5 Types Of YA Series Finales

We love and dread series finales...but what's your favourite way for them to end? Happily ever afters? Guns blazing? LET'S FIND OUT.

Paper Fury
Created by Paper Fury (User Generated Content*)User Generated Content is not posted by anyone affiliated with, or on behalf of, Playbuzz.com.
On May 10, 2016

How often do you read "happy/fluffy" books?

Well hello there and here's a SURPRISE PARTY IN YOUR HONOUR! How do you react?

You ship these two characters A LOT...how do you want their story to end?

What's your opinion on #EvilAuthorSyndrome? (Aka authors who like to SMASH YOUR FEELS?)

Pick a preferred genre!

How do you feel about the main character(s) dying??

What FEELING do you want to come away with after finishing an epic series??

Are you a dragon?

How do you feel about spin-off series?

Should a finale give you ALL the answers?

The Happily Ever After

The Happily Ever After

It's like a happy Christmas package tied up with a nice bow and presented to you lovingly by the author. Happily ever afters are the "fairy tale dream", naturally, but they're also for the SATISFYING books. The couple get together. The evil is defeated. The lost queen sits on the throne. The cake is saved. Everyone goes home and has SOUP AND TOAST and probably snuggles a duckling.

PROS: You feel happy that it all turned out.
CONS: Sometimes they're unrealistic because when does real life end so easily??? And seriously, the heroes all survived????? As if.

THE MASS DEATHS OF EVERYTHING OF EVER

THE MASS DEATHS OF EVERYTHING OF EVER

Let's go for the heavy-duty-realism, right? Because war doesn't play favourites, darlin'. And PEOPLE YOU LOVE WILL DEFINITELY DIE. These finales are heavy on the feels factors. They terrify you. They haunt you in your sleep. They emotionally cripple you so you end up as that puddle of nope in the corner, rocking and crying gently. Even the HEROES aren't safe here.

PROS: It feels realistic and you also get to be emotionally destroyed. (Somehow that's a GOOD thing???)
CONS: Sometimes it makes the book feel pointless when everyone dies anyway. It can also just make you angry/sad because NOTHING WENT RIGHT. #AllMyFriendsAreDead

THE OPEN ENDER BECAUSE WHO NEEDS CLOSURE HA HA HA (CRIES)

THE OPEN ENDER BECAUSE WHO NEEDS CLOSURE HA HA HA (CRIES)

When does life ever wrap up in that nice little bow? NEVER. So these kinds of finales make sure to a) not wrap everything up, b) leave you with questions, and c) drive you 97.3% insane with QUESTIONS THAT WILL NEVER BE ANSWERED. But at least you get the feeling that the characters' lives aren't over. Hurrah! They're still off adventuring and (hopefully) staying alive.

PROS: Your imagination has room to flap about happily/anxiously/both-together. And it's very realistic.
CONS: The questions literally kill 9 of your braincells and you eat a brick wall with WANTING TO KNOW. It can also feel like cheating and/or pointless because nothing is solved.

THE STRESS FEST

THE STRESS FEST

Let's just have battles! Plot twists! Chases! Escapes! Explosions! ALL OF THE TIME. These finales are ultimately exhausting and you only need to nap for 58 years to recover. Nothing seems to go right and everyone is CONSTANTLY in peril. But you end up feeling really exited and energised with that feeling you just read an amazing book.

PROS: It's epic! No snivelling around! Let's just SMITE ALL THE THINGS and stretch everyone to their limits! Also they're very hard to put down.
CONS: They can be SO stressful that you don't want to read. Especially not knowing if it's going to end in mass-calamity. Also the action/plot-twists can get over the top and feel try-hard.

THE RUNAWAYS TO A NEW SERIES

THE RUNAWAYS TO A NEW SERIES

This just involves the characters solving a FEW of their problems, but ultimately running away in to the sunset -- or darkness. It has feelings of "YAY THEY ESCAPED" or "OMG RUN AND DON'T GET CAUGHT AGAIN". You get the feeling that their adventure is so not over. It has closure in that the plot DID wrap up. But you can definitely envision them having another series. And oftentimes they DO get another series!

PROS: You get another series to look forward to and promises that you don't have to say goodbye yet.
CONS: It's potentially unsatisfactory and can also feel like it's being spun into unnecessary books. You want answers, but, dangit, do you have to read like TEN MORE BOOKS to get them???

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