The Return

Last on Earth Series #3

by Marilyn Kaye

Having split into a rebel faction en route to California, where they hope to discover the source of mysterious e-mail messages, a group of teens realizes that the future of the human race may depend on their ability to negotiate with alien forces. Original.

Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult

192 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1999

About the author

I was born in New Britain, Connecticut, and grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. I also spent a year (5th grade) in Montgomery, Alabama, and a year in Ann Arbor, Michigan(8th grade). As a child, I always wanted to be a writer, but I had lots of other ambitions too. I wanted to be a teacher, a librarian, a movie star, the president of the United States, and a ballerina.

I didn't achieve all my goals. I never became a movie star, the president of the U.S., or a ballerina. But I've been a teacher and a librarian and most of all, a writer. I've been writing for as long as I can remember. Growing up, I always kept a diary. I wrote poems, stories, plays, songs and lots of letters. Writing wasn't easy for me, but it felt natural and right.

I've always read a lot, too. I was an English major at Emory University (I love Shakespeare), and I also received a master's degree in library science at Emory. I earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Chicago, and I taught children's and teen literature at St. John's University in New York for over 20 years. Now, I'm a full-time writer, living in Paris, France - the most beautiful city in the world.

Reviews

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first two books in the series tantalize with interesting mysteries that, even as a kid, I instinctively knew couldn't offer satisfaction to the same scale with my curiosity. It was good training. Made me more emotionally prepared for pop culture's many puzzle box TV shows with lame endings.

But I really appreciate how weird this ending is! When an ending can't be fully satisfying, it's a fine apology to at least make it totally unexpected. And The Return gives us that.

It's VERY woo, which isn't really to my taste. But the woo is softened by the skepticism and confusion of our core cast: secular East Coast teens who treat concepts like meditation as fundamentally embarrassing. It makes its metaphysical turn feel less abrupt, more earned.

As an adult reader, I really appreciate Kaye's ability to frame complex ideas in simple characterizations. Travis, the smarmy young would-be fascist overlord, crumples like a tin can when his ego is finally challenged. Shalini, the obedient lamb, helps her controlling boyfriend become a better person—then dumps him anyway, because she knows he can't change enough for her. Ashley does something that today would probably be deemed a sexual assault, but is so layered in impossible sci-fi concepts that you kinda just have to roll with it? Truly wild stuff!

This series tickled my imagination as a kid, and I had a good time revisiting it.

[Gina · Rating 2 out of 5]

The last book in a SF trilogy about 25 teen survivors following the disappearance of everyone else on Earth.