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A review by spenkevich
One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston
3.0
‘I could go back in time and have a whole life and get old and never see you again, and you would still be it. You were— you are the love of my life.’
Spicy subway liaisons, mysterious time traveling, psychics, and a curious amount of power surges, One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston is a fun little romance story that doubles as a loving ode to queer history and futures. It’s a bit silly at times, but part of the charm is that it doesn’t take itself too seriously and keeps things playful. And spicy. These people have no PDA shame (stares blankly), but they uh…sure know how to enjoy a subway ride. Which becomes central to the story because when August moves away to the big city where at least ‘being alone looks like a choice,’ she finds herself caught up with Jane who turns out to be literally stuck on this subway. Using her childhood Nancy Drew skills her mother instilled in her to hopefully one day solve the mystery of her missing uncle, August and her adorable band of quirky roommates (who all manage to pair up in convenient ways) will try and find a way to set Jane free and have as much sex as possible on this subway car. Did I mention spicy?
‘But, you know, that feeling? When you wake up in the morning and you have somebody to think about? Somewhere for hope to go? It's good. Even when it's bad, it's good.’
So this is New Adult, eh? I’m glad stuff like this exists, and it’s cool to see McQuiston use the genre to fill it with as many happy queer stories as possible and attempt a very inclusive book. Literally everyone is LGBTQIA+, and we have a trans character who is also psychic and everyone is just cool with that and its normal. Which rules. At least gay culture works better than the power grids in this book. In an article with Advocate McQuiston refers to this book as ‘an Unbury Your Gays book,’ which functions on mutliple levels. It certainly isn’t a kill your gays novel, thankfully the publishing industry is moving away from that annoying trope (though this might be a kill your uncles novel so if you are into that sort of thing, heyyyy), and is one where they get happy endings with love and get to be lesbians without that being the sole purpose of them in the novel. That these endings are a bit overly tidy and convenient (without being all that earned, sorry to say) is a complaint you could have, but honestly, why would you, this book is fun and who cares. However, this book also works to ‘unbury your gays’ because it digs into queer history both to understand June and her 1970s punk lesbian ways, but also to educate the reader to understand where the community comes from, the deep cultural history of it that makes it so special, and the people who made it happen. These are stories that have often been sidelined and skipped over, so it is nice to see them brought out here.
There’s a lot of time travel stuff here, it works well enough I guess. The choice of third person present tense is a choice though, and I suppose I can see it as a method to keep us focused in the moment seeing as the book involves skipping through time, but it…wasn’t my favorite. Also I have some questions about the sex notes August takes about Jane’s preferences. Is she like, thumbing through mid-act on the sly like a kid in math class? I get the point to be like oh damn thats romantic, but is it? But once again, this is just fun. The pace is fast and everyone has a good time. It’s a book with lines like ‘Big dick energy is gender-neutral’ or ‘She literally shorted out the train because she was horny… She’s an icon.’ So thats cool too.
The side characters might actually be the best characters, and I found them to be quite endearing. This is well because found family is a major theme of the novel, which is something very important in queer community as well. They make for a lovely little support group, and being able to feel your feelings and feel you can be valid in doing so is another important lesson that is nice to see here.
‘Sometimes the point is to be sad, August. Sometimes you just have to feel it because it deserves to be felt.’
I ended up reading this to help out with a homework assignment, so look at me learning. So yea, One Last Stop is a cute LGBTQIA+ romance that said, have it all. Thanks, I will.
3/5
‘Because you got what you need. And sometimes, the universe has your back.’
Spicy subway liaisons, mysterious time traveling, psychics, and a curious amount of power surges, One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston is a fun little romance story that doubles as a loving ode to queer history and futures. It’s a bit silly at times, but part of the charm is that it doesn’t take itself too seriously and keeps things playful. And spicy. These people have no PDA shame (stares blankly), but they uh…sure know how to enjoy a subway ride. Which becomes central to the story because when August moves away to the big city where at least ‘being alone looks like a choice,’ she finds herself caught up with Jane who turns out to be literally stuck on this subway. Using her childhood Nancy Drew skills her mother instilled in her to hopefully one day solve the mystery of her missing uncle, August and her adorable band of quirky roommates (who all manage to pair up in convenient ways) will try and find a way to set Jane free and have as much sex as possible on this subway car. Did I mention spicy?
‘But, you know, that feeling? When you wake up in the morning and you have somebody to think about? Somewhere for hope to go? It's good. Even when it's bad, it's good.’
So this is New Adult, eh? I’m glad stuff like this exists, and it’s cool to see McQuiston use the genre to fill it with as many happy queer stories as possible and attempt a very inclusive book. Literally everyone is LGBTQIA+, and we have a trans character who is also psychic and everyone is just cool with that and its normal. Which rules. At least gay culture works better than the power grids in this book. In an article with Advocate McQuiston refers to this book as ‘an Unbury Your Gays book,’ which functions on mutliple levels. It certainly isn’t a kill your gays novel, thankfully the publishing industry is moving away from that annoying trope (though this might be a kill your uncles novel so if you are into that sort of thing, heyyyy), and is one where they get happy endings with love and get to be lesbians without that being the sole purpose of them in the novel. That these endings are a bit overly tidy and convenient (without being all that earned, sorry to say) is a complaint you could have, but honestly, why would you, this book is fun and who cares. However, this book also works to ‘unbury your gays’ because it digs into queer history both to understand June and her 1970s punk lesbian ways, but also to educate the reader to understand where the community comes from, the deep cultural history of it that makes it so special, and the people who made it happen. These are stories that have often been sidelined and skipped over, so it is nice to see them brought out here.
There’s a lot of time travel stuff here, it works well enough I guess. The choice of third person present tense is a choice though, and I suppose I can see it as a method to keep us focused in the moment seeing as the book involves skipping through time, but it…wasn’t my favorite. Also I have some questions about the sex notes August takes about Jane’s preferences. Is she like, thumbing through mid-act on the sly like a kid in math class? I get the point to be like oh damn thats romantic, but is it? But once again, this is just fun. The pace is fast and everyone has a good time. It’s a book with lines like ‘Big dick energy is gender-neutral’ or ‘She literally shorted out the train because she was horny… She’s an icon.’ So thats cool too.
The side characters might actually be the best characters, and I found them to be quite endearing. This is well because found family is a major theme of the novel, which is something very important in queer community as well. They make for a lovely little support group, and being able to feel your feelings and feel you can be valid in doing so is another important lesson that is nice to see here.
‘Sometimes the point is to be sad, August. Sometimes you just have to feel it because it deserves to be felt.’
I ended up reading this to help out with a homework assignment, so look at me learning. So yea, One Last Stop is a cute LGBTQIA+ romance that said, have it all. Thanks, I will.
3/5
‘Because you got what you need. And sometimes, the universe has your back.’