This was...wowzers.  It was a very good sequel.  I'm not sure how I feel about that ending, but I also do not think it could have ended any other way.

Note To Self: Write a better review after the readathon.

Updated Review (too many days later):

So this was a bit more serious that it's wackier predecessor.  We are reunited with the survivors of Apocalypse Cow and are met with some new characters.  Now the secret is out that the British Government created a biological weapon, and that they inadvertently let out of the laboratory.  The virus, which was engineered for animals, has now mutated and made the jump to humans.  There is an entire island of infected people trying to make the best of the life they've been cursed with.  Meanwhile the rest of the world believes they have the right to make the decision about whether or not these infected people have the right to live.  The fear is that the infection will eventually escape the island and infect the rest of the world.  Both positions are understandable and even defensible.

Our heroes are thrust back into the thick of things.  Geldolf learns that his mother was right to hide him from his grandfather, who is a greedy old man concerned only with profits and securing his legacy.  When the man learns that his daughter is still alive on the island, he tasks his grandson with hiring a team of mercenaries to infiltrate Scotland and rescue her.  Geldolf invites himself on the mission, Both to escape his grandfather and to see his mother again--not positive that the rescue mission will work.

There are a lot of shenanigans by both sides, threats and posturing and both secretly plan to destroy the other.  The problem is that each side is only seeing things from their own viewpoint.  In the end members from both sides seem to see reason, but will the powers that be agree?  It's a bit of an open ending, which...meh.  Based on how the plot played out, it makes perfect sense.  It would have been hard to create a truly good ending choosing either side.  However; there is also and opening for another sequel, without the absolute necessity for one.  I enjoyed this very much, but am still not certain how I feel about the ending.  I'll go with neutral.

This was so good. And scary. Going through an actual pandemic at the moment has me scared that things will get as bad as they are in this book. Government could break down, people could start a revolution. You just don't know what scared people will do. Fear drives you to craziness. That being said, the characters were great. Harper was sweet and it was nice seeing her transition from the meek of a jerk to a tough independent women fighting to save her unborn child as well as the friends she made along the way. John, the Fireman was a piece of work. He was a jerk, but the kind you like. The kind who is only a jerk to keep you safe. All of the fear of the spore made everyone nuts--those infected and those not. It was well told, long but not overly so.

My only gripe is a reoccurring theme with Hill and his father Mr. King. Why must they always put some sort of animal death/abuse/torture in their novels. It's never necessary and it never to help the plot along. It's there for shock value and it's not an attractive trope. I hate it. I'm not sure how many more of their books I can read if this really is a common thread between them.

Note to self: I'll rewrite this later when there is more time to be eloquent. I just wanted  to write my initial feelings before I jump into my next read for Dewey's.

Note to self v2.0: I think this is as eloquent as I'm gonna get.

The story follows Sunny who is an American Born Nigerian.  Her parents move her and her brothers to Nigeria when Sunny was about five, but she considers herself American.  Her American accent and mannerisms make her an outcast amongst her classmates, as does her albino skin and her intelligence.  

Sunny befriends one classmate and her neighbor, who drag her into the world of magic, of which she was born to be part of.  They and another young magic user are tasked with catching a serial killer who also has magic.  It's all very exciting and dangers and a very serious pressure is placed upon the children.  For if they do not stop the serial killer, he will bring about the end of days.

It's a bit of a coming of age, as well as a discovery of self, family secrets.

I listened to the audiobook and kept up with the physical copy.  It was well narrated and and good story.  I look forward to the next book in the series.

What an amazing finish to the series.  Betrayal, secrets, new alien species, living spaceships that give birth to baby living spaceships.  There are battles, deaths...just everything you want in a fantasy/scifi series.

I very much enjoyed Binti's character arc, as well as Okwu, there is even a both of growth from Binti's family and best friend.  What I enjoyed about the ending, is that while it is an ending, it's also a beginning.  And while I would definitely read another book in this series, there is a clear ending.

Excellent, colorful, descriptive writing.  I look forward to reading more from the author!

Wow!  The author describes this in such an amazing way.  I can truly visualize what is happening in the story.

It's a year after the first story, Binti and her Meduse counterpart, Okwu are studying at the university.  She is suffering from PTSD, and the changes that overtook her body after her initial encounter with the Meduse.  She decides to return home to complete her pilgrimage which is a tradition for the women of her people.

Okwu goes to earth with her.  Her family welcomes her home, but later berates her for leaving home and insist that her leaving is the cause of her father's deteriorating health.  Later she sees a vision of the Night Masquerade, which only men are supposed to be able to see.  The "Desert People" come for her.  Everyone sees them as 'savages', including the Himba, which man they have nerve considering the Khoush (the other human race on earth) sees them as 'savages', but I digress.  It turns out that Binti, through her father, is a relation to the "Desert People", the Enyi Zinariya, and they are not savages at all but quite advanced and have been since before the rest of the planet had even begun to communicate outside of earth.

Now she is of three people, Himba, Meduse, and Enyi Zinariya and she's even more confused than every before.  But now there is also a war coming.  

The story continues to fascinate me.  I'm looking forward to the next book.