Strange and Ever After by Susan Dennard
Release Date: July 22, 2014
Publisher: HarperTeen
Genre: Young Adult Historical Fiction, Mystery/Thriller, Horror-Zombies, Steampunk
ISBN: 9780062083326
Source: Edelweiss
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In the conclusion to the trilogy that Publishers Weekly called “a roaring—and addictive—gothic world,” Eleanor Fitt must control her growing power, face her feelings for Daniel, and confront the evil necromancer Marcus…all before it’s too late.

He took her brother, he took her mother, and now, Marcus has taken her good friend Jie. With more determination than ever to bring this sinister man to justice, Eleanor heads to the hot desert streets of nineteenth-century Egypt in hopes of ending this nightmare. But in addition to her increasingly tense relationships with Daniel, Joseph, and her demon, Oliver, Eleanor must also deal with her former friend, Allison, who has curiously entangled herself in Eleanor’s mission.

With the rising dead chomping at her every move and Jie’s life hanging in the balance, Eleanor is convinced that her black magic will see her through to the bitter end. But there will be a price. Though she and the Spirit Hunters have weathered every battle thus far, there will be consequences to suffer this time—the effects of which will be irreversible. And when it’s over, only some will be able to live a strange and ever after.

It’s here! The conclusion to the Something Strange and Deadly trilogy is here! It feels like just yesterday I was buying Something Strange and Deadly and in the blink of an eye this read-along and book club took place, so it’s pretty surreal to have the ending of the trilogy in my hands now. Even better, it’s a great feeling having finished the trilogy, knowing that my love for this story remains just as strong as it’s been since the beginning.

We fell in love with these characters in Deadly and Ever After and now more than ever, each and every one of them have some very tough decisions to make for the greater good and for themselves. Eleanor is still connected to the demon, Oliver and the two have a deal to live up to, no matter what conflicts get in the way. But are there some conflicts that are just too big to get to the end result that they both want? I had my hopes that this story line would go a certain way so I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t happy with how this turned out. Eleanor must also accept the newest member of the Spirit Hunters… Allison Wilcox. This was awfully unnerving. Then humorous. And unnerving again. Oh, Allison. I felt Eleanor’s pain when Allison volunteered herself to come along for the ride, this being the only way Eleanor would pay attention to the girl. The distraction. The liability. Then I let my guard down, wanting Eleanor to accept her too and even though it turned out Allison shouldn’t have come along in the end, I am ultimately glad that she did. This was a learning experience for everyone and that’s an understatement!

As much as I also want to talk about Jie and Daniel, my emotions are a bit too all over the place right for that. I will say that one of the most striking moments for me in the book was when Jie was frantic about wanting to cut her hair because Marcus, who kidnapped her, had touched it. Wow. Talk about cutting deep. And while I don’t want to forget about Joseph, the stakes for him weren’t nearly as high as the stakes for others as we see play out. Sure, he could have died at any moment just like the rest of them could have but the emotional stakes were level enough for me to accept whatever came his way. He was a great support but ultimately, Eleanor, our main character has to decide for herself what her relationship with Oliver, Daniel, and magic will evolve into. And I loved watching Eleanor make the decisions as the end neared. Now in regards to Marcus… I do wish there had been one or two more surprises/twists from him throughout the book but aside from that, I was really satisfied with where the characters went in the final showdown.

As for the setting… Something Strange and Deadly is set in Philadelphia. And even though the time period is different, not a ton has changed structurally in this beautiful, beautiful city that I frequent often as a NJ resident so this entire reading experience was so easy and lovely to envision. If for whatever reason, you are unaware… I’ve been fascinated with France since the second grade (don’t ask me why, I have no idea why) so I was overjoyed when I realized the sequel, A Darkness Strange & Lovely would be set in France. Talk about a winner! But then… then it was revealed that Strange and Ever After would be set in Egypt. And aside from pyramids and biblical landmarks, I’ve got nothing in my head to imagine here and I was really worried that I wouldn’t be as visually immersed as I was the first two times in the series. And because I just described my biased, it’s clear that Egypt was not my favorite setting but I can say that Egypt was very fun and easy to envision and looking back, I should have expected walking mummies but I totally didn’t so that was super exciting! Dennard utilizes her settings in each book to the max and this was no different.

What makes this conclusion so satisfying for me though is that it’s not a happy ending with a pretty bow on top. This is a story about sacrifice. A story about loss and gain. Love and acceptance. Of team work… or a lack thereof. Of understanding. Mistakes. Grace. Of being human. This is a story about so many things and it’s so tangible and heartfelt and heartbreaking. All of the pieces to the puzzle come together so fluidly with such depth and here I thought I was simply in for one exciting action packed zombie thrill ride at the beginning of the trilogy. Boy, was I in for so much more.

Now, I haven’t read many zombie books but the Something Strange and Deadly trilogy easily makes it into my top 5 favorite zombie books! Susan not only mastered and maintained rich settings, character development, world building, and storytelling throughout this trilogy, she delivered an exceptional ending and that is not easy to do. I know she worked her butt off to give us this incredible ending and she should be very proud! To not only meet the end of a trilogy but meet the end with what I know will satisfy many readers. Achievement unlocked! If the Something Strange and Deadly trilogy is on your list of books to read, I highly encourage moving the series up your list and getting to it this summer. This is one trilogy I know you’ll enjoy from start to finish.

Strange and Ever After by Susan Dennard is available today.