The Last Star by Rick Yancey

So when The Last Star first arrived, I was extremely excited about it. As I re-read the first two books, my excitement grew. But then my boss read it before I did, and she didn't like it. And then people who I trust on Goodreads started reviewing it, and a lot of them didn't have nice things to say either. As I started the book, I was hesitant, but once I started reading it, I couldn't understand why they didn't like it. And then everything started going downhill.

Five Sentence Summary

Ringer has just witnessed the deaths of Teacup and Razor, and now has been paired with Constance to track down Evan so Vocsh can figure out what went wrong with Evan's programming. Ben and Dumbo leave the house they have taken cover at to go find Ringer and Teacup (because he doesn't know she's dead), and on this journey, Dumbo is taken out by a Silencer that Ben ends up killing. When Ben rendezvous with Ringer, he is hesitant of Constance, but trusts Ringer, so he leads them back to the safe house where Constance is killed and Evan sacrifices himself. They then separate into two groups: Cassie and Ringer are going to sneak onto the base to kill Vocsh and save Evan; Ben is going to keep Sam and Megan safe. Nothing goes as planned; lives are lost; but now Earth has a chance of survival.

Positives

• I really enjoyed the book up until they decided to storm the base. The book had a good, steady pace and it felt like the book was actually going somewhere.
• I liked Constance. Yes, she was evil, but I loved her personality. I honestly don't think her positive attitude was fake; I think she really did like Ringer. Her attitude brought some much needed humor to the story.

"Hey, kids, is everything all right?" Constance, her smile withered to a concerned grim.

"Oh, sure," Zombie says. "We were just discussing where we should go for dinner. Chinese sound good to you?"

"Well, it's closer to breakfast," Constance answers brightly. "I could really go for some pancakes."

Zombie looks at me. "She's fun. What a blast you must have had this winter." (pp.130-131)

• The crazy cat lady Silencer reminded me of me, sans Silencer. If all of my family was dead, I would definitly hole up somewhere with my animals and ride out the end of the world. But I am not eating cat stew!

(Source: Giphy)

Negatives

• I still do not get the whole alien/not alien thing, and I'm not the only one. I feel like that took the book too much past the realm of possibility and I could not follow what Yancey was trying to achieve with it.
• Sam has been annoying the hell out of me since book 2, and he got so much worse in this book. I get that he grew up seriously fast, but he was a total ass to Cassie (and to Bear if I'm being completely honest). He had some really bratty moments, and I hate bratty people.
• The storming of the base felt cluttered and and rushed and it lost me. I didn't even realize that Cassie had died until the story switched to the "After" section. (It's not called After, but that's what it is in my mind.) And I was pretty sure that Evan was dead, although he had been reprogrammed, so I guess I understand how he lived.
• Ringer's pregnancy felt like it was supposed to have a bigger impact on the story line than it did. She made such a big deal about telling Ben she was pregnant, and Cassie felt for Ringer when she took in the memories, but it was just sort of a blip in the story, not super important.

Commentary

I have told so many people to read these books. I raved about them! I even told my mom that she might like it because she loves movies like this. Now, I don't think I would recommend it to people. It ended very anti-climatically that I don't know if I would put my stamp on it. And for me, the big reason is the whole alien/not alien thing. I am so lost on it.

(Source: Giphy)

Vosch said that they had been watching us for millions of years, since the dinosaurs. Seeing as humans weren't around then, you would think that it's aliens. But Vosch also said that it was all a lie, that they had just made super humans and those super humans had been downloaded with lies about a planet that they never lived on and lives they never lived. Although that's sci-fi-y, it doesn't exactly mean aliens. I just don't get it. If someone could explain this part to me, I think I would enjoy the book a lot more, but I just feel like I'm lost in a maze waiting for Yancey to help me get out.

My boss hates that Cassie died. She also thinks that Cassie didn't necessarily have to die when she got to the mothership and could reprogram it and set up a 4th book. I don't care that's Cassie is dead; I don't really have an emotional connection to her because in books like this, I always assume a main character is going to die and hold them at arms length (Hunger Games taught me that lesson). But I do believe Cassie is dead. If Rick Yancey made a 4th book, I think it would take some work, but I'm pretty sure I've read somewhere that this is only a trilogy. 

I'm kind of sad that this book didn't hold up to the other two. But maybe one day in the future, I can look back at the book and everything will make sense and I'll change my mind.

Rating: 5/10

Pages: 338

Genres: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Dystopian