Reader's Review: "Ghost Hope" by Ripley Patton

Synopsis from Amazon:

Olivia Black does not feel safe. Nightmares plague her sleep and haunt her days. If she has to endure one more minute stuck in a safe house in rainy Portland, she's going to lose it. When Mike Palmer sneaks off to find her sister Kaylee without her, it's the last straw. She has to do something. 

Then Palmer's hackers find the dome on a satellite feed: dark, abandoned and smack in the middle of the Oregon desert three hundred miles from where it started. If they can reach it before anyone else, they can crack the computer systems and access every piece of information on PSS the CAMFers and The Hold have ever collected. 

But in order to do that, Olivia must return to the origin of her fears in a race against all her enemies. She must unravel decades of deceit to reveal the true origins of Psyche Sans Soma to the world at last.

>>>>>>>

 
My Review:

Oh good grief... To simultaneously provide just enough closure for a certain story arc while also creating a sufficient cliffhanger that leaves a reader pining for the next book is skill enough in a writer—

In the case of the PSS Chronicles, the cliffhangers grow progressively more intense. The one at the end of Ghost Heart was a doozy! 

I came to this book with high expectations—and it starts with Mike Palmer. Of all the nerve! I found solace in the fact that Olivia held about the same opinion of him as I did. 

Anyhow, the action moves to Portland and the outlying area as the events at the end of Ghost Heart begin to draw everybody closer to the nexus of conflict that has driven the entire series: the chemical depot at Umatilla that connects every character in the series. The stakes are higher than ever, the ones Olivia trusted and depended on most are no longer on hand, and instead, she is forced to depend on people she's never trusted, to cooperate with people who once worked against her—and most of all, find the will to believe in herself and the strength to do what it takes to resolve these mysteries once and for all.

And the best part of this is: that is exactly what happens. Since the very beginning of the series, I have raved over Ripley's skill at natural characters and spectacular character development. Even characters that have been around since the beginning of the series have matured to fill completely new roles in this last book. It's beautiful and heart-wrenching and oh-so-satisfying. The story grows and barrels forward at a breakneck pace, but not a single character is abandoned in the wings. Everyone receives their due, and there is quite a bit to be said for the "truth bombs" dropped in the course of the narrative as well. The lessons these characters learn are valuable points for the reader to consider; the struggles of these characters are absolutely relevant to real life, and the answers they discover are valid perspectives that a reader with the same struggle would find helpful. 

GHOST HOPE delivers a fitting and rousing conclusion to the series, and all the closure anyone could wish for. It's electrifying, gasp-inducing, poignant, and absolutely wonderful. I couldn't be happier. This book wins a full *****5 STARS***** from me, and an Upstream Writer Certified ABSOLUTELY RECOMMENDED. If you love books about teens with paranormal abilities, secret government projects, and characters who feel real enough to be your friends, then look no further than the PSS Chronicles!

 

Further Reading: (Sci-fi/Paranormal YA/Spectacular Series/Great Endings)

 

The PSS Chronicles--Ripley Patton (*Previously In This Series)

       -Ghost Hand 
       -Ghost Hold
       -Ghost Heart 

-Warriors of the Edge--Katie Bridges 

The Vemreaux Trilogy--Mary E. Twomey
       -The Way
       -The Truth
       -The Lie 
Lord of the Wyrde Woods--Nils Visser
     -Escape From Neverland
     -Dance Into The Wyrd

Dawn of Steam Trilogy--Jeffrey Cook
      -First Light
      -Gods of The Sun
      -Rising Suns

-Disenchanted--Kelsey Gamendia