You’ve just turned the last page of a
series. It’s finished. Complete. Years of your life waiting for this conclusion
has just spanned out in the space of approximately 300 pages. Or maybe it was
that standalone where you journeyed with the characters for just one book and
you know there will be no sequel.
The author considers it finished. But do
you? Are you satisfied with how it ended? Did your ship become canon? Or did it
sink? And do you wonder where are they
now?
Do you as a reader accept the author’s
conclusion? Obviously we all do because it was the author’s story but you can’t
deny that those characters were nurtured and grew to have their own
personalities and paths in our minds. You may have had pre-conceived notions of
how you wanted the series to end or where you wanted the characters to end up.
Do you then create your own epilogue? Have
you considered where your cherished characters are 5 years from now, 10?
[Beware possible spoilers as I now list
examples/ships – I name the book and the ending/spoiler I have put in white
text, so highlight if you want to see or have read it]
Allegiant – ending to Divergent by Veronica
Roth
That Allegiant ending! Where is Four now,
not just 2.5 years after the Allegiant ending, but 5 years on. What
relationships have formed since then?
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
Where are Eleanor and Park? How are they
faring? Do they eventually meet again?
Clockwork Princess – ending to The Infernal
Devices by Cassandra Clare
Then there’s that Clockwork Princess
epilogue. Where are the characters in 2014 if there was a 2014 for them?
As young-adult novels, most of these
characters range from the age of 15-19.
At such a young age most of them have only experienced 1 or 2
relationships by the series end. We all know that in real-life people can go
through many relationships throughout their life. The person we are with at 16
is not always the same person we are with a year later, let alone 20 years on.
On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
Are Taylor Markham and Jonah Griggs still
together? Do they still do the territory wars for fun?
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
How is Hazel Grace doing? Is she just hanging on with her drug that just sustains her as she ponders her days with Gus?
Into the Still Blue – ending to Under the
Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
Do Aria and Perry have children now that
they’ve reached the still blue?
Between the Lives by Jessica Shirvington –
published as One Past Midnight in the US
Do Sabine and Ethan share the same connection in her other life?
Many books offer open endings and leaves
room for thought. Do you just let bygones be bygones, accept that it’s the end
because it’s just a story, or in your mind, do you have your own version of
where are they now?
