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A review by michellekiara
One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston
Did not finish book.
emotional
lighthearted
4.5
Premise is incredibly clever and unique. The book starts with August, a bi girl new to New York meeting Jane Su, a butch lesbian, on the subway. But something is off. Jane is always on the train, wearing the same clothes every time. August eventually learns that Jane is from the 1970s and trapped in a time loop, unable to leave the subway.
The first half of the book was perfect, and I was ready to give it a 5 out of 5. I loved how this was an explicitly butch-femme story that used words like “butch” and “lesbian” to describe Jane. So many authors avoid using those terms, so it felt refreshing to see them here. The chemistry between Jane and August was so sweet. I was literally giggling and kicking my feet in the air during their scenes. There’s even a part where August gives Jane a radio, and Jane requests songs on-air, telling August to tune in at specific times. It felt like an old-school version of sharing Spotify links, and I thought it was so cute and creative.
I also loved the author’s writing style, which made me want to read every word, especially during their interactions. The side characters were just as well-written, with their own fully developed stories rather than being mere plot devices.
The second half, however, brought my rating down to a 4.5. The book felt about 100 pages too long. I also feel like Jane’s identity as a Chinese woman was very surface-level. There are descriptions of her going to Chinatown, but the book didn’t explore the struggles of being Chinese AND queer in the 1970s. Jane talked a lot about the struggles of being queer during that time, which was valid, but being a Chinese queer person VS a white queer person is a very different experience, and this was a missed opportunity.
The first half of the book was perfect, and I was ready to give it a 5 out of 5. I loved how this was an explicitly butch-femme story that used words like “butch” and “lesbian” to describe Jane. So many authors avoid using those terms, so it felt refreshing to see them here. The chemistry between Jane and August was so sweet. I was literally giggling and kicking my feet in the air during their scenes. There’s even a part where August gives Jane a radio, and Jane requests songs on-air, telling August to tune in at specific times. It felt like an old-school version of sharing Spotify links, and I thought it was so cute and creative.
I also loved the author’s writing style, which made me want to read every word, especially during their interactions. The side characters were just as well-written, with their own fully developed stories rather than being mere plot devices.
The second half, however, brought my rating down to a 4.5. The book felt about 100 pages too long. I also feel like Jane’s identity as a Chinese woman was very surface-level. There are descriptions of her going to Chinatown, but the book didn’t explore the struggles of being Chinese AND queer in the 1970s. Jane talked a lot about the struggles of being queer during that time, which was valid, but being a Chinese queer person VS a white queer person is a very different experience, and this was a missed opportunity.