Ending A Beloved Series (a Semi-Rant)

I know that it is all up to the authors how they want to end a series, but I also know this, there should be some reward for loyal readers who have stuck by a series till the end.

I have a couple of girls at my school who read Divergent and Insurgent for the second time this fall in preparation for Allegiant.  They wore black to school on the day it came out (for Dauntless).  They squealed when I handed them shiny new copies to check out.  They smiled and read through lunch.  They were SO excited.

Now, they stand at my desk in the morning and warn everyone away from even starting the series.

I know what happens even though I haven't read Allegiant (mostly because the aforementioned girls told me, but I also saw a lot around the blogosphere shortly after the book came out), and I do have to wonder why the author did what she did.

Like I said, I didn't read it so I don't know all the details around what happens but was there hope?  I feel a dystopian series should end with hope.

I also recently finished Jonathan Maberry's Rot & Ruin series and I have to say that it was an awesome ending to the series.  There were deaths, yes, but the series ended with hope and it was a reward to loyal readers.  I didn't feel I had wasted four years of my lives on these books. 

I don't think anyone wants to reach the end of a beloved series by throwing the book across the room and screaming obscenities.  They certainly don't want to feel that they wasted time!

Have you ever had a series end horribly (in your opinion)?  So horribly that you wished you hadn't read it in the first place?  Tell me about it!

Thinking About Cancer Books

Regular readers know that my son has Crohns disease and while it is under control right now we still have to go get treatments every 8 weeks.  The treatments are IV infusions that we have to have done at a pediatric oncology center.  Last time we were there waiting to go back there were also two older kids who were there for cancer treatments.  It got me thinking,

"Does a kid with cancer like reading books about other kids with cancer?"

The Fault in Our Stars was checked out when I got back to school so I checked out Send Me a Sign by Tiffany Schmidt.  Right now I am about halfway done and here are some of my thoughts:

I can't speak for all teens, but I know that if I was diagnosed with cancer, I would totally read books about other kids with cancer.  But, that's what I do when confronted with something new, I read.  I know my son wouldn't want to read anything like this, not because he doesn't want to know, but mostly because he's not a big thinker.  He just takes things as they come and doesn't over analyze or reflect.  He's much like his dad in that respect.  I need to think and talk, I really need to talk.  

In Send Me a Sign, Mia decides not to tell her friends she is sick.  It's kind of easy to accomplish this since she gets diagnosed and treated in the summer and it's easy to explain being gone.  Also, her mother supports this decision. It is frustrating to read to say the least, but I bet a lot of kids with cancer feel they should hide their disease.  I know my son doesn't talk about having Crohn's but he also doesn't (seem) to mind when I talk about it or post about it.

I imagine that kids with a disease--be it Crohns, diabetes or cancer--feel a disconnect from other kids and maybe that's why books about sick kids would appeal to them, so they have someone to connect with.  When we were trying to find a treatment for Carter that worked I could tell he had a little separation from most of his friends.  This was the start of 8th grade when everyone was being really social and he just wanted to hang out with us at home.  Now that he is fine and healthy, that has gone away, but it was there.  I would imagine it's way worse with cancer when they have possible death hanging over their heads.

However, I think I would initially read a lot about cancer, then stop.  And choose books that have nothing to do with cancer or this world, lots of fantasy.

ADD ON:
I just finished reading Send Me a Sign and came to another huge conclusion.  I don't want to read books about sick kids.   It brings it too close to home.  I know my son doesn't have cancer, but it's thrown out there every now and again: "Because he is so young his chances of being diagnosed with a cancer later increase." or "If he takes these two meds together he has a very slim chance of getting this certain type of cancer."  Really?  Then how do I make that decision?  So I bawled reading Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie and the sequel After Ever After and now Send Me a Sign.  I don't think I will be reading The Fault in Our Stars anytime soon!

My Thoughts: Fire & Ash by Jonathan Maberry

5 wonderful, enormous oatmeal butterscotch chip cookies.

