WHY SUPERNOVA'S ENDING ANNOYED ME
*MEGA SPOILERS*
★★★☆☆
The Renegades Trilogy by Marissa Meyer has finally come to an end with its last book, Supernova. The premise of the story is that some people have superpowers and some don’t. Until ~20 years before the story takes place, the people with superpowers (prodigies) were oppressed. Then a dude named Ace Anarchy, who had the power of telekinesis, overthrew the government and started the Age of Anarchy. The Age of Anarchy was very bad. Gangs take over, there’s lots of death, and generally it’s a very scary time. But then these prodigies who call themselves the Renegades start saving people. Eventually they get strong enough to overthrow Ace and start a government.
In steps Nova Artino, Ace Anarchy’s niece. She’s a prodigy with the power to put people to sleep, and she herself is unable to sleep. Her parents and sister were murdered by a hitman and the Renegades weren’t there to stop it even though they said they would be, so Nova hates them. Ace found her and took her in. A year later, Ace was overthrown and Nova went to live with the remaining Anarchists in old subway tunnels. She and the other Anarchists wait and plan for an opportunity to take down the Renegades.
One day, the Anarchists came up with the bright idea to send Nova into the Renegades undercover to gather information. She’s placed into the team of Adrian Everhart, her love interest and son of two of the most powerful Renegades. The first two books are just Nova trying not to get discovered (and being really bad at it, but, you know, plot armor) and coming up with plans to take down the Renegades (that don’t even work).
*SUPERNOVA SPOILERS START HERE*
The ending of the last book in this series, Supernova, is what annoys me most though. Nova learns that Ace Anarchy had been lying to her the whole time, and he was the one who actually killed her family. She helps the Renegades kill him. Max (a prodigy and Adrian’s adoptive brother) absorbs everyone’s powers and then gives everyone, even the people who weren’t originally prodigies, powers. People decide that they don’t want the labels of “hero” or “villain” anymore. After all, they’re all just people. And so the villains and the heroes work together and rebuild for a better future.
The ending of the last book in this series, Supernova, is what annoys me most though. Nova learns that Ace Anarchy had been lying to her the whole time, and he was the one who actually killed her family. She helps the Renegades kill him. Max (a prodigy and Adrian’s adoptive brother) absorbs everyone’s powers and then gives everyone, even the people who weren’t originally prodigies, powers. People decide that they don’t want the labels of “hero” or “villain” anymore. After all, they’re all just people. And so the villains and the heroes work together and rebuild for a better future.
This made me so mad. The villains have been killing people and committing other serious crimes and they’re just forgiven. This trilogy is supposed to be a deep exploration of morals and I’m fine with Nova being forgiven because she’s the protagonist, had a very tragic backstory, and a twisted outlook on life from a young age, BUT you can’t just finish this very dark, very emotional, and very angsty trilogy with sunshine and rainbows.
*SUPERNOVA SPOILERS END HERE*
I really liked the idea of this book but the execution was less than perfect. The feel of the book was a lot more fluffy than it should’ve been, given how much death and destruction there was. I thought the development of the side characters seemed consistent and human (except for with Queen Bee), so that was good. Marissa Meyer’s writing style can get really annoying after a while because of her repetition of certain phrases (e.g. the adrenaline rushing through her veins). I also don’t like Adrian because he’s very annoying. Overall, I liked the plot more than the actual content, but I would still give the series a 3.5/5 stars.
I really liked the idea of this book but the execution was less than perfect. The feel of the book was a lot more fluffy than it should’ve been, given how much death and destruction there was. I thought the development of the side characters seemed consistent and human (except for with Queen Bee), so that was good. Marissa Meyer’s writing style can get really annoying after a while because of her repetition of certain phrases (e.g. the adrenaline rushing through her veins). I also don’t like Adrian because he’s very annoying. Overall, I liked the plot more than the actual content, but I would still give the series a 3.5/5 stars.
btw this is Emily Shunk. I always hate it when the book seems to forget the entire point it exists- or when it creates a plot twist for actually no reason at all. I have experienced multiple plot lines where they're like OH YEAH AND THE BAD GUY WAS ALWAYS GOOD-- it's just annoying and nonsensical. It sounds like a good idea- but good ideas don't always translate. How disappointing. :(
ReplyDeleteI think you did a really good job at explaining why this book was so disappointing. I agree that it sucks when authors try to make the ending all good and happy when the plot has had so many dark moments. I like how you had the spoiler alerts, which could help someone who is reading or want to read the series. I also liked how you talked about the repetition in the author's writing. I know that I get annoyed when phrases are constantly reused, so I definitely understand what you're saying. Good review!
ReplyDeleteNice review! I can see how this book disappointed you based on how emotional your review was. I agree that it is annoying when a deep and dark book decides to wrap up by making everything perfect, as if the author did not want to write anymore. You explained the plot of the book well, and I can follow along during your review. I really liked how you alerted readers about potential spoilers -- that can help guide readers to where they want to read next, given that they want to read the book. Overall, this was a great review!
ReplyDeleteI can definitely see how the books "fluffiness" could have frustrated you and found your review to be very engaging! You were able to give a brief synopsis of the book that allowed me to understand your frustrations with the writing of the book and I appreciated your spoiler warnings. Good job!
ReplyDeleteYour review was interesting to read and I appreciated the fact that you alerted your readers of the potential spoilers. I can relate to how you feel when the author has a great story line but can't carry it out to it's full potential. Ending a complex story with a perfect happy ending is also pretty frustrating. Overall, this was a great review!
ReplyDeleteI have read the first two books, and I know I made right choice in deciding not to read the last one. Your opinions were very understandable and I know how it feels when everything turns into rainbows and glitter and happiness when everything before it was not like that. Thank you for alerting me about the spoilers and for the great review!
ReplyDeleteI've read Marissa Meyer before (Cinder, Cress, and so on) and I definitely agree that her writing styles gets extremely repetitive after a while... but hey! Those other books were decently written and executed (don't know about the ending though, I never finished them). Endings always seem to be a spot of trouble for teen fantasy writers, and most seem unable to avoid a happy, unrealistic-to-the-point-of-being-nauseating conclusion. It seems Supernova is no different. I've had many people recommend Renegades to me, but now I might think twice before picking it up -- fluffy and contrived endings are one of my worst pet peeves when it comes to books.
ReplyDeleteI can feel your frustration with the ending of the book flowing through your veins (Get it?) I always find it interesting when authors conflate a satisfying ending and a happy ending, as the latter can be detrimental to the story. The "the bad guys turn good" cliche is overused and can get very annoying when it is not set up, as seems to be the case in Supernova. I can sympathize with your statement about the repetitive nature of Meyer's writing (Cinder) and I like that you actually gave your reasons for the ending frustrating you as opposed to just saying that it's a cliche. Nice review.
ReplyDeleteI have not read any of the books in the Renegades Trilogy, but I got a really good sense of what the books were about based on your summary, which helpfully told me there were spoilers ahead, and your review of the ending of the series itself. I agree that a disappointing end to a book and especially a trilogy of books is extremely frustrating. The premise of the series seems interesting, but if it can't be tied up well then the book overall will seem less enjoyable.
ReplyDelete