I fell in love with Neal Shusterman after reading his dystopian novel, Unwind. The creativity of the plot, the intricate world he portrayed, the unique characters, the intense pacing of the book just blew me away. Although all these characteristics exist in this trilogy, I felt it was to a lesser extent. I felt that his cast of characters was truly amazing. The way he wrote the antagonist was really well-done; he didnt just portray her as evil and malicious. In fact, I had to finish the first book in order to figure out who the antagonist really was. Although I found the pacing to be intense on the whole, some parts were a little slow.

The best part of the series, however, was the attention to little details of the world Shusterman creates. Although he touches on a sensitive subject, he never tries to impose his views on the reader. The story wasnt a vehicle to try to persuade the reader to believe in an afterlife. It was simply a story, a testimony of his imagination. Really, the only series with a more intricate world would be the Harry Potter books, and J.K. Rowling had seven books to develop it; Shusterman only has three.

The only problem I had with these books was that they felt a bit censored. Granted, this is geared towards a younger audience, but I feel like the book would have been much more profound if he made his characters older and didnt make it so clean-cut; it would have had much more impact. The subject matter of the books isnt really appropriate for younger kids, and yet, who his audience was. Also, I felt like he could have made his characters a lot more complex. Again, he had a good idea and a good start for his characters but tried to simplify it too much.

Regardless, this trilogy was a fast read, and by the end of the books, I found myself looking at the world with a new perspective. These are a definite read if youre looking for something fresh, creative, and thought-provoking.