I wasn't going to rate this one 5 stars. I promise I wasn't.
But then that ending. The author who can tie so many strings together so neatly and intricately is purely genius.
I think I loved it so much for the experience it gave me. I read it to my 11-year-old brother, and he was even more invested than I was, if possible. One night, he even took a turn reading a chapter because I was getting tired and he didn't want to quit. Tonight, we stayed up til midnight—an hour after the rest of the house went to bed—sitting beside each other in rocking chairs, on the edge of our seats as we gobbled up the climax. There were so many times we stopped and looked at each and one of us would say "oh!" And then we'd go over how this piece tied in with the beginning of the story, and how the plot was falling into place, and how everything was coming full circle. It was wonderful fun.
So, if this book can give someone else the same connection it gave me, it totally deserves the 5 stars.