Lilibet Bombshell's Reviews > Ending Eleven

For spoiler reasons, I can’t tell you how Eve and Wren end up permanently escaping Compound Eleven and arriving in the camp full of compound outcasts in worse for wear conditions, but this is where we are at the beginning of Ending Eleven: Eve and Wren are injured, broken in mind and body, traumatized, and (in Eve’s case) suspicious of everyone around them. It’s not like she has it in here to trust easily.

And while Eve loves the outdoors, is trying her best to make allies and friends among the outcasts, and loves exploring the man-made constructions that once covered the world, she knows she has a mission to complete and promises she needs to keep. There is more than one obstacle standing in her way, though, and she needs those resolved or removed before she can make good on freeing everyone inside Compound Eleven and ensuring the “leadership” pay for their reign of terror.

So, listen to me.

I’ve enjoyed reading this trilogy so much because Jerri Chisolm is an underrated and talented as heck writer. Her world building is spectacular and her characters are terrific. She writes terrific, thought-provoking, and intelligent dialogue for the YA set.

There is an inherent issue with the Eleven trilogy, though overall it’s a terrific read in the YA dystopian genre. The issue? It’s too optimistic for its target demographic. Please take into account this is my opinion, and I’m middle-aged, but I found the ultimate ending (AKA, the epilogue) to be too optimistic for the events of the trilogy as a whole. As a matter of fact, I found most of the characters to be in too high of spirits in the last act of this book for the events that were happening and had happened.

But, I’d like to directly thank Jerri Chisolm for writing this trilogy, because it was a terrific read in a genre that often doesn’t take the time to hit all the beats or check all the boxes. I hope you go on to write more, and to write just as great.

I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All views, opinions, and thoughts expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: YA Fiction/Young Adult/YA Dystopian Fiction/YA SciFi/YA Science Fiction/YA Political Fiction/Part of a Fantasy Series/YA Romance/Kindle Unlimited/KU/Coming of Age/YA Book Series