This is the third book in a trilogy and while there will be no spoilers for this book, there will be for the first two. If you would like to read my reviews of the first two books just click on their titles below.

Bloom (2020)

Hatch (2020)

Thrive by Kenneth Oppel

Publication Date: May 4, 2021

Summary from NetGalley:

The. Aliens. Are. Here. The heart-pounding conclusion to The Overthrow trilogy that began with Bloom and Hatch.

The alien invasion of Earth is imminent. But maybe not all the aliens are united. A rebel faction has reached out to Anaya, saying there’s a way to stop the larger invasion–a way for humans and hybrids and cryptogens to work together. Can they be trusted? Or is this a trap?

It’s not even clear if Anaya, Petra, and Seth are united–some of the hybrids think they’d be better off if the aliens won…

With everything on the line, these three teens will have to decide who they are at their core–alien or human, enemy or friend.

Arc provided by Random House Children’s via NetGalley for an honest review.

Confession:

This one ended up being quite the nail biter. I was amazed at how often my thoughts were racing as these young characters tried to decide who to trust, even amongst themselves. In the end though, they all showed tremendous courage to do what was right, even if that meant hurting people they loved, or putting them in harms way.

The three main character, Seth, Anaya and Petra grow so much throughout the books, but they really step up in this one. All three have their own struggles to overcome, not just the changes to their bodies, but also in how the world will perceive them in the future. Will they ever be accepted by humans and what might that look like. And even to some extent they worried about how the aliens viewed them and wether or not they would be accepted by them as well. It is a lot to place on young teens, and in some ways it is how most teens feel about themselves. I have so enjoyed watching these three live through their struggles and find their true selves underneath it all.

The rebels that show up from the alien force at the end of book two were really interesting. I enjoyed the fact that they were so different from us, yet strangely the same. Their technology was also quite interesting and seemed to have a biological basis to it. Their ship was probably the most interesting part of the whole story. I also liked how the relationships between the kids and the aliens developed over the course of this book.

Overall the ending of this trilogy was nicely done, although some of it was maybe a bit rushed towards the end. I was worried for quite a while that things were not going to work out for humans, especially when other countries where hesitant or refused to go along with the final plan to get rid of them. The final battle was well done as well and I am glad that the kids were a huge part of it.

Overall this was a great trilogy with lots of interesting characters and an alien species that I found fascinating. The plot was very well done as was the growth shown in all of the characters. This is a book that I would definitely recommend for any teen who enjoys science fiction and for those who want to give it a try.