The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
librariangeorgia's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- 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
3.5
I enjoyed this book, but at the same time it felt very realistic.Â
It’s set years into the future, after COVID, in the aftermath of a ‘superflu’ pandemic. It feels like an alternative version of what could’ve happened in the last 2 years.
I adored Jamie and Andrew! Ugh, they need to be protected at all costs! I loved the slow burn relationship - and I usually hate that!
The ending was just *chefs kiss* - it felt just right for this book even though I really wanted to know what would happen with Henri!
Overall, well written and interesting book - just a bit too close to home at the moment for me.
It’s set years into the future, after COVID, in the aftermath of a ‘superflu’ pandemic. It feels like an alternative version of what could’ve happened in the last 2 years.
I adored Jamie and Andrew! Ugh, they need to be protected at all costs! I loved the slow burn relationship - and I usually hate that!
The ending was just *chefs kiss* - it felt just right for this book even though I really wanted to know what would happen with Henri!
Overall, well written and interesting book - just a bit too close to home at the moment for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Vomit, Death of parent, Excrement, Homophobia, Murder, Bullying, Death, and Gun violence
betweentheshelves's review
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
 Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for an advanced copy of this to review! There is a definite lack of gay post-apocalyptic fiction, so I'm so glad that this exists. I'm also happy to report that this lived up to my expectations, and I thoroughly enjoyed it!
I think I saw somewhere that this is being pitched as David and Patrick from Schitt's Creek as teenagers at the end of the world. That absolutely describes Andrew and Jamie's dynamic so well. Jamie is much more reserved, level headed like Patrick. Andrew puts himself out there more, like David. They have bickering, they have sweet moments. The romance definitely isn't lost in this post-apocalpytic novel. But it also doesn't take away from the seriousness of what's happening around them. It feels realistic, given the circumstances.
The only reason this isn't getting a full five stars is honestly because I was a little taken out of the story by the mentions of COVID. I get the importance, and appreciated the author's note at the end about it. I'm still of the opinion that it feels too soon to put COVID in books. Does anyone else feel this way?
Anyway, this is definitely a very character driven novel, as there's not necessarily a central conflict driving the plot except for the apocalypse. Personally, I'm a fan of this kind of story, but always feel like it's helpful knowing that before you go into the story.
All in all, if you're looking for a good character driven post-apocalyptic novel, this is for you! I also appreciated the Tom Holland references, because of obvious reasons (or maybe not obvious, if you haven't seen my posts about Spider-Man). This might be one I add to my personal library when it comes out in March!Â
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I'm so happy this lived up to expectations for me! It checked a lot of my favorite boxes. Full review to come next week!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, and Death of parent
Moderate: Animal death, Homophobia, and Violence
Minor: Bullying, Excrement, and Violence
gggina13's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- 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
5.0
Me: has ARCs from August 2020 I still haven't read
Me: picks up a March 2022 book
But that's how excited I was about this concept. Like the author's note said - we just don't see a lot of queer stories amongst the post-apocalyptic genre. And post-apocalyptic is *kind of* my thing. Well, it gives me slight hyperventilation now. Especially since this book takes place in a universe where COVID did exist and it's probably the first time I've seen it mentioned in a book.
To further that point, I think this book will trigger a lot of people. The super-bug in this story that was viral after COVID is one that killed probably 80% of the world's population - at last announced before the internet had gone down months before, 2 billion people had already died. Like this book isn't a typical survivor book, it's like, the *only survivors* type of book.Â
It's a pretty realistic book, in my opinion, as realistic as such a situation can be with no real frame of reference. It starts with Andrew, who's traveling alone, going off the main road to avoid people and somehow stepping in a bear trap in the woods. He finds an abandoned cabin to hole up in, and possibly die in, when he finds out it's not abandoned - it's a boy named Jamie's house. Jamie wants to shoot him, but of course ends up helping him instead, because it's a world where even soft boys survive the apocalypse.Â
It turns out that Andrew has an injury that requires staying put for a while, and truthfully, both boys have been alone for so long that it's kind of just nice to have someone to talk to. Both boys have no family members left, no best friends, no first crushes... they're all dead. I'm not sure that either of them have a will to live left, they just keep doing what they're doing because they aren't dead yet. Some events transpire, of course, and the boys find themselves on the road.
Andrew has heard that government assistance will be at the airport in DC on June 10th. The cabin they left was in Philadelphia, and Andrew actually started out in Connecticut. They leave Philly on foot and head for DC - and Andrew has a secret side mission to complete in Virginia, because of course he does.Â
I think the traveling is paced well and timed correctly - allowing them weeks and weeks to travel on the interstate by foot. They see a LOT more dead bodies than live people, but they do have run-ins with different people - loners, groups, kids their age, old people, white supremacist civilizations - oh yeah, because true to life, white supremacy is still alive and well after the apocalypse. They have friendly interactions, very hostile interactions, and I think it just shows the spectrum of humanity, even with humanity being almost extinct. Same with the civilization groups - they find people just scavenging, people trying to build a community back up, people with a community built but it's kind of weird, people with a great set-up who are as close to "real life" as they can get... I just feel like it's realism to portray everyone being at different points in rebuilding society.
