Summary (as seen on Goodreads):
The worst was supposed to be over. We were reunited after a decade apart. We were discovering the truth of our past. We were training and getting stronger every day. We were even happy...
We never imagined the Mogodorians could turn one of our own against us. We were fools for trusting Five. And now Eight is lost forever. I would do anything to bring him back, but that's impossible. Instead, I will do whatever it takes to destroy every last one of them.
I've spent my entire life hiding from them, and they've stolen everything away from me. But that stops now. We're going to take the battle to them. We have a new ally who knows their weaknesses. And I finally have the power to fight back.
They caught Number One in Malaysia.
Number Two in England.
Number Three in Kenya.
And Number Eight in Florida.
They killed them all.
I am Number Seven.
I will make them pay.
Lately, I've been attempting to write more cohesive reviews instead of listing my pros and cons, so here goes nothing.
The summary above suggests something very different from what is found in the novel. It is implied that Marina's POV will be present in the book and that there will be a huge focus on going after Five and making him pay for killing Eight. If this is a compilation of her thoughts during this novel, then it must be toward the middle or the end, where she has actually met Adam, the true-born Mogadorian. Even more confusing, the summary is not the main point of the novel, and Marina's POV is not shown. Therefore, the summary felt deceptive as a ploy to make readers pick up the novel.
As noted with the previous book, once again it is very difficult to discern between the different viewpoints, which can only be understood by looking at the context. With Ella's it was generally obvious, seeing as she was separated from everyone else during that time, but it was especially difficult to understand the difference between Four and Six whenever they were in the same location. Ella's POV does not read like she is younger than the other two, and the other two don't sound different in terms of thought processing even though one is male and one is female.
The story also tends to be told instead of shown. For example, saying that Setrakus Ra talked about the destruction of Lorien "like the death of a whole planet is nothing" tells readers nothing about his tone or how this is shown physically. Similarly, when Adam is "sounding eager to help Malcolm," there is nothing in his voice inflection or physical action that shows this eagerness. Rather, these things are merely stated to the readers.
It was striking that Five did not want his eye healed, which at first appeared to merely be a way to remind him of what he did and of his betrayal. However, he uses this deficiency to his advantage, which is an incredible tie to the human experience of overcoming weaknesses by exploiting and using them in novel ways. Also, when Four gave Adam his dad's sword, that was a great scene. It takes something used for evil and will now be used for good. Both of those actions were very striking and meaningful.
Finally, it was incredible that Adam was able to enter a place supposedly only accessible by members of the Garde. This leads to interesting possibilities, as does Sam's newfound abilities. The story itself is much more solid than the writing, as it has been in previous books as well.
After weighing all these observations, I have decided to bestow 3 jellyfish on this novel. I do look forward to the next book and hope it is a satisfactory finale.
Have you read any of these books from the Lorien Legacies series? Please share thoughts and comments!
