*RE-READ November 2019

I am so thankful that the last book in the trilogy is going to be in my hands in less than 24 hours. I love this series so much. It is one of only a few series I can think of where the second book is better than the first and raises the stakes so completely.

The world is expanded in this book in such a big way. We learn more about the history of this world and the rules of society. There are shocking reveals and the action just ramps up as the book moves along.

The characters are fantastic. I especially love Scythe Curie. Her strength and integrity and her obvious love for Citra make her such a likable (if slightly terrifying) character. I loved her last scene in this book. It perfectly encapsulates her character.

Anastasia (Citra) has a great arc in this book as well. I like that she's not afraid to do something different with regards to how she carries out her gleanings. It is the perfect representation of her character and the ideals that are present from the first book. Her compassion and empathy for her fellow humans is evident from page one.

Rowan didn't have as much to do in this book, but he was definitely important. His actions inform the actions and motivations of many of the other characters in the book.

I really liked Greyson's story as well. He was a great addition to the story.

Probably my favorite addition to this book was the POV of the Thunderhead. It was phenomenal. Its POV is largely expositional, but I never felt like we were getting a big info dump. And the sense of tension that built throughout this book through the eyes of the Thunderhead was great.

I love how Shusterman weaves all of these storylines together into a cohesive story. It is layered and complex. His story ideas are always really interesting, and I feel like this is my favorite of all of his book since Unwind. This is probably better than Unwind, but I do have a great soft spot for that book.

The ending is just mindblowing. Heartbreaking and bittersweet and ultimately hopeful, which I didn't expect the first time I read it, and had forgotten going into this re-read. I literally hugged this book when I was done reading it, overcome with emotion. I'm SO glad the wait is nearly over for The Toll.

**Original 'review' (Its funny, because after I read this book and wrote the initial review below, EVERYONE started talking about this series...but I still think it's underrated!)

This book and series deserves so much more hype than it gets and I don’t understand why everyone isn’t talking about this series. It’s just flat-out amazing.