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queer_bookwyrm's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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? It's complicated
5.0
5 ⭐ CW: death of a parent, survivor guilt, grief, self-harm, suicidal thoughts, assault, murder/death
Alone Out Here by Riley Redgate is a speculative fiction scifi thriller that is basically Lord of the Flies in space. This book kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time!
We follow Leigh, the First Daughter to an Asian-American female president. Children of dignitaries from all over the world have gathered to tour the generation ship Lazarus, which is a prototype that has been built as a way to transport as many humans off of Earth as possible in anticipation of super volcanoes going off and making it uninhabitable. Unfortunately, the volcanoes go off months before they are predicted to and the only people to escape to the Lazarus are the teens already at the launch site. As far as they know, they are the only survivors.
This book was so intense! It kept wondering what was going to happen. Redgate makes excellent use of the thriller genre by using a countdown clock to show how long they have to reach another planet. Because the eruptions happened sooner than anticipated, things weren't completely ready onboard. Not enough food, no supplies, no adults, no crew. The teens had to figure it out for themselves. We get a really diverse cast since they are from all over the world.
Redgate explores nihilistic themes and the existential crisis of being alone in space and ripped away from everything you know and the complex grief that comes with it. We also see how things escalate quickly when weapons are involved. I loved Leigh's character development and her relationship with Anis. The ending wrecked me. I've just been huffing and sighing about it lol.
Go read this book!
Alone Out Here by Riley Redgate is a speculative fiction scifi thriller that is basically Lord of the Flies in space. This book kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time!
We follow Leigh, the First Daughter to an Asian-American female president. Children of dignitaries from all over the world have gathered to tour the generation ship Lazarus, which is a prototype that has been built as a way to transport as many humans off of Earth as possible in anticipation of super volcanoes going off and making it uninhabitable. Unfortunately, the volcanoes go off months before they are predicted to and the only people to escape to the Lazarus are the teens already at the launch site. As far as they know, they are the only survivors.
This book was so intense! It kept wondering what was going to happen. Redgate makes excellent use of the thriller genre by using a countdown clock to show how long they have to reach another planet. Because the eruptions happened sooner than anticipated, things weren't completely ready onboard. Not enough food, no supplies, no adults, no crew. The teens had to figure it out for themselves. We get a really diverse cast since they are from all over the world.
Redgate explores nihilistic themes and the existential crisis of being alone in space and ripped away from everything you know and the complex grief that comes with it. We also see how things escalate quickly when weapons are involved. I loved Leigh's character development and her relationship with Anis. The ending wrecked me. I've just been huffing and sighing about it lol.
Go read this book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Murder, Self harm, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
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