Dust Lands Trilogy book 3...a lesson learned

Had the toughest time reading Raging Star, book 3 in the Dust Lands Trilogy by Moira Young.  Not because it's a difficult read, but because I could not remember one single plot sequence from the first two books and nothing my book friends said brought anything rushing back to memory.  I even succumbed to a Google search for books 1-2 summaries...nope.  Nothing.  I could remember the main character, Saba...that she had a twin.  That she'd cut her hair off.  That she'd at one time been a cage fighter.  That she had a little sister.  That she was the typical Dystopian heroine.  But other than that?  No.

Now, this has nothing to do with the quality of the book.  Young knows how to write a dystopian novel.  Her plots are unpredictable, yet scattered with just enough clues to keep even the most avid mystery reader intrigued.  It's my fault.  I read too fast.  I absorb a book and blog a little about it, and then I move on.  I read the books as they were released.  Lots of time in between.  I remember enjoying them, I just couldn't remember them and I still can't.  I should have reread them.  But when I looked at my huge stack of summer reading material, I just couldn't force myself.  So, I trudged on and plowed through.  

I like Raging Star.  It's very well-written.  I can't give you any details because it's the final installment, but I can advise you to read them straight through.  You'll probably enjoy them so much more.  

I'm ashamed to say that by page 299, I still felt lost.  Still felt like I was missing something.  Felt very much like I'm sure some of my students who say they "hate" reading, feel when they try to read a book I've promised them is a winner!  

 You'd think I'd learned my lesson by now...I did the same thing with Melissa Marr's Wicked Lovely series.  But no.  The sheer volume of my summer reading stack pressured me to get this trilogy over with.  I'd like to say I'll try to reread it in the future.  But I won't.  Not unless I have to lead a discussion group over it.  Wow.  What a depressing experience I gave myself.  

For those of you reading this, I strongly encourage you to pick up book 1 if you haven't.  It's a wonderful trilogy.  I liked it better than The Hunger Games.  I bet you will too.  And yes, Ridley Scott has picked it up and it's in pre-production.  Can't wait for the movie!

Note:  This is a young adult trilogy that I would recommend for mature readers.  I keep it in the restricted collection of our school library due to the language and author's craft to not use any quotation marks.  (That can be very confusing to an emerging reader.)

Happy Reading!
RC