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burningupasun's review against another edition
5.0
TW: mentions of past sexual assault/rape, mentions of past crimes (violence, assault, robbery, manslaughter), beatings/violence, foster care (and abuse within the system), homophobia, child abandonment, food scarcity, pandemic.
This is just my kind of book. There's a setup and a setting (in this case, a plague runs through everyone, leaving teenagers at a facility for young people stranded with no assistance from adults), but the story is really about the teenagers themselves, their relationships, how they learn and grow. The book mainly focuses on a few of the teens: Logan, one half of a pair of twins (with her sister Leah) who is autistic and deaf; Emerson, a non-binary teen kicked out by her parents for coming out to them; Grace, a young girl who got in trouble for stopping her foster-brother from sexual assaulting another girl, and later becomes the de-facto leader. There's other characters in the background, mostly girls but a few boys. (The big contingent of aggressive boys leaves semi-early on, which was a relief.)
The ending is really sad but hopeful, yet also surprised me because I wasn't ready for it to end. All in all a really good read, especially in the era of "how are we still in this pandemic."
This is just my kind of book. There's a setup and a setting (in this case, a plague runs through everyone, leaving teenagers at a facility for young people stranded with no assistance from adults), but the story is really about the teenagers themselves, their relationships, how they learn and grow. The book mainly focuses on a few of the teens: Logan, one half of a pair of twins (with her sister Leah) who is autistic and deaf; Emerson, a non-binary teen kicked out by her parents for coming out to them; Grace, a young girl who got in trouble for stopping her foster-brother from sexual assaulting another girl, and later becomes the de-facto leader. There's other characters in the background, mostly girls but a few boys. (The big contingent of aggressive boys leaves semi-early on, which was a relief.)
The ending is really sad but hopeful, yet also surprised me because I wasn't ready for it to end. All in all a really good read, especially in the era of "how are we still in this pandemic."
lottie1803's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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
3.75
jorisrot's review against another edition
1.0
I cry, but because I couldn’t keep with the nonsense of the story
liz_keeney's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
laurra_'s review against another edition
2.0
Oh boy.
The inclusivity felt forced and ingenuine, the writing was clunky and unnatural, there were too many characters (and I couldn't tell the narrators apart for the life of me) and the ending was so random it didn't even feel like a proper ending
The inclusivity felt forced and ingenuine, the writing was clunky and unnatural, there were too many characters (and I couldn't tell the narrators apart for the life of me) and the ending was so random it didn't even feel like a proper ending
katie_christie's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
annineamundsen's review against another edition
4.0
For my diversity challenge: autistic mc and author
I don't know that I needed a pandemic-plot at this point in time, but I wanted to read it for the representation (autistic mc, non-binary mc, aro-ace mc + queer side characters).
I did really like this though. It was a good commentary on correction facilities, and how criminals also deserve basic human rights.
I don't know that I needed a pandemic-plot at this point in time, but I wanted to read it for the representation (autistic mc, non-binary mc, aro-ace mc + queer side characters).
I did really like this though. It was a good commentary on correction facilities, and how criminals also deserve basic human rights.
serinde4books's review against another edition
5.0
I was really looking forward to this book, I loved Nijkamp’s book This is Where it Ends, and couldn’t wait to read this one. It is told from multiple perspectives: Logan a non-verbal female, whose verbal twin Leah is also in the facility, Grace a long-time female patient, and Emerson a non-binary new arrival. We follow these three though the discovery of the plague and the months that follow as they work to survive.
This book started my year off with a bang, and some tears. This book gave me so many feels. It was a gut wrenching read, but in the best way. The characters made my heart ache, I wanted so much to hug the pain away. As reader, you can’t help but too root for them. You know that they won’t all survive, but you want them to beat the odds, and your heart breaks when they don’t. Just like your heart sings when they do.
*I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. I received this copy free in exchange for my honest review.*
This book started my year off with a bang, and some tears. This book gave me so many feels. It was a gut wrenching read, but in the best way. The characters made my heart ache, I wanted so much to hug the pain away. As reader, you can’t help but too root for them. You know that they won’t all survive, but you want them to beat the odds, and your heart breaks when they don’t. Just like your heart sings when they do.
*I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. I received this copy free in exchange for my honest review.*
muckl3t83's review against another edition
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
This book is pretty boring. Not much happens. The plague is basically a worse form of covid and most of the book takes place in the same location with the same characters sitting around doing nothing except getting sick and slowly running out of food. There’s no good reason given why a bunch of kids were abandoned when there is still a working government, internet, electricity, & phones.
The characters were ok. I didn’t hate them. I liked the chapters that followed the non-verbal character the most. That was an actually interesting angle and I would have preferred the whole book to focus more on that character and her challenges.
The characters were ok. I didn’t hate them. I liked the chapters that followed the non-verbal character the most. That was an actually interesting angle and I would have preferred the whole book to focus more on that character and her challenges.
Content Warnings
Minor: Ableism, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Racism, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Murder, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic