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reading__redhead's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Biphobia, Body horror, Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Murder, Outing, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent
quinn22's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Gun violence, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Child death, Cursing, Gore, Physical abuse, Racism, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, and Classism
david_slack110507's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
It was entertaining to listen to the post-apocalypse aspects of the book with the pursuit of survival in comparison with the queer representation with Jamison and Andrew as both aren't really found in books, especially together, as there isn't often a whole lot of bisexual representation in media and to have queer representation in a post-apocalyptic book was nice to see and while I do think that some bits of dialogue surrounding either aspect could have been handled better, both the post-apocalypse and queer aspects were my favourite parts of the book. I hope to see them expanded upon in the next book.
I do wish that the communities and other survivors parts of the apocalypse could have been handled better as while I did like the side-plot of Henry taking in Andrew and Jamison as well as their later mission to find her daughter, I found that the other communities and survivors that we came across throughout the book weren't all that interesting and even the ones that we spent a lot of time with weren't always interesting and so I hope that the next book expands on the characters, outside of Andrew and Jamison, that we have already seen as well as introducing new characters that are just as interesting. I'm hoping to start the next book in the series soon as I found that even though I wouldn't rate this book majorly high, I still really liked being able to just have it on in the background and hopefully the next book will be the same.
Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Xenophobia, and Medical content
Minor: Ableism, Drug use, Sexism, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts
biobeetle's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, and Death of parent
jay_jade736's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
phosphenes's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Gun violence, Homophobia, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Cursing, Gore, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Ableism, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit
melsage1823's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I loved this novel. This story definitely hit hard after coming out of the pandemic and still struggling with the aftermath of it. It subverted the Bury Your Gays Trope and it was just overall really amazing representation that we get to read about two queer teenagers being able to survive through tragedy. I also felt like setting this story in a post apocalyptic world helped Erik.J.Brown subvert alot of tropes. The slow burn relationship is heartwarming without fitting into those stereotypes. Andrew and Jamie have flaws and are portrayed with a lot of humanity and depth.
My hope is that this novel inspires a new sub genre where Queer Teens are able to unite and survive through the toughest of challenges. The community definitely needs more stories like this especially when everything feels so hopeless. Before I move onto some of the positives I need to talk about one small pet peeve I had, the world building.
This would have been five stars if the world building was built up through show don't tell. Hate to compare it to other post apocalypse media but take The Last Of Us. The video game adapted show perfectly sets up the effects of the cordyceps virus through a chilling flashback TV talk show and then a full flashback for our main character and the tragedy he faced once the world fell. This is the world building I felt was missing in this novel as in my opinion showing what Andrew and Jamisons life's were like pre super flu and during would have been more impactful than the characters bluntly telling us what happened. I wanted to care about the post apocalyptic ravaged America but I couldn't due to only finding out about the state of America through exposition. Other than that though I really did really enjoy this novel.
I could rave about this novel for pages but I'm gonna do my best to limit the positives to three things. My first positive is how the theme of two people coping and surviving after a pandemic is handled throughout the novel. It's always bothered me how much marginalised people are excluded from the dystopia and post apocalyptic genre but here it works really well. Through this novel being own voices Erik.J.Brown has shown perfectly what it's like to be queer in a post apocalypse something that I've only seen the Last Of Us address this well before. We get to see how society collapsing has both positively and negatively affected Jamie and Andrew. Its just brilliant. The tone of the novel is great whilst also Dark at some points we also get to feel hope as Jamie and Andrew bond and find each other. If your queer like myself, this novel will hit especially hard.
Secondly I loved all of the characters. Without giving away spoilers I'll talk about Jamie and Andrew in another paragraph but the side characters such as Hank, Henri, Cara, The Fort Caroliners and
Finally, without any spoilers Jamie and Andrews relationship is the glue that holds this book together. It's not only emotional and beautiful but it's a realistic and well built up relationship too. Too often as mentioned Gay Couples have to experience sadness and truama or be the most perfect representation with no inbetween. Jamie and Andrew are in between and it works really well. Through their time together they experience laughter and hope especially with Andrews awesome personality but they also experience challenges and truama. By the end of the book they are at a completely different place but we are able to not only route for them but connect with them on a personal level too.
Overall All That's Left In The World is an incredible queer post apocalyptic book that perfectly balances hope and tragedy. It can hit you in the gut sometimes whilst also being a super comforting and inspiring read. Whilst I would mainly recommend this to the queer community, any audience can pick up this novel and still really enjoy it. Cannot recommend reading enough, I can't wait for the sequel.
Graphic: Murder and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Vomit and Death of parent
earftoalex's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, and Terminal illness
leahhmorriss's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Gun violence and Blood
Minor: Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, and Injury/Injury detail
ronan900's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Death, Medical content, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Child death, Cursing, Drug use, Gore, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, and Blood
Minor: Bullying, Vomit, and Abandonment