The Last Place on Earth

Reviewed by: Jill O'Connor - North Yarmouth Academy Library, Yarmouth, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: June 6, 2016

Review

The cover on this YA novel will draw the reader to it, a pleasing font and an image of a gorgeous starry sky in the mountains with an inviting fire beckoning the reader to come and sit by that fire and find out where the Last Place on Earth is. Only that is not quite what the book delivers. The novel starts with a familiar trope, girl notices that her friend is missing; the reader finds out there was some sort of confrontation or drama the night before said disappearance then there is a clue asking the girl to "Save" the friend. Classic follow-the-clues story with a possible romance, right? Sort of. The Last Place on Earth is not quite the campfire under the stars. This one has a twist. The missing friend comes from a family of "preppers" who are sure that the next apocalypse is at hand. At the first perceived threat of a coming plague, the family packs up and goes into survival mode, hiding in a remote area (the last place on Earth?) and living off the land (with many pre-selected, stockpiled supplies). The boy, Henry, was almost joking when he left his "Save Me" note, and is surprised when his friend actually finds him. This book has a fantastic voice in Daisy, the main protagonist; she is snarky and observant, and clear about her abilities and short comings. It was difficult to accept that when she followed the trail of her missing friend, going missing herself, that her mother accepts the "nature camp" story. I felt that more perspective was needed. What were other characters thinking, particularly Henry? What was happening back in the world that the preppers were fleeing? The book is very much aimed at a YA audience, there are mentions of drinking and mild drug use and mention of sex and dating, and was just suspenseful enough to hold interest but suffers from a lack of identity.

Overall Book Score: good