Now to talk about the boys' romance - it's really sweet. They start out as friends, become best friends really soon (having no one left will do that to you, I'm sure), and learn over the course of their journey how much they care about each other due to the lengths they go to to take care of one another. Andrew is openly gay, and has had a slight crush on Jamie the whole time he's known him. Jamie was always straight as far as he knew, but eventually starts to wonder if he's bisexual. He could even be pansexual, though, based on the way their relationship develops. The romance is definitely slow burn. Even though this story is queer, I wouldn't call it a romance. It's definitely a survival story first, one that starts off brutal with everyone dead off-page and a bear trap injury, and gets even more brutal with lots of description on-page. The mutual pining comes to a head in a satisfying way, and the ending is as happy as it can be, so I don't think it's a painful queer story in that aspect. They might go through hell, but it's not that kind of torturous queer story where they both die at the end (I'm just making a pun here, I haven't actually read the Adam Silvera book, don't come for me)
This definitely won't be the story for everyone, but I think it's wonderfully done for what it is, and I'm going to be happy to recommend it to anyone I feel will appreciate it. I would happily read a sequel about these guys taking on the new world :-)
Me: picks up a March 2022 book
But that's how excited I was about this concept. Like the author's note said - we just don't see a lot of queer stories amongst the post-apocalyptic genre. And post-apocalyptic is *kind of* my thing. Well, it gives me slight hyperventilation now. Especially since this book takes place in a universe where COVID did exist and it's probably the first time I've seen it mentioned in a book.
To further that point, I think this book will trigger a lot of people. The super-bug in this story that was viral after COVID is one that killed probably 80% of the world's population - at last announced before the internet had gone down months before, 2 billion people had already died. Like this book isn't a typical survivor book, it's like, the *only survivors* type of book.Â
It's a pretty realistic book, in my opinion, as realistic as such a situation can be with no real frame of reference. It starts with Andrew, who's traveling alone, going off the main road to avoid people and somehow stepping in a bear trap in the woods. He finds an abandoned cabin to hole up in, and possibly die in, when he finds out it's not abandoned - it's a boy named Jamie's house. Jamie wants to shoot him, but of course ends up helping him instead, because it's a world where even soft boys survive the apocalypse.Â
It turns out that Andrew has an injury that requires staying put for a while, and truthfully, both boys have been alone for so long that it's kind of just nice to have someone to talk to. Both boys have no family members left, no best friends, no first crushes... they're all dead. I'm not sure that either of them have a will to live left, they just keep doing what they're doing because they aren't dead yet. Some events transpire, of course, and the boys find themselves on the road.
Andrew has heard that government assistance will be at the airport in DC on June 10th. The cabin they left was in Philadelphia, and Andrew actually started out in Connecticut. They leave Philly on foot and head for DC - and Andrew has a secret side mission to complete in Virginia, because of course he does.Â
I think the traveling is paced well and timed correctly - allowing them weeks and weeks to travel on the interstate by foot. They see a LOT more dead bodies than live people, but they do have run-ins with different people - loners, groups, kids their age, old people, white supremacist civilizations - oh yeah, because true to life, white supremacy is still alive and well after the apocalypse. They have friendly interactions, very hostile interactions, and I think it just shows the spectrum of humanity, even with humanity being almost extinct. Same with the civilization groups - they find people just scavenging, people trying to build a community back up, people with a community built but it's kind of weird, people with a great set-up who are as close to "real life" as they can get... I just feel like it's realism to portray everyone being at different points in rebuilding society.
Now to talk about the boys' romance - it's really sweet. They start out as friends, become best friends really soon (having no one left will do that to you, I'm sure), and learn over the course of their journey how much they care about each other due to the lengths they go to to take care of one another. Andrew is openly gay, and has had a slight crush on Jamie the whole time he's known him. Jamie was always straight as far as he knew, but eventually starts to wonder if he's bisexual. He could even be pansexual, though, based on the way their relationship develops. The romance is definitely slow burn. Even though this story is queer, I wouldn't call it a romance. It's definitely a survival story first, one that starts off brutal with everyone dead off-page and a bear trap injury, and gets even more brutal with lots of description on-page. The mutual pining comes to a head in a satisfying way, and the ending is as happy as it can be, so I don't think it's a painful queer story in that aspect. They might go through hell, but it's not that kind of torturous queer story where they both die at the end (I'm just making a pun here, I haven't actually read the Adam Silvera book, don't come for me)
This definitely won't be the story for everyone, but I think it's wonderfully done for what it is, and I'm going to be happy to recommend it to anyone I feel will appreciate it. I would happily read a sequel about these guys taking on the new world :-)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Murder, Medical trauma, Gun violence, Gore, Death of parent, and Death
Moderate: Child death, Homophobia, and Grief
Minor: Excrement and Vomit
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