YA Dystopian Review "State of Nature" by Ryan Winfield

Title: State of Nature

Author: Ryan Winfield

Released On: November 23, 2013

Publisher: Birch Paper Press

Buy Link -  AMAZON 

Author's Website:   https://www.facebook.com/ryanwinfield
Author's Goodreads Profile:  Ryan Winfield

Synopsis

From New York Times bestselling author Ryan Winfield, a thrilling tale of friendship, betrayal, and adventure.

The final chapter...

After leaving the Isle of Man, Aubrey and Jimmy return to the Foundation to confront Hannah about her betrayal and to free the people of Holocene II only to find themselves facing new and more difficult challenges in a world where nothing is as it seems.

Don’t miss the epic conclusion you’ll have to read yourself to believe.

Destined to become a classic, The Park Service trilogy will inspire and delight readers of all ages.

MY REVIEW

Well...what can I say about this book?  Not much without spoilers!  I will see what I can do though...

So this book starts right where the last one left off.  Aubrey, Jimmy and the Professor are in the sub on their way back to Hannah and Holocene II.  Now, Jimmy and Aubrey are none too happy with Hannah and with good reason.  What they find when they get there gives them even more reason to be furious with her.   She is manipulating them all into doing what she wants.   She wants to put Eden back online and she needs Aubrey to go down into Holocene II to let them all know that they will begin retirement again soon.  

Aubrey ends up taking Jimmy with him and that's when things start to get really intense.  They find literally an underground movement that is run by someone they call The Chief.  Aubrey finds out more about himself throughout the course of this book.  He also finds out things about Hannah that have him even more determined to put an end to her.  She is trying to take over where her father left off and she's trying to blackmail Aubrey into helping her.

This book is full of twists and turns where Aubrey and Jimmy travel around the world again in an effort to once again attempt to save the people of Holocene II.  They are trying to make it safe for them to finally come and live on the surface like man was intended to before The Foundation decided that man was a danger to the planet.    There is a continuing theme of love and loss throughout this series, but this book was at times heart wrenching.  Aubrey and Jimmy go through so much in this book and they are closer than ever.  They even going so far as to put words to those feelings even though they are vague leaving the reader to decide just how they want to perceive the relationship.  No matter how you look at it the relationship between these two is rock solid and gets more so as the story progresses.

It's so hard to say much more without spoiling anything.  I was sad when the book came to an end.  I will say that while I was sad, I was happy for the time I got to spend in this world and with these two characters.  It was a joy to see how Aubrey went from the gangly boy in the first book to the man he became in this book even though he had to go through so much heartache to get there.  I think this sums it all up pretty well for me and it's a beautiful sentiment at the end of the book.

”Leaves will fall, cold will creep in
A circle of life that ends where it begins
It may take a thousand years and a thousand poems penned
But my hair will someday gray and my back will bend—
Then my shadow will join my body in the earth once again.

I know not the way, or even the when
Or who chooses that day we’re called away to ascend
But you bathed me in your bravery and forgave me my sins
You made a home in your heart for mine to live in—
And in return, my friend, this poem is my oath that a river of love will run through it until the very end.”

Ryan has a way of pulling you into a story and keeping you there with the vivid description and characters that you can't help but fall in love with.  I will miss this series but I can't wait to see what he has in store for us in the future.

If you would like to read my reviews of the 2 prior books in this series you can do so here:

The Park Service
The Isle of Man

I am also going to do a full series video review of this trilogy on my YouTube Channel so be sure to go subscribe so you will be notified when it posts!