by Alexandra Monir
Genre: YA science fiction
My Rating: ★★
Description:
The human race is dying. When climate change finally caught up to them, they were powerless to stop it. Now, as more and more dry land is flooded, humanity looks once more to the stars.
The plan is simple. Twenty four teens, drafted from across the globe, will compete to be chosen as one of the Final Six, who will be the first to colonize Jupiter's moon, Europa, and create a new home for the remainder of the human race.
Leo and Naomi are two of the chosen. Though Leo sees his being drafted as a new purpose to go on after his family died, Naomi isn't so sure. She's suspicious, and rightly so -- they're not being told the whole story. And the truth buried beneath the lies could be something disastrous -- something deadly...
Overall Thoughts
Apart from a compelling concept, The Final Six has very little going for it in terms of writing, plot, and characterization. I'll admit, I was attracted to it both by the cover (it really is pretty) and the concept of people colonizing Europa (which is something I'll be attempting to explore in my own sci-fi series.) But after a few pages, it became clear that this book was not going to be for me. I did read to the end, if only to review it, but I can't say it was a particularly enjoyable book.
The Characters
The Characters
The characters were... well, not my favorite. Naomi was the only person I actually liked in the whole book, and I looked forward to reading her POVs. I don't know why I liked her the most -- maybe it was her relationship with her brother that endeared her to me. But she wasn't extremely well developed, either; she just happened to be the best character in the novel.
The other POV character, Leo, was just plain annoying, and his character was really inconsistent. He's supposed to be in mourning for his family, but as soon as he gets chosen for the competition, it's like he forgets about them (and his depression, apparently?) I'm not saying he had to wallow in sadness, but please, think about them at least!
The other characters were one-dimensional, as most of the focus is on Leo and Naomi. The adults were cardboard, and even some of the other kids on their team (like Beckett) got very little development. Beckett himself was a stereotypical shallow rich jerk, with no real depth of character.
Plot/Pacing
The plot lagged for the first twenty or thirty percent, and it was hard to read through it. Perhaps it was because I really hated reading Leo's point of view, but I did find that the pacing picked up after around the 30% mark, so maybe not? The plot itself wasn't horrible, but it wasn't really anything special, either. Honestly, I had assumed going in that there would be some space travel in it, but literally the entire 300+ page novel was about the training camp preparing them to go to outer space. While some of it was interesting, it wasn't really what I was hoping to read about.
There were also a few cases of deus ex machina that really irritated me. For example, in one scene, Naomi needs a microscope. It's a good thing she packed one! I wouldn't have had a problem with Naomi having a microscope, but at least mention it beforehand -- otherwise, it just comes off as a convenient plot device. There was also a huge case of deus ex machina near the end -- which ruined everything I liked about the book for me. Enough said.
Worldbuilding
The world building was fine. Not exceptional, but not horrid. The premise is that global climate change has caused worldwide flooding and earthquakes, resulting in an apocalyptic earth where only a fraction of the earth's population survives. There's robots, some kind of radiation resistant bacteria, VR simulations for training... some typical sci-fi stuff. It was okay, but added nothing new to the genre. However, if the rest of the story had been good, I would have been okay with it.
Writing
The writing was... not my favorite. The author relied really heavily on tell-y dialogue to fill us in on the world building, especially in the first 20% or so. Some of the adult characters were literally only there to spout off important information and backstory. Not what I came here to read about, thanks. I feel that most of the world building could either have been implied or revealed in more subtle ways, instead of using the scientists with their "as you know" speeches.
Overall, a sadly disappointing read. I may pick up the sequel just to see how the story is resolved, but it's not high on my priority list, and if I never get around to it, I won't feel like I'm missing out.
Content (potential minor spoilers)
Recommended for ages 14 and up.
TRIGGER WARNING - Attempted suicide.
Swearing typical to an average YA novel, not frequent, but definitely present.
Sexual content includes kissing and a mention of a girl's undergarments. One scene in which two characters spend the night together, with the implication that they were intimate with each other. No details.
In terms of violence, there wasn't very much. A character tries to unhook another character's harness while bungee jumping. The characters are told that another competitor died because he swam underneath the propellers of a submarine.
The characters are all given an injection of radiation resistant bacteria. Two characters become ill as a result, and one is killed. Descriptions of the illness could be disturbing.
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