Book Review: The Final Six, by Alexandra Monir

I think The Final Six is a really good book --- but it was hard for me to tell.

Global warming has caused entire cities throughout the world to be flooded and destroyed.  Storms hit that wipe out entire populations. The government has drafted twenty-two teenagers to make a trip to one of Mars' moons -Europa - to set up a settlement for Earth's population under the moon's surface. They have to send teenagers so they will live long enough to complete their mission.

Leo, from Italy, and Naomi, from California, are two of the drafted. Leo desperately wants to be one of The Final Six, since his entire family was killed and he's barely subsisting.  Naomi has led a more protected life.  Her family is safe, but her little brother has severe heart disease, and Naomi is his protector. She intends to blow the tryout so she can come home.

There are twists and turns and of course, the government isn't being totally forthcoming about their training or their mission. There's a magic potion that has strange effects on some of the teens. Some of the teens are evil, some are sympathetic, and some really aren't developed at all.  A romance is inevitable, and Naomi's intentions are necessarily altered.

The tension mounts nicely, and at the end, just when we think all is lost, we get a thread of hope -- and then we must wait until the next installment.

All of that is great, but here's my problem.  This book is so much like Nyxia, a book that I really enjoyed, that the constant comparisons in my head perhaps tainted my enjoyment.  Nyxia came first, so naturally, I felt The Final Six was inferior. At the end of my review of Nyxia, I stated that I could see this book on the big screen.  I've read that The Final Six has been optioned by Sony Pictures. Huh.

If you haven't read Nyxia, you should be able to read and enjoy The Final Six without bias.  If you have read Nyxia, and then read The Final Six (or read them in opposite order), I'd like to know what you think.

The Final Six is exciting, timely, and should be recommended to your Sci-Fi fans.

Published by HarperTeen, March 6, 2018
eBook obtained from Edelweiss
352 pages

Rating: 4/5

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Audio Book Review: Flight Behavior, by Barbara Kingsolver

No one I've ever read writes more beautifully than Barbara Kingsolver. Her use of simile and metaphor, and her vivid descriptions are almost like listening to a symphony. However, I didn't enjoy Flight Behavior as much as her other novels.

Flight Behavior is a novel about a situation. Dellarobia is our main character. She finds millions of monarch butterflies on her mountain in Tennessee. She tells the story, as the mountain is discovered by tourists, the rest of her family, scientists, and the press. She ends up helping the scientist, Ovid , with his research. Of course, the cause of these butterflies wintering in Tennessee instead of Mexico is believed to be global warming.

Dellarobia is feeling restless. She was married as a teen because she got pregnant, then lost the baby. Since then she and her husband Cub have had two children. All under the thumb of Cub's parents, who own the sheep farm where Cub and Dellarobia live. Dellarobia, unlike most kids in her town, dreamed of going to college, but those dreams are over.

The sleepy, mostly impoverished little town of  Feathertown and it's lively church congregation, also play a pivotal role in Flight Behavior. To add to the drama, Cub's father needs money so desperately that he wants to log the mountain -- where the monarchs are! Dellarobia tells it all. Her past, her developing relationship with Ovid, her struggle to put food on the table, and her need for more in her life are all vividly and beautifully described, as only Kingsolver can.

The setting is beautiful. Dellarobia is a multidimensional character who seemed like a friend by the end of Flight Behavior. All the other characters, while not fully developed, serve to "finish" Dellarobia's story.

But, as I said, we get a very detailed and beautiful description of a unique situation, but not much else happens. I still really enjoyed Flight Behavior. But if you are looking for a riveting plot, you won't find it here.

I could listen to Kingsolver read to me forever. This is the second book of hers that I've experienced in the author's voice (The Lacuna was the first), and I cannot recommend these audio books enough.

If you haven't read anything by Kingsolver yet, I would recommend The Poisonwood Bible or The Lacuna before you try this one. If you are (or become) a Kingsolver fan, as I am, then you won't want to miss Flight Behavior.

Published by Harper, 2012
Audiobook obtained from the library
448 pages

Rating: 4/5

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