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Face of death is the last book of the series so the review contains some spoilers.
If I should describe Face of death with one word, the word would be profound. It's deeply emotional, rich in themes and the events are touching and sometimes heart-breaking. Face of death made me speechless for a long time and is definitely one of the best YA novel's I've read.
The plot is great in every possible way. It's deep, interesting, surprising and keeps the reader in suspense from the first page to last. Jodi and her Ophi friends are in Tartarus, also in hell, where Hades tortures them hour after hour. The torture is both physical and psychological, which is one of the best and deepest part of the book. Kelly shows that there are many ways to torture and many ways to respond it. Hades makes the Ophi relive the worst moments of their lives and forces them to face their mistakes all over again. Jodi carries a huge guilt with her and there are plenty of terrible memories that haunt her, so she suffers a lot. The descriptions of the moments of torture are breath-taking and amazingly emotional. And still, all the pain inside her, Jodi keeps fighting for Alex and for her friends, her new family. I'm so proud of that girl, wow. She wants to find a way the get them all away from the underworld, but it's difficult. She decides to try to raise the human part of her soul she killed when she drank Medusa's blood. In the process she faces the choices she has made in her past, and has to make new even harder choices, too. She has to find out what she wants, who she's been and who she wants to become. It's amazing to read about how she grows as a person and is capable of showing love even when she is the one who suffers the most. And Alex, the loving, strong, understanding Alex who is always there for her. Alex, I'll love you forever. And then Lexi and her sarcasm. There's a character with a talent of words.
The descriptions of the underworld are... There are no words to tell you, you have to read the book and see how well the world is built and written. The language is so vivid it feels like you were there and saw and felt the same the Ophi do. The underworld is a terrifying, sad, desperate place. I loved how detailed the underworld was, even though it made me cry more than once. Kelly's imagination is something beyond awesome.
One of the things I loved the most about the novel was the feeling of hope. Even though the characters are suffering, feeling guilt and terror, they have hope. And that's the unbreakable kind of hope that keeps you alive and helps you to find the solution. Face of death is a story about suffering but it's also a story about love, loyalty, forgiveness, faith and survival. It reminds us of one of the most important truths of life: we all make mistakes and sometimes find it hard to live with our past, but we can become better with the help of the ones we love and who love us back. We fall, but we rise, too, and we are able to change our future. And these are only few things the novel reminded me of.
This book has so much to give and it's a perfect ending to the series I love from the bottom of my heart. It's an emotional ride, but in the end of it you'll have a chance to see something has healed inside you. And I think that's feeling worth of few tears.
5/5 !! Love it, forever <3
