Until the Celebration

Zilpha Keatley Snyder's marvelous Green Sky Trilogy, begun in Below the Root and continued in And All Between, comes to a conclusion in this third and final installment of the story. Opening shortly after the events of the previous book, in which Uniforce returned to the Kindar in the form of the children Pomma and Teera, and the secret society of Geets-kel renounced their opposition to the Rejoyning of the Kindar and Erdling peoples, the story here kicks off as the leaders of Orbora are informed of the astonishing history that had been kept from them. All does not go quite as the Rejoyners hope however, and the book chronicles the first year after these revelations, as the Erdlings are released from their subterranean prison, and show more gradually join the above-ground Kindar world. The ongoing tensions between the two groups, and the challenges faced by those hoping for their integration—resistant factions on both the Kindar and Erdling sides, the seeming disappearance of Pomma and Teera, and the theft of the dangerous tool of violence—are chronicled, as events lead up to the Celebration—the one year anniversary of Green Sky's Rejoyning. Can Raamo and his friends triumph, and finally defeat the ancestral specter of violence their society was founded to escape from, and what price must they pay to do so...?

Although there are some flaws in Until the Celebration, as well as in The Green Sky Trilogy in general, I nevertheless enjoyed this conclusion to Snyder's story immensely. As with its predecessors, I found the world of the Kindar and Erdlings to be a fascinating one, appreciating all of the details regarding customs, rituals and beliefs, and the way these varied between the two groups. I thought Snyder did an excellent job depicting the disillusionment experienced by the Kindar, when some of the central tenets of their belief system—the evil nature of the Pash-shan, the infallibility and goodness of the Ol-zhaan—fell away. The way in which they subsequently latched on to the two children, Pomma and Teera, as figures with spiritual meaning, was astutely captured, revealing the way in which people need and desire symbols of hope and strength. Raamo's perceptive understanding that there is a danger in this veneration of the children may be proved correct in the end, but it also reinforces the original idea, that belief and ritual, especially of a spiritual and/or religious nature, is often necessary for peaceful and just societies. I was also greatly impressed by the storytelling decision Snyder made, in killing off her hero. Other great stories have flirted with the idea—a prime example being the Harry Potter books—but I think in general it is very unusual to see this outcome, in a work intended for children. Which isn't to say that children's fiction never addresses death, but when it does, it is usually the focus of the story, which tends to center around grief and loss. Here the focus is on sacrifice, even if done inadvertently, and I think it was a bold choice on Snyder's part. I have read that she regretted the end of this book, so it may be that she changed her mind after the fact, but in the telling, she clearly felt that sacrifice and loss were an essential part of her tale.

All of this being said, despite my great enjoyment of and appreciation for this series, I must admit that it suffers from some structural issues that prevent it from being quite as outstanding as it would otherwise have been. I think the trouble starts in the second book, And All Between, which covers much of the same material as in the first book, Below the Root. While I didn't dislike this "repetition" as much as some other online reviewers—I enjoyed seeing some of the same events from the Erdling perspective—given the fact that I found this third book somewhat rushed, covering too much in too few pages, I think that either this decision in the second book to go back and retell part of the story ought to have been reconsidered, or that this third book ought to have been expanded, and made into two books. There was simply too much going on here, and not enough attention paid to any of it, to truly satisfy. I also felt that the conclusion of the book was somehow off. Raamo's death, which should have been the climax of the story, was overshadowed by the return of Pomma and Teera. The latter also felt rushed, in and of itself, and I couldn't help feeling that the experiences of the two girls ought to have been its own storyline, within the book, rather than relayed briefly after the fact. Of course, despite these structural flaws, I do truly love this series as a whole, and consider the first book (Below the Root) practically perfect. Highly recommended to any younger (or older) reader who enjoys fantasy, science fiction, dystopian fiction, or just thoughtful, more philosophical fiction in general. show less

(For the whole trilogy): A utopian future on a planet with lowered gravity, psychic abilities, and naturally abundant food – what could be better? I read these books repeatedly as a kid, and still love them today. Of course, the utopia cracks under the pressure of the secrets it is keeping, and courageous children must save the day. The trilogy is a surprisingly sophisticated analysis of utopian ideals, for books aimed at children. The cultures that evolved on this planet are well-reasoned extensions of their histories, and the overall story is believable, given the premise. Plus, people get to fly and sleep in nests.

This volume concludes the saga of Green-Sky, beginning with the Rejoyning, where the Erdlings are released from below the root. There is much uncertainty, fear, and distrust between Kindar and Erdlings, causing many disturbances and much mind-pain. There are also still those who wish to gain control of the society through threats and violence, such as the former Ol-Zhaan, D'ol Regle, and the (Erdling) Nekom leader, Axom Befal.
However, crises are averted, and the society is saved without fighting. I think that's Snyder's point, that differences can be resolved without violence, but it doesn't make for a very exciting story. I kept waiting for something calamitous to happen and realized I was most of the way through the book without show more encountering much in the way of suspense. It's still a very interesting tale of an Utopian society, but I am curious more about the resolution of the minor disputes, as it seems that the answer to the major one, is "All is One." Which, again, great sentiment, but not very exciting story. show less

Interesting concept, but the execution lacks. I didn't finish this book as it was proceeding so slowly. Not written in a very active tense, don't know how young readers could stick with it either, unless from the attraction of having some young leaders. I had not read the other books in the series.

I wanted to like it. Had I read it as a child, I probably would have, but as an adult I found it heavy-handed and deadly. I found myself rolling my eyes and skipping whole chunks of text.

kept me in suspense, and about as good an ending as you could hope for

scifi/fantasy, children's book