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jadeyfish's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
This book wasn’t bad. I personally prefer books with more going on, but this one really focused on the bond between the sisters and their mother, rather than the science aspects. I would categorize this as literary fiction, not science fiction.
There is nothing particularly special about these characters, which makes it easy to relate to them, but also I didn’t personally feel much towards them. I do think that Vera was the most intriguing. Hearing her perspective as the youngest in the family was different than what I thought previously of the typical youngest child.
Overall this book was okay, I think it would’ve been better had it leaned more into the science part. If you’re looking for a slower-paced literary read with a HINT of science, and is pretty straightforward, this would work.
There is nothing particularly special about these characters, which makes it easy to relate to them, but also I didn’t personally feel much towards them. I do think that Vera was the most intriguing. Hearing her perspective as the youngest in the family was different than what I thought previously of the typical youngest child.
Overall this book was okay, I think it would’ve been better had it leaned more into the science part. If you’re looking for a slower-paced literary read with a HINT of science, and is pretty straightforward, this would work.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy
Moderate: Death of parent, Sexism, Abortion, and Grief
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Colonisation
ncamp214's review
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
This one is weird, but I really enjoyed it. It brings up a lot of questions about genetics, science and the ethics behind it all. The setting shifts a lot, but each setting is treated with beauty and grace bringing the reader to the place. I absolutely hate Jane, and she should be ashamed of herself as a mom, a woman and a scientist.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Car accident, Sexism, Grief, and Death
Moderate: Pregnancy
Minor: Abortion
turrean's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
There is so much to praise here: characters so finely drawn you would recognize them if you met them, a wildly improbable plot, clever and witty dialogue, a generous dose of matriarchal rage. A few moments seemed disturbingly false to the rest of the narrative.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, and Pregnancy
fkshg8465's review
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
medium-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
4.5
Oh I really liked this book a lot. Unrealistic in unimportant ways and very realistic in important ways.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Pregnancy, Death of parent, and Grief
courtneyer's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pregnancy and Grief
bobbyheddy's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pregnancy and Animal death
kristinj1's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
I alternated between liking this book and never wanting to pick it up again. At the end, I wish they'd resolved what I felt were the two main story lines - the baby woolly mammoth and the pregnancy of Eve. It was left feeling like the story could use a second book, but the characters in the story could not handle that. This book was interesting and terrifying and deeply sad, all at the same time. The death of the husband/dad, their relationship that was never in balance to begin with, the struggle of pull between the mom and the two daughters - feeling Vera's sadness as the narrator throughout the story. Is that how Lilia feels about some things?
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pregnancy, Sexism, Car accident, and Death of parent
Minor: Alcohol
sytaylor's review
adventurous
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Vomit, Death, and Grief
seawarrior's review
4.0
The Last Animal is a meditation on grief, environmental destruction, and mothers and daughters told primarily through the eyes of a lonely yet perceptive teenage girl. Sections of the book are rather sad, as Vera is still rocked with grief by her father dying and her mother and sister growing apart from her. I did not think the book was as adventurous or playful as I had expected from the publisher's description. Even once the miraculous wolly mammoth baby enters the book, grief rises over the family like a tidal wave. The family, both human and mammoth, are isolated by their unlawful shared existence, and it soon becomes evident that the mammoth will never survive to adulthood, as its human caretakers do not understand its needs or its place in the world. Regardless, I thought this was a well-written and gorgeously descriptive book that translates the ache of grief for impossible needs into resounding language.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Sexism
Moderate: Pregnancy and Death of parent
Minor: Alcohol and Animal death
inkylabyrinth's review
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.5
Teenagers Eve and Vera wander the globe with their mom Jane after the death of their beloved scientist father. Drug along to lab assistant Jane's newest project in Siberia, the sisters find a perfectly preserved baby Woolly Mammoth specimen that sets off a wild chain of events that take their broken little family from California to Russia to Iceland to Italy.
Honestly I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. The sister dynamic and banter between Eve and Vera were my favorite bits; the plot is perfectly quirky and intriguing too. I adore characters who meander aimlessly and make horrible hasty decisions in grief. Sometimes motherhood is fucked up and Ausubel gets this. I didn't love the parts addressing climate change--it felt outdated and needlessly pessimistic. But this will become a treasured part of my library.
Honestly I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. The sister dynamic and banter between Eve and Vera were my favorite bits; the plot is perfectly quirky and intriguing too. I adore characters who meander aimlessly and make horrible hasty decisions in grief. Sometimes motherhood is fucked up and Ausubel gets this. I didn't love the parts addressing climate change--it felt outdated and needlessly pessimistic. But this will become a treasured part of my library.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Pregnancy, and Death of parent
Minor: Abortion
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