Cover Love:  Yes, it's perfect and fits in with the others.  Also, if you have only seen the hardback covers you should get a look at the paperback ones, AWESOME!

Why I Wanted to Read This:
This is the fourth book in the Rot & Ruin series.  I have loved them all.  This world is amazing and terrifying and  hopeful and one I would hate to live in but one I am very glad to go visit every now and again. I am not putting the synopsis for Fire & Ash on here because if you haven't read any in this series I don't want you to be spoiled.

Romance?:  Oddly enough, yes!  There are two main romances, and one possible one by the end.

My Thoughts:
I was lucky enough to get an ARC of this last spring.  Like in May.  And it sat and sat and sat.  I had a really hard time starting this book, even though the first sentence gave me goosebumps when I finally did start it.  I knew that this was the end and I didn't want it to end.  Jonathan Maberry is an amazing author but writes a lot of adult books, which I have never read.  I will miss him adding books into the YA lexicon because they are so good.

Another reason I didn't want to start this book is that Flesh & Bone, while being very good, was also so dark. I wasn't sure I wanted to get into that again.  Here are my reviews for the other books in this series:  Rot & Ruin, Dust & Decay, Flesh & Bone. I fell in love with Benny & Tom Imura in Rot & Ruin, cried and cried in Dust & Decay, and cringed a lot in Flesh & Bone.  I wasn't sure what emotions Fire & Ash would bring out in me, and I didn't think I was ready.  After one of my fellow teachers read it and told me how much she loved it, I decided to stop being a baby and get going.

It was so good and so tense and so violent and so wonderful.

I don't want to say a lot except this:  Jonathan Maberry knows how to end a series.  I have stuck with this series through four years and four books.  I have been loyal:  posting reviews, stalking the author on facebook and twitter and hounding contacts and Simon & Schuster for ARCs.   I have gotten many readers (adults and teens) in my library hooked on this series as well.  And he rewarded that loyalty with HOPE at the end of this series.  THANK YOU!

To Sum Up:  It was a heck of a ride and one that I will repeat soon.  Please give this series a try.  It is well written and basically one big coming of age story for Benny Imura.  Time reading these books is not time wasted at all.

Added to the List (#3)

Last week HarperCollins added some amazing (and highly anticipated) books to Edelweiss that I was able to download.  I am not sure I will get them all read before they expire, but I can at least check them over to see if they are appropriate for my library!

The Murder Complex by Lindsay Cummings:  this one might be a little old for students except for those older 8th graders that are ready for more mature subject matter.

Saving Lucas Biggs by Marisa de los Santos:  This is one of my most anticipated of the year.  The synopsis sounds amazing and touching and perfect for a middle shool library.  Can't wait to read this one!

After the End by Amy Plum: Have you noticed there are a few World War III or world ravaged by war books coming out this next year.  This is one that looks very good.

Wicked Games by Sean Olin:  Another highly anticipated read for me. 

Vivian Divine is Dead by Lauren Sabel: I was so excited to see this one available!  I think I will read this one over Christmas break.

Lastly, we got a new shipment of books in and the one I picked to take home (for now) is The Lost Kingdom by Matthew Kirby.  This looks like a fun adventure read!

Crohns and Colitis Awareness Week

Sometimes there are other things in life that knock you for a loop.  Two years ago my son was diagnosed with Crohns disease.  I have mentioned it here before, but if you'd like to read how it has really effected me, head over to my personal blog to read all about it...

Stagnant Blogging

You might have noticed that my blogging pace has fallen way off recently.  I am still posting, but just barely.  I was thinking about quitting or at least taking a break, but then I go back and read recent posts and realize I like blogging and I love talking about books, so I am going to keep blogging, it just might not be too often.  Or it might come back to me and my pace might pick up.  Either way I am still going to be reading and posting about books when it moves me.

Thanks for stopping by!