We picked up the third book in this series, then held off and read the first two. We're glad we did. They're older, and we had to wait for them via interlibrary loan. My daughter liked the first two, as did my son. I enjoyed the conclusion to the series, and I promise I won't spoil it, but a major character does die, and it's sad. But honestly, it felt right that there would be some hard-hitting, permanent consequences -- after a struggle of this magnitude -- for Phaet.
Book 1: Dove Arising. Logical, Tech-Oriented Moonies vs. Politically Nutty Earthers
Humans have split into two major groups -- those living on the moon, and those still living on Earth, left behind in a cesspool of war, strife and chaos over depleted resources.
Or, at least, that what the moon residents are told to believe. Their lives are highly structured and everything they do is watched by the government.
Enter Phaet (said "Fate" -- clever, no?) and Umbriel, who've been childhood friends and are quickly turning into more. Phaet hasn't needed to speak since her Dad died in an accident on the Moon because she's so close to Umbriel, he can talk for her.
She and her sister eke out an existence on her Mom's salary as a journalist in this highly censored society, staying one step above the filthy Shelter for poor folks.
Then her Mom is arrested. Rather than see her little sister thrown into the Shelter, Phaet speaks up and enlists in the Moon's armed forces. In training Phaet avoids bullies by forming an unlikely alliance with Wes, the academy's top cadet, and suddenly she's not so sure about her feelings for Umbriel.
She works her way to graduate as a Captain and it looks like she just might be able to afford the bribe to get her mom out of the death sentence, until she's forced by the government to choose -- her mom and her family, or her allegiance to the Moon. Which will she choose?
I won't spoil the ending -- but it's not what you think is going to happen. There's a third route, one you don't see coming, that saves Phaet.
Book 2 Dove Exiled...or Phaet on Earth with her Boyfriend
SPOILER ALERT: This review picks up where book 1 ends, so if you haven't gotten there yet, skip this!
Wes and Phaet escape to Earth, where we learn Wes was an agent of the pacifist nation Saint Oda, which is trying to carve a safe space between Lunar raids (yes, that's how the Moon gets its resources! By raiding Earth) and the opposing Earth factions of Pacifia and Battery Bay.
Of course the Moon government sends its agents to Earth to flush out Phaet, showing a video of her brother being tortured, and it works. She and Wes come up with a mad-cap plan to get back on the Moon, so they can rescue her family.
Except nothing goes as planned, St. Oda is caught in the crossfire, and Wes and Phaet are separated. When she makes it back to the Moon, she learns more about her mother's secret resistance society and the role she's destined to play.
Book 3: Dove Alight... or The Committee Strikes Back.
The Moon's government is out in full force against Phaet, the Dove, now. They'll stop at nothing to wipe her off the moon, as the figurehead of the ongoing Resistance, even if it means destroying entire moon bases to do it.
Her brother, Cygnus, works his way back from a traumatized stupor to contributing member of the resistance. Umbriel is clearly in Phaet's corner, but as a friend. Phaet's relationship with Wes matures as arrives on the moon and they fight alongside each other.
And troops from Battery Bay arrive to help out as the Dovetailers face their most devastating loss yet, when the Lunar government bombs Base VI, killing everyone within.
Can Phaet finally prove they're all just people who deserve to live free? And get the remaining Committee members to let go of their power? On Earth and the moon? Or will the Committee be successful in dragging everyone down with them, as they go?
