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myriadreads's review against another edition
2.0
DNF. The premise was really interesting, but I just couldn't get into this. Really slow start for suspense. I see so many high ratings, so maybe it's timing. I might try again in print rather than in audio later this year.
ladytiara's review against another edition
4.0
Last Girls is sort of bonkers, but in the best possible way. From the description, I expected it to be a story of a girl living in a prepper community who starts to question the group's lifestyle, but it ended up being so much more. I don't want to say much about the plot, because it goes to a lot of unexpected places, and that's big part of the fun.
Honey Juniper is the eldest of three sisters. Their single mother is obsessed with the end of the world, and she has raised the girls to be ready for anything. The family were just solo preppers until they joined a larger group who has their own compound. All the women live in one compound, the Nest, and the men live in another, the Burrow. It's a hardcore prepper group, and the kids in the group are highly trained and ready for anything. When we first meet Honey at her high school, there's an event that sounds like shots fired. While everyone else in her class in terrified and sheltering in place, Honey grabs her everyday carry bag (her school backpack, which is filled with all kinds of survival gear), pushes herself through a ceiling panel into an air vent, and goes to meet up with her sisters in their designated meeting spot. Sounds extreme, but this is just standard operating procedure for the Juniper sisters.
Honey is such a distinctive character, full of contradictions. She's a complete badass, but she's also got the soul of a sensitive artist. (She loves painting, but her mother doesn't approve of developing any skills that won't be useful after the apocalypse.) She's suspicious and closed off to outsiders, but she finds herself opening up to a classmate. She's a dedicated prepper, but she also questions the policies of the group.
This book is a really interesting look at the prepper lifestyle, and I learned a lot (mostly that if the apocalypse comes, I'm totally unprepared). It's a fascinating insight into this subculture, and it's a great setting for the book. This is an action-packed book, with a fast-moving plot. I found it hard to put down.
I received a digital ARC from the publisher through NetGalley.
Honey Juniper is the eldest of three sisters. Their single mother is obsessed with the end of the world, and she has raised the girls to be ready for anything. The family were just solo preppers until they joined a larger group who has their own compound. All the women live in one compound, the Nest, and the men live in another, the Burrow. It's a hardcore prepper group, and the kids in the group are highly trained and ready for anything. When we first meet Honey at her high school, there's an event that sounds like shots fired. While everyone else in her class in terrified and sheltering in place, Honey grabs her everyday carry bag (her school backpack, which is filled with all kinds of survival gear), pushes herself through a ceiling panel into an air vent, and goes to meet up with her sisters in their designated meeting spot. Sounds extreme, but this is just standard operating procedure for the Juniper sisters.
Honey is such a distinctive character, full of contradictions. She's a complete badass, but she's also got the soul of a sensitive artist. (She loves painting, but her mother doesn't approve of developing any skills that won't be useful after the apocalypse.) She's suspicious and closed off to outsiders, but she finds herself opening up to a classmate. She's a dedicated prepper, but she also questions the policies of the group.
This book is a really interesting look at the prepper lifestyle, and I learned a lot (mostly that if the apocalypse comes, I'm totally unprepared). It's a fascinating insight into this subculture, and it's a great setting for the book. This is an action-packed book, with a fast-moving plot. I found it hard to put down.
I received a digital ARC from the publisher through NetGalley.
mimi_chartier's review against another edition
5.0
This one isn’t my usual type of read. One of my goals this year for reading (and in general) is to challenge myself, get out of my comfort zone. So when I saw the synopsis for Last Girls I was intrigued and decided to give it a shot.
HOLY FORKING SHIRTBALLS GUYS!!!! I didn’t know what to expect from this book when I started it but it gave me one of the biggest roller coaster ride of the year. From the very first chapter, it grabbed my attention and kept me on the edge of my seat until the very end.
