"It's Seckry Sevenstars second year at Eastergate Institute, and things are already shaping up to be just as eventful as the first; a revolting looking Nasty has appeared in the Food Grabber machine, a new lesson called fringe science has been added to his timetable, Mrs Cutson is acting more sadistic than ever, the twenty eighth Friction Mega Meltdown is fast approaching and two exchange students from Norsegate have arrived, causing trouble and provoking Seckry and his friends.
With homework mounting and Friction training at its most intense, Seckry has very little time for distractions, but soon Seckry is forced to rethink everything he knew about Eiya’s existence, whilst also trying to uncover the truth behind his father's mysterious disappearance. And, in his quest for answers, Seckry unearths long forgotten secrets buried within the school grounds."
The Trinity Awakening picks up shortly after the conclusion of City of the Falling Sky on the date of Seckry's sixteenth birthday. That, however, isn't before Evans opens the novel with an explosive prologue which really sets the tone for the book. He wastes no time in boring the reader with a predictable build-up and instead grips and engrosses you from the get go, intertwining twists even the smartest of nickpickers wouldn't see coming. The start of the book also brings a good reintroduction of key characters and visitation of past events, meaning, unlike many series that have a substantial wait between releases, you don't need to read up on a detailed synopsis to refresh your mind of the world.
Overall, I found this book so much more haunting and thrilling than the latter, stretching the YA genre by making it into something more than just love triangles, heroines and oppressive capitalism. It's clear that Evans has worked hard on linking every book in the series, looking towards the next book whilst writing the current one. This allows questions from Falling Sky to be answered in this book, whilst also introducing new mysteries and narrative arcs that, surprisingly, given the size of the world that Evans has created, stick in your mind - there never seems to be any loose ends.
The exploration of characters and the developing relationship between Seckry and Eiya is an element of this book I truly admired; I even found myself gushing at times. I particularly enjoyed the growing relationship between Vance and Seckry as over the course of the series Vance has become an essential father figure in Seckry's life and it'll be interesting to see where it goes as the series continues.
Despite having complimented Evans before on his use of imagination and descriptive techniques, they're something I have to mention again as there's nothing more exciting than reading a world that's so well constructed and exciting to devour. Each chapter is so beautifully cinematic that even the tiniest of details play out in my head with little effort. There's a lot of different things unfolding in the first half of the book, which, admittedly, can be a little confusing to keep track of at times. However, nothing that is mentioned or occurs is for the sake of filling pages, which is what I love about Evans' writing. There's a constant incorporation of cleverly linked events throughout that you don't take much notice of at the time because they appear minor to the story, yet later become a vital and intriguing part, again creating unpredictability.
Although very few could question its necessity to the story, simply because, as of yet, it hasn't helped in the unravelling of any mysteries, I for one love Evans' creation of the Friction game and Mega Meltdown. The game in general brings a bit of fun and a good distraction from the serious more darker themes of the story. It's safe to say I was quite the role-playing nerd when I was younger so I find it quite nostalgic to read, not to mention that I want nothing more than to play it. At the same time however it was nice to see that there wasn't much focus on it as it was established so largely in the first book that had there been any more of it in this book it would have lost its sense of excitement.
What stood out most however is the climax of the book. It definitely has one of those I don't know what to do with myself endings, giving me quite the 'book hangover', which I loved - there's nothing better than reading a book that leaves such a lasting impression.
It's safe to say that I loved reading this book. It's exhilarating, unpredictable, fun and even pulls a little on your heartstrings. I even found myself craving the third book so I could read it straight after finishing this one. Speaking of, whilst no release date has been announced as of yet, you can check out the teaser trailer for The Seckry Sequence: Fate of the Fractured here - however I strongly advise avoiding it until you've read the first two books!
I give Joseph Evans and The Seckry Sequence: The Trinity Awakening 
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