3.79 AVERAGE


Interesting premise but a bit slow paced. Probably a better read than as an audiobook due to the social media posts, times and dates you wouldn’t necessarily read so much as skim.

Have recommended it to someone else who will probably enjoy it more than me, interested in what they will make of it.

3.4/5
lizzie_purplephoenix's profile picture

lizzie_purplephoenix's review

4.0

*3.5 stars
I much preferred the first half of this book to the second half. It sets up an interesting premise and setting, this empty world with the last humans left, and I enjoyed the conversations the two main characters have, and the protagonist's thoughts about humanity, what we're leaving behind, how to preserve history, all that stuff. However, after the midpoint twist, it began to lose me a bit, perhaps jumping the shark a little, and by the end I was basically irritated by its thesis and where the story arc went.
SpoilerI wanted Lowrie and Shen to be the last two humans left, to say goodbye to humanity and the world. I loved the idea of them travelling around the world, finding bits of history and deciding how to leave their footprints behind, and I would have been happy for it to have had to end that way for them. It irritated me that they actually managed to save the lives of the 'grow-babies' and even more that they seemed to think the key to happiness for everyone is having children of one's own?! I mean, why should humanity continue on indefinitely (albeit in robot form), why would we deserve that? I thought they should let it go already, leave the world in peace lol.


I liked that there is bi rep in this (and mention of a trans character too), but although I know it is YA, I did find the conversations had by the teenagers about their sexuality and attraction to people etc simplistic and shallow.
SpoilerIt seemed to be mainly confined solely to hair colour at one point?! And I thought that Lowrie's feelings about what she'd get from a relationship with girls vs boys was way too stereotyped and binary and again, simplistic. It would be okay if this was a middle grade, but at seventeen, there should have been a lot more depth to those conversations, even though they weren't what the book was about. Although, I suppose it's realistic enough given they hadn't had any interaction with anyone their own age other than each other, their knowledge coming from TV shows and movies in the archives, but still.


What the book has done for me though is remind me that I really want to read more apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic fiction, although I'd prefer to stay away from books about pandemics and viruses!
adventurous hopeful lighthearted reflective 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: N/A

I enjoyed the story, but I definitely felt like it skipped some sequences that could've had more time dedicated to it as part of the story, even if there was no additional strife in those sections. 

I had a lot of fun reading this, and did cry some good tears too. 
brotts's profile picture

brotts's review

3.75
adventurous inspiring reflective 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

If I could give this more than 5 stars I seriously would! This is such an epic read I loved the story and the characters and it got me emotional from the very first page

The star is just for the robot. Nothing else is remotely good or original. I regret buying this advert for transhumanism.
emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No
adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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: Complicated

izzyt45's review

5.0
adventurous emotional mysterious 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: No
adventurous dark funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

I kind of hoped for a bit more with this one. I was expecting a bit more gut-wrenching heartbreak and it didn’t deliver for me. The ending was a bit anticlimactic and unrealistic but overall I loved the characters and their development throughout. The plot was super interesting and the world building was good if not super fleshed out since it is a shorter book. 3.5 :)