Scan barcode
A review by inkdrinkers
The Loneliest Girl in the Universe by Lauren James
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
I am baffled because how could a book that started as incredible as this one end like THAT.
Romy Silvers was born in space. It was an accident, a by-product of her parents helming a mission to Earth 2 where a new world would be cultivated with a crew of astronauts and embryos. Except - Romy's parents died five years ago and she's been left by herself, at sixteen, helming a spacecraft. When she gets news from Earth that another craft has been dispatched to aid her, she's thrilled that she'll no longer be alone, until communications suddenly halt and she's left struggling to decipher the ghosts from her past from the unknowns of her future.
I'm baffled. I know I said that, but I'm truly baffled. This book started out as a four star for me and held that pretty heavily until the 50% mark. I chose the audiobook and already had a hurdle with the narration because it was grating on my nerves with the tone and the way Romy was written. She's a true 16 year-old, in over her head with things she shouldn't have to deal with, and I feel like that ratcheted up the sheer horror I had, as an adult, reading this. There is so much that happens to Romy in these pages that I felt my stomach twist at, it awoke something in me where all I wanted was this girl to be safe, but also for her to STOP MAKING DUMB DECISIONS.
We get a lot of hints about the reveal at the end. I love some foreshadowing, but even for YA this felt a little too heavy handed for me and the more I realized I could see the exact plot beats, the more I got frustrated with the book time and time again. There was only one moment that truly shocked me at the end, but once I realized how it would lead to the ending and help land this convoluted plot, I was sad that it was the only true twist in this. It's a very character-focused piece, and I really did find myself wanting to root for Romy. There's some mental health rep that discusses on page panic attacks and doesn't mince words, but I just felt like I didn't walk away from this novel with anything at the end. It was... just a story. And while that's fine if it's the kind of story that takes me on a fun journey, this one stalled out halfway and just left me wanting more, wishing it was an adult sci-fi that could dig it's teeth into the broader topics it barely brushed the edges of.
I don't think this is a bad book, but it's not the sci-fi piece I wanted. The tension holds fairly well for the majority of the thriller, ebbing into sheer rage (in my experience) at the end that has a just ending for the characters involved. But it unfortunately didn't have that spark I wanted.
Content warnings: death, death of a parent, blood, graphic violence, isolation, emotional abuse/gaslighting, on page panic attacks/mental health, vomit
Romy Silvers was born in space. It was an accident, a by-product of her parents helming a mission to Earth 2 where a new world would be cultivated with a crew of astronauts and embryos. Except - Romy's parents died five years ago and she's been left by herself, at sixteen, helming a spacecraft. When she gets news from Earth that another craft has been dispatched to aid her, she's thrilled that she'll no longer be alone, until communications suddenly halt and she's left struggling to decipher the ghosts from her past from the unknowns of her future.
I'm baffled. I know I said that, but I'm truly baffled. This book started out as a four star for me and held that pretty heavily until the 50% mark. I chose the audiobook and already had a hurdle with the narration because it was grating on my nerves with the tone and the way Romy was written. She's a true 16 year-old, in over her head with things she shouldn't have to deal with, and I feel like that ratcheted up the sheer horror I had, as an adult, reading this. There is so much that happens to Romy in these pages that I felt my stomach twist at, it awoke something in me where all I wanted was this girl to be safe, but also for her to STOP MAKING DUMB DECISIONS.
We get a lot of hints about the reveal at the end. I love some foreshadowing, but even for YA this felt a little too heavy handed for me and the more I realized I could see the exact plot beats, the more I got frustrated with the book time and time again. There was only one moment that truly shocked me at the end, but once I realized how it would lead to the ending and help land this convoluted plot, I was sad that it was the only true twist in this. It's a very character-focused piece, and I really did find myself wanting to root for Romy. There's some mental health rep that discusses on page panic attacks and doesn't mince words, but I just felt like I didn't walk away from this novel with anything at the end. It was... just a story. And while that's fine if it's the kind of story that takes me on a fun journey, this one stalled out halfway and just left me wanting more, wishing it was an adult sci-fi that could dig it's teeth into the broader topics it barely brushed the edges of.
I don't think this is a bad book, but it's not the sci-fi piece I wanted. The tension holds fairly well for the majority of the thriller, ebbing into sheer rage (in my experience) at the end that has a just ending for the characters involved. But it unfortunately didn't have that spark I wanted.
Content warnings: death, death of a parent, blood, graphic violence, isolation, emotional abuse/gaslighting, on page panic attacks/mental health, vomit
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Blood, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, and Emotional abuse