The Last Voyage of Poe Blythe by Ally Condie, 324 pages. Dutton Books, 2019. $19.

Content: Language: PG-13 (8 swears); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG-13.

BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS – ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Poe lives in a dystopian society and works on a drudge that pulls gold nuggets off the river floor. One day river raiders board the ship and kill Poe’s best friend and boyfriend, Call. Poe is so upset by his death that she vows revenge on the river raiders and spends the next two years building a ship that is impervious to the raiders. Although Poe has mostly been the inventor for the ship, the Admiral assigns Poe to a mission to go up the river Serpentine on the next voyage. As Poe captains the ship she starts to suspect that there is a traitor on board.

I enjoyed the story and the fast-moving plot. I liked the minor characters and the dystopian society was interesting. My one complaint about this book is that it felt one-dimensional, so I had a hard time feeling like the setting was realistic and a hard time connecting with the main character. The content includes blood and killings.

Reviewer, C. Peterson

Poe is a flawed teen character in a pack of flawed characters. The mystery of wondering who to trust and why the twists happen is heightened by this mess of characters. The plot of mining gold with this huge ship is so out there that it is difficult to buy into the whole idea that this is a positive goal for these people. The best part of this book is the way you keep second-guessing yourself as you read--who is the good guy? Who is the bad guy? Who should I be routing for? What should the ultimate goal be in this messed up world? Does Poe deserve to fulfill her goals?

I loved the premise of the book, but it just didn't wow me as expected. I still enjoyed it, but maybe I set my expectations too high.

Poe Blythe is absolutely destroyed after her lover is killed by the raiders on their first gold mining expedition. She is hellbent on killing as many raiders as possible and uses her mechanical skills to create a ship that will do just that. I didn't really get into this book until the second half. Condie's writing didn't flow easily and I couldn't make myself care for Poe. Details are left out and they make for good revelations later on, but made me feel disconnected from the story. After about halfway through, Poe starts to grow as a character and seems to grow up. The ending was bittersweet and surprising. It was a okay book but I probably wouldn't seek out the further adventures of Poe Blythe.

the premise of the book sounded good. The beginning of the story caught my interest and I was enjoying the story, but somewhere along the line I lost interest when the story turned into a revenge story and bogged down.

17-year-old orphan, Poe is the captain of the last mining ship and a weapons designer. Two years ago river raiders robbed her of everything, including the person she loved most, Determined to get revenge, she sets out with her crew to retrieve as much gold as possible along the Sepentine River. Someone on her crew, however, appears to be a spy for the Admiral. Is there a traitor on board? How far will she go? Who can she trust?

An action-packed, engaging adventure full of treasure and well-developed characters. The narrative is smooth and easy to follow. The plot is engaging and well-written. Fans of Ally Condie and Tricia Levenseller's Pirate Queen series, adventure, and fantasy will enjoy reading this book.