't updated here much. Okay, I'm getting really tired of all the secrets. I have no idea how this is going to wrap up into a happy ending at this point, not very hopeful..."

Agree with you here, Jenny! Zu finally found her voice! Beautiful scene!