In the Afterlight by Alexandra Bracken

Synopsis: Ruby can't look back. Fractured by an unbearable loss, she and the kids who survived the government's attack on Los Angeles travel north to regroup. With them is a prisoner: Clancy Gray, son of the president, and one of the few people Ruby has encountered with abilities like hers. Only Ruby has any power over him, and just one slip could lead to Clancy wreaking havoc on their minds. 

They are armed only with a volatile secret: proof of a government conspiracy to cover up the real cause of IAAN, the disease that has killed most of America's children and left Ruby and others like her with powers the government will kill to keep contained. But internal strife may destroy their only chance to free the "rehabilitation camps" housing thousands of other Psi kids.

Meanwhile, reunited with Liam, the boy she would-and did-sacrifice everything for to keep alive, Ruby must face the painful repercussions of having tampered with his memories of her. She turns to Cole, his older brother, to provide the intense training she knows she will need to take down Gray and the government. But Cole has demons of his own, and one fatal mistake may be the spark that sets the world on fire.
Review: In the Afterlight is a good coming together of events from the first 2 books. The group from The Darkest Minds and the group from Never Fade work together for a common purpose: to end the events and Thurmond. It was great seeing the characters interact with each other. I especially enjoyed the brotherly interactions between Cole and Liam. They argued often, but you could still see the way they tried to protect each other. It was also interesting seeing how they looked at situations since they had different world experiences.

As far as story goes, this concluding novel doesn't focus as much on taking over the ruling government power, but it does focus on taking over Thurmond and Ruby dealing with grief. One of the reasons why I like this series more than other dystopians is because of how close it hits to our modern life. This book highlights how media affects public opinion, even at the expense of those who are weaker than others. We also get snippets of how others live in this time period, mostly adults. This reminded me a lot of The Handmaid's Tale in the way these scenes were shared. That balance between modern life and dystopian life is interesting, and done quite well.

Conclusion to one of my favorite dystopian series. Highly recommend.

4 howls