Thursday, February 27, 2020

REVIEW: Zenith by Julie Bertagna


Zenith


The thrilling sequel to internationally acclaimed Exodus.

In this compelling continuation of Julie Bertagna's timely trilogy, the search for a future remains a terrifying fight for survival. Sixteen-year-old Mara and her ship of refugees are tracking the North Star in search of land in the mountains of Greenland to call home. A Gypsea boy named Tuck, orphaned when Mara's ship plows through his floating city, becomes inextricably linked to their fate. Meanwhile, back in the drowned ruins at the feet of the towering sky city, Fox begins his battle with the cruel, corrupt rulers of the New World. Forced to make their own new beginnings in a savage world, three teens must struggle to make sense of the past, overcome the harsh dangers of the present, and build a future worth living. 
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NOTE: This is a sequel. To see my review for book one, look here.

MY THOUGHTS
While I did not love Exodus, I was curious enough to see what would happen next. There are some interesting developments in this book, but I still have an indifferent opinion on the series.

This book starts where Exodus left off, with Mara leading the ships to Greenland in hopes that that will be a safe place to settle, without fear of the ocean overtaking them. But things are still not going to be easy for Mara. Meanwhile, a young boy, Tuck lives in a floating city of ships and becomes orphaned after Mara hits his city. And the Fox lives below New Mundo in hopes to dismantle the city's corruption.

The plot is pretty similar to book one, with Mara going on an adventure through various settings. She, of course, encounters more problems. That's a big reason why I kind of thought Exodus was fine by itself because sequels always bring more conflict and I would be fine believing that Mara was living happily in Greenland. One of the main reasons why I continued was because there were still threads to tie-up in New Mundo, but that was never resolved in this book. We see the Fox, but it's mostly him just hiding in the old university and worrying about Mara. He doesn't do anything, so his scenes frustrated me. We do see new characters, such as Tuck, and I do think the series does a great job of showing the different types of societies that crop up after an apocalyptic event.

It took me a while to get into this book because, like book one, the pacing is slow, but once I got about midway through the book I became intrigued by this cast of characters. There are a lot of difficult and hard situations in this book, but that is to be expected. Near the end of the book some major plot points came, which really drew me in, but the last few chapters were a bit confusing.


IN CONCLUSION
Overall, this was an okay read. I did like it and I think it had a lot of interesting elements, but I felt like some areas dragged and like the last book I felt disconnected. The book left off on a curious and odd note, but the third book was never published in America so it's unlikely that I will read it.

I hereby give this book
3 Stars
Meaning: I liked it

1 comment :

  1. Sorry to hear this wasn't a little more gripping and was just okay. I love that cover though!

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