Friday, December 28, 2018

#Review - Shatter the Suns by Caitlin Sangster #YALit #Post-Apocalpytic

Series: Last Star Burning# 2
Format: Hardcover, 528 pages
Release Date: December 4, 2018
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Source: Library
Genre: Young Adult / Apocalyptic & Post-Apocalyptic

Sev must decode her mother’s last words to find the cure to Sleeping Sickness before her enemies find it first in this stunning sequel to Last Star Burning, which #1 New York Times bestselling author Aprilynne Pike calls “a rich and timely tale.”

No one is safe, not with a horrifying new strain of Sleeping Sickness tearing through the population. After fleeing the City with her friends, Sev has one goal: to find the cure her mother developed and put an end to the epidemic once and for all.
But decoding her mother’s last words—to seek out “Port North”—is easier said than done.

Nobody she talks to has heard of Port North, and with only Tai-ge and June on her side, Sev fears Dr. Yang will find the cure first, and that he’ll use it to start a new world order under his rule.

With no leads, Sev is running out of options—until she discovers someone hiding in the cargo hold of her heli plane. Someone she thought was dead. Someone with maps that could point the way to Port North, if only she could read them.

Unfortunately, the one person Sev never wants to see again might be the one person who can help her find the cure.






Shatter the Suns is the second installment in author Caitlin Sangster's Last Star Burning series. The Last Star Burning series is a young adult science fiction/dystopian fantasy read featuring Jiang Sevvy (Sev). The story picks up right where Last Star Burning left off. In the first book, readers were introduced to Sev who was branded a traitor and criminal when she was only eight years old. Her only crime was being her mother’s daughter.

With everything that happened to Sev in the previous installment, she chose to go on the run with her best friend Tai-Ge, and June, a girl from the outside who Sev befriended. They also end up with Howl, a boy that Sev met in the previous installment. Sev is hoping to follow her mother's instructions to Port North where she hopes to find the notes to the Sleeping Sickness that is rapidly spreading every where. With Dr. Yang seemingly one step ahead of her at all times. Sev will have to decide who she can trust and who she can't.  Sev fears Dr. Yang will find the cure first, and that he’ll use it to start a new world order under his rule. 

In fairness, the reason for my rating has everything to do with the slow pacing, the angst between Sev, and two boys, one who is her best friend, and the other who showed her the outside world and what was happening. One of the boys isn't who he seems, the other is exactly the opposite of what he puts forward. One of the boys will end up getting Sev to where she needs, the other boy seems to be working on his own deal with someone, or more than someone. In the middle of all of this is June, the girl with the blonde hair, who stands out every place she goes. Sev is very protective of her, and treats her like a sister rather than someone she needs to constantly save. 

Why the rating really? Way too long. Could have been 100 pages shorter and gotten rid of a whole lot of wasteful filler. Then there is the love triangle which was pretty apparent which direction the author was trending. Next, the first book was much more action packed and adventurous. That's not to say that this book is boring. But, yes, the final chapters were the best and probably ensured that I will read the sequel in the series. I want to give this book a hug for not falling in love with socialism and communism like so many young people are doing these days. Communism has killed more people than any other form of government, but we are supposed to be impressed with Mao, Stalin, Lenin, and others.Yeah, no, not buying it any time soon.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35671294-shatter-the-suns?ac=1&from_search=true#other_reviews



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