A review by anna_hepworth
One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston

challenging emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

Anyone who gets told this is a romcom is being sold a bill of goods. Sure, there are romcom elements, but there are also some pretty harrowing events discussed, including hate crimes, and young men dying of AIDS in the 1980s. 

Having said that, this worked really well for me. The person out of time (Biyu Su/Jane Su), the confusion as to who they are, the weird family dynamics for our viewpoint character (August) which should have been triggering but weren't (this is very specific to my family history, and I would not expect it to be an issue for others) and the reasons that August is in New York (and their living situation and housemate) added up to something a bit more than a romance, and something less stressful than a thriller. Knowing it was a romance meant that I could read on in the comfortable knowledge that it would work, and I didn't need to try and work out how. 

And I absolutely loved the bits about trying to work out Jane's history, who she had been, where she had been, and how she linked in with August. Why it was the August getting on the train that Jane is haunting was such an important catalyst. 
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