Saturday, April 28, 2012

Saturday Seven #2

Welcome to our second week of Saturday Seven, where we pick a topic and talk about seven books. Why seven? Because seven is a magical number, at least for Harry Potter fans like us. Also, because of Monica from Friends.

Come on. Any FRIENDS fans out there? Please?
Today we are talking about books with the most intense endings. The surprising endings and the cliffhanger endings and the unsatisfying endings. These are the books that upon finishing, we sat there staring at the last page for hours or threw the book at the wall or called each other screaming "OH MY GOD WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!?! IT'S OVER?!?!?"

Our commentary doesn't have any specific spoilers, but if you don't want to know that a book you haven't read yet has an AWESOME ending, you should probably click away.

The list (click title to go to Goodreads page):

1. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
Rachel: This book...I still have not decided whether I like this ending or not. After three books, obviously the ending of the trilogy had to be a Big Freaking Deal. Loose ends had to be tied up, questions had to be answered, and the characters had to be somewhat happy and content. Honestly, I don't know if that happened. After I finished reading this book, I walked around my house like a zombie for a day, muttering things like "Peeta!" and "Prim!" and "bread!". In some ways, this ending was satisfying and a perfect end to the series. But in other ways... THAT'S HOW IT ENDS?!?!!?

Megan: I KNOW! I also have no idea how I feel about the ending to that book. It was sad, and slightly happy, but mostly just SHOCKING. I spent hours staring at the ceiling of my room asking myself, "WHAT THE BLEEP JUST HAPPENED??" And to be honest, I'm still not really sure what happened. There aren't really words to describe this ending. Rachel and I often rate how shocking the endings of books are on a scale of one to MOCKINGJAY.

Rachel: Yeah, I thought there would never be a book ending that could even compare to Mockingjay. But then I read the rest of these books...

Rachel: Oh wow. I did NOT see that ending coming. AT ALL. Holy wow. WHERE IS BOOK TWO BECAUSE I NEED IT NOW PLEASE?!?! Because really. Woah. Obviously, I'm still reeling from this ending. I really like that Michelle Hodkin introduced an interesting twist when she did, because it made for a hell of a reading experience. But you see, I have been waiting for a while to find out what happens next, and it's kind of killing me not knowing.

Megan:This book is one of those that was just so shocking the entire time. I spent half the book not knowing if what was going on was actually happening. And then the ending completely shocked me! There was no POSSIBLE way I ever could have seen it coming. So congrats to Michelle Hodkin on an AWESOME ending! The only thing that could make me love her more would be getting book 2 like immediately.

Rachel: The last few chapters of this book were packed with so many surprises. I was trying desperately to keep up with all the things that were happening, and let's just say that by the time I got to the last page, I was absolutely shocked.

Megan: I finished this book while sitting in your room actually. It was right after we met Lauren DeStefano for the second time, and I freaked out! The ending was such a surprise, but it also set up the third book really well! I'm so excited to see what is going to happen next!

Rachel: We both read this book really recently, so it is very fresh in our minds. Which makes it hard to form coherent sentences and things because all I can think is "OH MY GOD DID THAT REALLY HAPPEN?!" Amy Plum completely surprised me with that killer ending.

Megan: Oh I know! I actually just finished this book this morning, so excuse the really bad ability to form sentences. The last 3 or 4 chapters were INSANE with so many things happening. And then the end?? I'm not even totally sure what happened, it freaked me out, and I LOVED IT.

Rachel: Upon finishing this book, I very clearly remember jumping up and down screaming "YES! THAT IS HOW YOU END A BOOK!! GO LAINI TAYLOR!" The ending is so epic and leaves me DYING to know what happens next.

Megan: YES!  I believe when I finished this, I ran downstairs yelling, "NO ONE TALK TO ME WHERE THE BLEEP IS MY PHONE I NEED TO TALK TO RACHEL RIGHT NOWWWWWWW!!" So basically that was my reaction. The ending left me wanting to steal Laini Taylor's laptop or something so I could find out what happens next. And that is how you end a book!

Rachel: I read this a few years ago, but I still think of the ending. It's the third book in the series, and so we had to wait a whole year for the last book. This ending was a major cliffhanger. It was unexpected and a bit confusing and I was all "wait....what just happened?" Also, I was maybe crying a little bit so it was hard to read with blurry vision because of my tears.

Megan: I still remember my reaction to this one, even though it was awhile ago. I remember finishing it and thinking, "I seriously wait a whole YEAR to find out what happens to Lucas and Bianca? I can't take it!" I couldn't believe what I had just read, and yeah, i was crying too.

Rachel: Pretty much all of these books, but particularly City of Fallen Angels and Clockwork Prince, because we are still waiting to find out what happens next! (Side note: the release date for City of Lost Souls is sooo soon! *happy dances*) With CoFA, I kinda threw the book at the wall screaming "WHHHHHAAAAATTTTT?!?!!?!" And with CP, I slumped on my bed in a pathetic crying mess, muttering "Will! Jem! Will! Jem!" So, uh, yeah. All of Cassandra's books have wonderful endings, except for the fact that THEY ABSOLUTELY BREAK MY HEART AND/OR MAKE ME WAIT A PAINFULLY LONG YEAR TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.

Megan:YES! I mean City of Fallen Angels?? I was crying, screaming, and then I ended up throwing the book. Which was actually pretty bad considering it was signed. But I was so upset that completely slipped my mind! And Clockwork Prince was a different kind of cliffhanger, because it broke my heart. I was sitting at my kitchen table sobbing by the time I finished it. Poor Will and Jem!!

Bonus: Before I Fall, Delirium, and Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver
Rachel: The reason these books didn't make the regular list is because Lauren Oliver is the goddess of book endings. Or the queen of book endings. We haven't decided what her official title is yet. But anyway, each of these books shocked and/or destroyed me in the last few chapters/pages/sentences/words. And while I really hate Lauren Oliver for being so evil, I still want to hug her because she is so amazing and talented and evil.

Megan: She is like beyond evil with book endings. I can't even look at the last page and a half of delirium without bursting into tears. It is physically impossible. And Pandemonium? I think the reaction was something along the lines of "WHAT????NO WAY!!!!!THIS IS NOT HAPPENING. IT'S NOT." Even the ending of Hana made me gasp in surprise and tear up. The ending of Before I Fall is just perfect. I am seriously terrified, because if this is how Lauren Oliver ends her books, I'm really scared to see how she ends a series.

Do you know of any books with endings even more intense/surprising/evil than these? Let us know in the comments, because we'd love to read them!

Our feelings about books.
And if you have any suggestions for future Saturday Seven posts, please comment and let us know!

3 comments:

  1. The ending of the His Dark Materials trilogy destroys me every time (and actually, so does the ending of the first book in the series, THE GOLDEN COMPASS, which the movie totally botched.)

    And...this doesn't quite count, but: the MIDDLE of LOOKING FOR ALASKA. Because somehow I didn't know it was coming.

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    1. I haven't read the His Dark Materials books.. *adds to to-read list* And ahhh, I did not see the middle of Looking for Alaska coming either! It seems so obvious now, but I was COMPLETELY oblivious and oh man, I cried so much.
      -Rachel

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  2. I have the crappiest memory for books, so I don't fully remember the ending for Mara Dyer, but I remember that it was New Year's Eve and Husband and I were going to see a movie. I'm sitting there in the theater before the movie starts finishing Mara. I turn the last page and just sit there going "but...wha...what just happened? No way! I need more book!" Husband just laughed at me :P
    The quote at the end? Spot on for how I feel about books ;]

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