The first third of this book is fantastic, almost as good as The Giver, which makes sense because it’s set in the same society and the two are explicitly connected.

The second third is also good and I felt like it explored some interesting ideas.

The final third is pretty much on par with Messenger, which I hated. I wished I’d just quit reading before I hit that last chunk, and since that last chunk is the resolution to the whole series, I think it’s the ultimate sign that explicitly linking these books into a series was a mistake.