The Loneliest Girl in the Universe by Lauren James

The Loneliest Girl in the Universe

by Lauren James

Nominated for the 2019 Carnegie medal

One of Barnes & Noble’s Top 15 YA Books

Shortlisted for the STEAM Children’s Book Prize

Can you fall in love with someone you've never met, never even spoken to – someone who is light years away? Romy Silvers is the only surviving crew-member of a spaceship travelling to a new planet, on a mission to establish a second home for humanity. Alone in space, she is the loneliest girl in the universe until she hears about a new ship which has launched from Earth – with a single passenger on board. A boy called J. Their only communication is via email – and due to the distance between them, their messages take months to transmit. And yet Romy finds herself falling in love, but what does she really know about J?

Reviewed by Joséphine on

3 of 5 stars

Share
September 13, 2017

Full book review is up on Word Revel.

_________

September 2, 2017

Initial thoughts: The Loneliest Girl in the Universe is a decent book worth reading, especially if you enjoy books involving space travel. I liked how it delved into the psyche of a girl who was born and had grown up in space, all while headed towards a potentially habitable planet. Too bad the pacing didn't do it for me.

The book started out understandably slow, as you might expect with a single character carrying the plot through the first few chapters. Thing is, 80% of the book went on at exactly the same pace, building up towards a climax and resolution that were conflated in the blink of an eye. The framework of the book was great, as were the backstories but the build-up and details ran a little thin.

_________

Note: I received an advanced reading copy from a local distributor in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Last modified on

Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 2 September, 2017: Finished reading
  • 2 September, 2017: Reviewed