A review by librarianryan
The Last Laugh by Mindy McGinnis

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Book two picks up right where book one left off.  Some differences: no internal thoughts from the panther, but we get lots more from Rue the orangutan.  Also we don’t hear from Felicity, this time the chapters alternate between Tress and Ribbit (Kermit Usher).   
 
There are many points in this book that will have readers uttering “oh shit”, and hitting the rewind or rereading the page to and think “did I just really hear that”.  There were so many surprises in this book.  Some expected, and some so crazy and unexpected that the reader sits on the edge of their chair not able to turn their self away. 
 
The reader gets a lot more family dynamic with Felicity, Tress, and Kermit.  After all this is a small town and everyone is related somehow.  Plus we get to see new things that happened at the party that were not previously known. 
 
Fair warning: this book has much more gore or graphic descriptions than the last one.  There are explosions, fires, burning skin, and sooooooo much other eye widening action.  I LOVED every minute of it.  I liked how it wasn’t completely predictable, had some bat shit crazy things that are still quite believable, and yet maintained itself as a story about family; the good, the bad, the birth, and the found.  
 
To be honest, was this book as good as the first.  No.  However, it was a very satisfying read, and a great ending to the story.  There is a little heart break, a little just deserts, but it works out as it should in the end.  I thoroughly enjoyed the conclusion to this story, and will be recommending the duology for years to come. 
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