With the release of The Last Star, The 5th Wave series has come to an end. And if you’ve turned the last page of The Last Star and suddenly don’t know what to do with yourself, you’ve come to the right place. We know a little bit about the despair you’re feeling right now because we’ve felt it too. Read on for the proper coping mechanisms to deal with your series end grief.

Feel EVERYTHING!

Give yourself permission to feel all the feelings—the joy and the sadness; the pain and the euphoria. You’ve invested years of your life into this mind-blowing series—don’t try to close the book on your emotions after just a few brief moments. It’s only in giving yourself over to the feelings that you’ll truly be ready to accept the end.

Give Yourself Permission to Cry

Let it out. Let it ALL out.

Let Yourself Have Some Me Time

Your first instinct might be to clutch the closest person to you, gasping: “Here are all my feelings.” Or, you know, scroll through some reviews online. But we encourage you to press pause on that. What if this person has never read The 5^th Wave? What if they have but they’re not totally caught up to the end? There will come a time where you will feel ready to evangelize this series to all in your path, but you’re too delicate for that right now. Use this time gather your own thoughts and opinions before others influence them.

Find a Support Group

You’re ready now. Ready to find others who have finished The Last Star and want to talk about it for hours—dissecting each moment and reveling in the glory of knowing the full picture. And now that you’ve already allowed yourself the time to fully digest the story by yourself, you’re primed for fruitful discussion that will likely only enhance your views of the ending.

Re-Read the Entire Series

There is no better time than now to re-read the entire series from beginning to end. You’ll be able truly appreciate the tapestry that Rick Yancey began weaving in the very first book. You might even pick up on some things that, during your first reading, seemed commonplace but you now realize are BRILLIANT.

Find Your Next Series To Obsess Over

You’ve accepted that the series is over. You have worked through all of your feelings on its glorious end. Now, it’s time to move on. It might seem harsh but it’s necessary—you need something new to pour your love and energy into. Sure, it could be a person or a different hobby but we know that a brand-new series is just the thing you need.

What’s that? You’d like a few recommendations? Happy to oblige!

Try the Falling Kingdoms series by Morgan Rhodes

and the Half Bad series by Sally Green!