Sunrise, by Mike Mullin

 Sunrise, by Mike Mullin, 466 pages

This is the third in the Ashfall trilogy- where a supervolcano turned the Midwest into a wasteland of ash and freezing cold.  Alex is growing up- he's taking control, starting a community, and trying to make some sense out of the madness.  Spoiler: I found this to be a really satisfying conclusion to the trilogy- there's no deus ex machina that saves everyone- they save themselves, and that's what I liked.

Sky on Fire (Monument 14 #2), by Emmy Laybourne, 212 pages

Sky on Fire (Monument 14 #2), by Emmy Laybourne, 212 pages

Well, this was exciting- not only did I not realize that this sequel to Monument 14 had come out, when I was looking it up, I also saw that there are two short stories the author wrote as sort of prequels. Available for free here:  http://www.tor.com/stories/2012/05/dress-your-marines-in-white
and here:  http://www.tor.com/stories/2013/06/jake-and-the-other-girl

But on to the story- I was satisfied with this- the series could end with this book, as far as I'm concerned.  Some less than great things happen to several of the characters, but *spoiler alert* some families are reunited and there are a few happy endings out there.  The ending was annoying to me, though, in that same way that I knew I should have stopped reading Mike Mullin's Ashfall after the first book.