Willy W. reviewed on 5/7/2014 + 503 more book reviews

I'm not sure how I feel about the end of this series. Overall the book and the characters were in keeping with the rest of the books. Young people acting their age, thinking they're more mature and experienced than they really are, etc. Entertaining to read, not particularly edifying. Rose has always been rather unlikable, nothing changes in Last Sacrifice. In fact her character is further impugned by her extremely shabby treatment of Adrian and to a lesser degree Sydney, Eddie, and Jill. None of this was really unexpected except I'd hoped we'd see Rose maturing and learning life and character lessons though all this. But around book four, some ideas began to come out that I was very disappointed to find completely unresolved in the final book. I guess I thought where Mead was going with all this was to make Rose a catalyst for change. I'm an adult reader just reading these books for pleasure. Yet I find myself feeling like Richelle Mead is doing young adults a disservice with this book and the unresolved BIG issues. I refer to racism. To me the undercurrent through most of these books is the real imbalance in the relationship between the Moroi and the dhamphirs who serve them in slave-like fashion. They are expected to "put Moroi first", risk or even sacrifice their lives for these people who basically don't pay them, make them live in dorms, accept punishment even in their private lives, serve those who think dhamphirs can and should be conscripted into service, and they don't even have a voice in the government. I never really saw any reciprocity in the relationship between Rose and Lissa and even after book four, never got the impression that Lissa wasn't just a spoiled selfish child who occasionally did something for Rose bc it's "right" not bc she really wants to. I think the idea was to show that the dhamphirs and the Moroi have a symbiotic kind of relationship, that they need each other to survive. But the dhamphirs are treated as servants or slaves. There is no respect for them among the Moroi except in a very condescending manner. That this issue was left unresolved and kind of unaddressed is not just frustrating, it makes you wonder about the author. She clearly brings these concepts into the story. What does it mean that this is left hanging, almost not even addressed? What is the takeaway here? Life's a bitch and then you die? It's okay to be a slave? Its okay to have slaves? In the adult world you just have to accept things? I don't like these messages. I'm not suggesting the message is Teen Saves The World! But the youth voice can be very important in our society. Youth votes and actions can effect change. Why not show that here? I hope teens who read these books finish with critical thinking rather than the takeaway that second class citizenry is cool.

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