Tag Archives: kirsten simmons

Three (Article 5)

Three Book Cover Three
Article 5, Book 3
Kristen Simmons
Juvenile Fiction
Macmillan
2014-02-11
384

When Ember and Chase finally arrive at the safe house and find it in ruins, they follow tracks leading away until they find a group of refugees and join forces with them to seek the rumored settlement known as Three.

 

Review:

After reading “Three”, the finale to the wonderful “Article 5” series, I feel as though I have found a true unicorn.  It is easily one of the strongest and most satisfying endings to a series I have ever read.  It is all wrapped up nicely, nothing comes out of nowhere, the characters remain true to what has been established about them and their reactions throughout the series right until the very last sentence, and there is no excruciatingly long epilogue that feels as though it is trying to cram in an entire book.  Perfection.

The action is essentially non-stop, and there are more than a few plot twists thrown in to keep things interesting.  They all make perfect sense, effectively keeping the reader from experiencing “Dystopian Series Finale Whiplash”.  This is something I truly appreciate, because so often the last book is the weakest, and the author drops in things never even hinted at in the previous series installments.  None of that nonsense here.  This plot is solid.

All of our favorite characters, including (of course) Ember and Chase, have a prominent story arc.  They continue to grow and evolve according to the situations that they face, while also maintaining the personalities the author established way back in “Article 5”.  All aspects of them are explored, and it truly feels as though the reader was a part of watching them grow from teenagers into mature young adults.

“Three” is by far the strongest of the “Article 5” series, which is a high compliment considering how much I have enjoyed them all.  I can’t recommend it enough for those who have been reading the series all along.  If you’re a fan of young adult dystopias with excellent world-building and character development, but have yet to read the series, by all means start now.  I really don’t think you will regret it.

Thank you, Kristen Simmons, for sharing Ember and Chase’s world with us.

 

Content Warning:

Language, Violence, Sexual Situations