Reviews with content warning for Injury/Injury detail - All That's Left in the World

Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

All That's Left in the World by Erik J. Brown

109 reviews

bookish_kirst's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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melsage1823's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

A masterfull thrilling story about uniting after tragedy with perfectly written main characters.

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

the Keys group

featured at the end of the novel were all super interesting not just as characters but physiologically as well. It added to the tension of the story as you never knew if the people Jamie and Andrew came across could be trusted. Like the last of us we also see how the apocalypse in a way becomes a blessing for bigots and just in genuine super dodgy people. It also adds to the complexity arching moral of the story of how you should and shouldn't act during an apocalypse. We get to see multiple ways the "super flu" has affected people and just how hard survial is. It's also great that each character isn't just there to prop up Jamie and Andrew's story, there their own multifaceted character. Let's just say if you like large casts Jamie and Andrew aren't the only interesting characters in the story even if they are the main focus.

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.

Their slow burn love story is built up so well from the moment Jamie decides to let Andrew stay in the cabin for a while to heal from his injurjed leg and Andrew stays at Jamie's beside to help him recover after he was shot. It thematically ties together well. Oh and the confession wrecked me in the best way possible I was so relieved when they finally both had the courage to share their feelings with each other even if at the worst possible time being tied up and all.

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.

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lydiaurban's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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libby_i_guess's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring tense fast-paced

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

4.25

I don’t know if I was in the headspace for an apocalypse book when i picked this up just after experiencing COVID. It really did make me just sit and think about how it would all go, how people would act, how far I am from people I love. It was also a sweet love story mixed in, so that’s a bonus.

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earftoalex's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad 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

4.5

the perfect queer post apocalyptic book i’ve been looking for. i loved the characters like i was there and felt their pain like i was them

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royalwaves's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

To be completely honest this did put me in a minor reading slump but that was more to deal with the fact that it reminded me a lot of this book I read in August and I kept comparing the two and thinking one was the other. That being said I liked this one more than that one. And had I not gotten in that minor slump this definitely would of been a 5 star read for me.

I can’t wait for the sequel that releases in March and I highly recommend this book. This is one of if not my favourite apocalypse book I’ve read. And the fact that it’s queer makes it even better.

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kaz_brekker1's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful reflective tense fast-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

5.0

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ethen_rey's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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leahhmorriss's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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

4.0

I loved this a lot! It gave similar vibes to the last of us (minus the zombies and daddy issues) and I loved both of the main characters and was rooting for them. The ending was a tiiiiny bit extreme, but I was actually very happy with it.

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viivacious's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

Loveable characters? Yes

4.25

This book was very hard to put down. I was a bit concerned when I saw the first person dual povs but the characters were pretty distinct from each other from the start. They were also likeable. I loved seeing all the different kinds of people that they met on the road, and the ending almost made me cry.

When they found Henri's daughter still alive 😭

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