Last Girls is the story of the Juniper sisters that live in a prepper compound. It is told in the POV of the eldest of three sisters, Honey Juniper. You will find a couple of chapters in between in another POV. I don’t want to spoil anything so I won’t talk about them except to tell you I really enjoyed them and thought they brought so much more to the book. Back to the sisters. Honey was an amazing character. Being the eldest she is always looking out for her siblings. No matter what happens she will always put their well-being first. As we read more about their story you start to see what brought this behaviour on and just how deep their bond is. Along with her sisters Blue and Birdie, Honey is the weird kid at her school. I mean living in a compound and prepping for doomsday will probably do the trick for that. But even if she seems to fully adhere to the prepper ways you could see the duality in Honey between maintaining the safety of the compound and her wish to fit in at school. Though the Juniper sisters are sometimes isolated in their own community not having been brought up there but coming in as outsiders.
This was my first book and contact really with the prepper mentality. The way the community is explained it sounded almost more like a cult to me then anything. I guess it probably is in a way. I don’t know how close the book is to reality but oh my gosh my brain can’t wrap itself around some things.
But Last Girls wasn’t just a book about preppers and when shit will hits the fan, for me it had also a lot of heart. The unconditional love that the sisters have for each other transpires through the story. It’s the kind of book that you didn’t expect to hit you in the feels but when it does you can’t help but love it so much more. It is so hard to talk about this book without giving anything away. There were so many twists and turns. Some of the twists I saw coming and some I didn’t but it didn’t matter if some parts were predictable because it was so captivating.
HOLY FORKING SHIRTBALLS GUYS!!!! I didn’t know what to expect from this book when I started it but it gave me one of the biggest roller coaster ride of the year. From the very first chapter, it grabbed my attention and kept me on the edge of my seat until the very end.
Last Girls is the story of the Juniper sisters that live in a prepper compound. It is told in the POV of the eldest of three sisters, Honey Juniper. You will find a couple of chapters in between in another POV. I don’t want to spoil anything so I won’t talk about them except to tell you I really enjoyed them and thought they brought so much more to the book. Back to the sisters. Honey was an amazing character. Being the eldest she is always looking out for her siblings. No matter what happens she will always put their well-being first. As we read more about their story you start to see what brought this behaviour on and just how deep their bond is. Along with her sisters Blue and Birdie, Honey is the weird kid at her school. I mean living in a compound and prepping for doomsday will probably do the trick for that. But even if she seems to fully adhere to the prepper ways you could see the duality in Honey between maintaining the safety of the compound and her wish to fit in at school. Though the Juniper sisters are sometimes isolated in their own community not having been brought up there but coming in as outsiders.
This was my first book and contact really with the prepper mentality. The way the community is explained it sounded almost more like a cult to me then anything. I guess it probably is in a way. I don’t know how close the book is to reality but oh my gosh my brain can’t wrap itself around some things.
But Last Girls wasn’t just a book about preppers and when shit will hits the fan, for me it had also a lot of heart. The unconditional love that the sisters have for each other transpires through the story. It’s the kind of book that you didn’t expect to hit you in the feels but when it does you can’t help but love it so much more. It is so hard to talk about this book without giving anything away. There were so many twists and turns. Some of the twists I saw coming and some I didn’t but it didn’t matter if some parts were predictable because it was so captivating.
linde99's review against another edition
2.0
I kinda lost interest in this book after a while. I think that the concept was good, but I just could not get into this book. I did not really like this book. I don't know why. I just did not care about this book. I should give it a second chance at some point, but as of now, I did not like it. I could not bring myself to read this book. I could not care about the characters, and I just was bored during the book. It can be that I was not in the correct mindset. However, I could not and did not care about this book.
I got this book from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.
