Review Day: Elders and Aliens by Susan Quilty

There are no major spoilers in this review.

Elders and Aliens is Book Three of the YA Fantasy series, The Psychic Traveler Society, and offers a wonderful conclusion to the trilogy. Amanda Jones continues to juggle the mundane tribulations of being a teenager with her growing stature within a secret society of people who can travel to new worlds with their minds. Internal divisions within this society (first exposed in Book Two) threaten Amanda's anonymity in the normal world and add urgency as she undergoes four separate trials to fully understand her powers.

The first half of Book Three has an overload of names and places -- where the first two books focused mostly on fleshing out specific worlds, this one squeezes in more breadth of worldbuilding in a shorter span. This mix of old and new can be a little overwhelming unless you are reading the books in rapid succession. In my case it had been over two years since I read Book Two so, for example, the reinforced details of Terra-V linger pleasantly in my memory, while the new world of Stellaria didn't make much of an impression in my initial read.

The last half of the book makes the journey all worthwhile (and since this is YA Fantasy, you'll get there pretty quickly!). Susan Quilty spins the old tropes involving trials of worthiness in surprising, uplifting directions. The main character finally gains agency in her actions and relationships, providing a great payoff for the parts of the previous books where being a young teenager kept her coddled. Amanda Jones' empowering journey through the four trials proves that you don't need a grim goose chase for seven horcruxes to conclude a series in a satisfying way.

While the first book remains my favourite in the series, The Psychic Traveler Society trilogy as a whole is a fun, imaginative trip filled with interesting worlds and positive lessons.

Final Grade: B

• Book 1: Healers and Thieves review
• Book 2: Family and Foes review
• Book 3: Elders and Aliens review