Wow, wow, wow, and more wow! What a fantastic volume this was, even better than all the others before it. And then that ending! <3
I will first talk about the stuff that is (slightly) spoiler-free, after that I will review the rest in spoiler tags, as that is needed. I don't want to spoil the epic stuff in this book. So, be warned, read the spoilers at your own risk! They are big spoilers!
First up, Zita. Ah, I loved her in the first and second books, but in this book we see a Zita who will never give up, who will fight, who won't give up hope even when everything seems so hopeless. She is strong, determined, even more so then in the previous books.
I felt sorry for her, sorry that she got captured (since this happened in the second book I won't spoiler tag it), sorry that she had to go through all that, and happy for her when certain events happened. But also sad. I can imagine that it must have hurt for her. She never got to say goodbye. She never got to see if her friends were ok, she was just whisked away to her planet. And she was sad, that there was probably no way for her to ever see her friends again. Until the real end that is.
It was wonderful to see everyone again. Zita is loved by many, and everyone is up to helping her now that she needs help. It was kind of weird that various people split up, I guess a lot more time passed between this and the previous book then I think it did.
The illustrations are good/great, though at times it looks a bit weird or things are just a bit off. For instance when we see stuff in the distance, or Zita is running and it is a big picture, then she often looks more like some blobs flung together than human. Which is a shame, I would have preferred it if she looks human in all panels. I still love the colours though, they are pretty colourful, even during scenes that are sad or are bad, the colours are still vivid.
Now for all the spoiler stuff! Don't read this unless you really, really read this book!!!!!!!
OMG, Joseph! I never expected to see him again. Like Zita, I expected him to be home, on Earth, and not wandering around the world they are now. But apparently things didn't go right and he was stranded on a bad planet. I didn't particularly like Joseph, and I don't think I ever will. While Zita is strong and determined, he is pretty much a wuss and afraid of a lot of things. Instead of stopping and trying to save people/aliens, he goes on. Not wanting to waste a moment on saving someone. I can imagine why he thought that, and why he does that, but at least give it a chance. It might end in failure, but at least you can say that you tried. That you did your best.
The whole "betrayal" stuff? With how Joseph was, I thought it was actually true. He really betrayed her! But then it turned out it was all a ruse.
I really liked that Zita's star (the one she got from Strong Strong) broke in pieces and made sure that everyone she ever came in contact with was notified, and so everyone could come to help Zita. Even if she didn't know that this was happening. :)
The whole stuff that happened in the dungeon and mines was really interesting and it gave the story extra dimension. And once again, Zita is touching people's hearts. Making them love her and making them try to help her out.
The ending? I loved it! I guess, we aren't done with Zita. I guess, Ben Hatke will be writing another story someday, at least I am hoping this, it would be a shame if he didn't after making this ending.
Poor Zita though, trying for a year to get Shippy to come to her, with no success. :( I hope she will be reunited with her friends soon again.
All in all, I would highly recommend this book. While I rated all of the books 5 stars, I would say this one is more a 5++ stars.
Review first posted at http://twirlingbookprincess.com/