I got this book from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.
lisathepoetlibrarian's review against another edition
5.0
Within a compelling mystery, Brodsky employs a meticulous composed plot with poetic language to beautifully and subtly address the anxiety of living in our current society and political landscape. She is able to make the book feel immediate, but also timeless. Her protagonist, Honey, is creative, brave, and loyal. Brodsky is a masterful storyteller drawing us into a world that both tempts with a promise of safety and repels with fear of its power and secrecy. While veering towards reality fiction, this is a book that I would recommend to students who like the intrigue and pacing of fantasy books and could also appeal to readers of adventure stories.
cyndi1966's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Death, Violence, Toxic relationship, Murder, and Gaslighting
owlyreadsalot's review against another edition
4.0
There was so much to this story that I didn’t see coming. And, it’s not the suspense, mystery kind of moments, but those of three sisters that surprised me more than I had thought they would. There was so much there that made up the three Juniper sisters, with each having a very different personality, but always the best interest of the other.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Whitlock. This isn’t about me, or you, or anyone. I just have to find my sisters. I know what I’m doing.’ I hesitate for a second and offer my best advice. ‘I don’t care what protocol is for this school. Don’t stay in this room. It’s harder for someone to hit a moving target. Get everyone out of here and make sure they run and weave.”
From that the reader can see this is going to be one doozy of a story. But, first and foremost, this is a story about family and what they’re willing to do to keep each other together and safe. The other half of this is how far certain groups will go to find their place, or a base for their beliefs, while doing the unthinkable and only caring about their own end game.
“She stares at me hard. ‘You don’t get what we’re doing, do you? Food storage and milking goats aren’t the keys to survival. We’re trying to figure out ways to survive when complete chaos hits, without hurting anyone, because they’ll do it to themselves. But we will take bigger action if needed.”
In such a short time there is a botched prep training, sisters trying to find their place in their newest surroundings, a secret that may lead them to the worst possible scenario, people that enter their lives with more than just a personal vendetta towards the Nest, and so much more that really makes the reader think twice about what might be around all of us. A surprising read I’m glad to have delved into.
***I received this copy from Tor Teen, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.***
“I’m sorry, Mr. Whitlock. This isn’t about me, or you, or anyone. I just have to find my sisters. I know what I’m doing.’ I hesitate for a second and offer my best advice. ‘I don’t care what protocol is for this school. Don’t stay in this room. It’s harder for someone to hit a moving target. Get everyone out of here and make sure they run and weave.”
From that the reader can see this is going to be one doozy of a story. But, first and foremost, this is a story about family and what they’re willing to do to keep each other together and safe. The other half of this is how far certain groups will go to find their place, or a base for their beliefs, while doing the unthinkable and only caring about their own end game.
“She stares at me hard. ‘You don’t get what we’re doing, do you? Food storage and milking goats aren’t the keys to survival. We’re trying to figure out ways to survive when complete chaos hits, without hurting anyone, because they’ll do it to themselves. But we will take bigger action if needed.”
In such a short time there is a botched prep training, sisters trying to find their place in their newest surroundings, a secret that may lead them to the worst possible scenario, people that enter their lives with more than just a personal vendetta towards the Nest, and so much more that really makes the reader think twice about what might be around all of us. A surprising read I’m glad to have delved into.
***I received this copy from Tor Teen, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.***
alongreader's review against another edition
3.0
Trained to survive whatever comes, Honey is aware when her compound starts sliding out of control. Threats are rising everywhere she turns and the most important mission of her life, protect her sisters, looks to be impossible...
I wanted to like this. I really did. I'm fascinated with prepping as a topic, and this seemed like a really fresh look at it. But it was just - confusing, mostly. I couldn't track who knew what when why, and Honey seemed to make random leaps without any reason. It wasn't helped by the many grammar and spelling errors. I can overlook them because I was reading an ARC that will presumably be corrected before publishing, but they did make things harder.
With some more work on smoothing out the flow of information, this could have been a fantastic read. As is, it's just...sort of there.
I wanted to like this. I really did. I'm fascinated with prepping as a topic, and this seemed like a really fresh look at it. But it was just - confusing, mostly. I couldn't track who knew what when why, and Honey seemed to make random leaps without any reason. It wasn't helped by the many grammar and spelling errors. I can overlook them because I was reading an ARC that will presumably be corrected before publishing, but they did make things harder.
With some more work on smoothing out the flow of information, this could have been a fantastic read. As is, it's just...sort of there.
janejeni's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0