shannonmiz's Review of The Last Boy and Girl in the World

by Siobhan Vivian

From the critically acclaimed author of The List comes a “transcendent love story” (Stephen Chbosky, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Perks of Being a Wallflower) about a girl who must say goodbye to everything she knows after a storm wreaks havoc on her hometown.

What if your town was sliding underwater and everyone was ordered to pack up and leave? How would you and your friends spend your last days together?

While the adults plan for the future, box up their possessions, and find new places to live, Keeley Hewitt and her friends decide to go out with a bang. There are parties in abandoned houses. Canoe races down Main Street. The goal is to make the most of every minute they still have together.

And for Keeley, that means taking one last shot at the boy she’s loved forever.

There’s a weird sort of bravery that comes from knowing there’s nothing left to lose. You might do things you normally wouldn’t. Or say things you shouldn’t. The reward almost always outweighs the risk.

Almost.

It’s the end of Aberdeen, but the beginning of Keeley’s first love story. It just might not turn out the way she thought. Because it’s not always clear what’s worth fighting for and what is best left to become a memory.

You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight
I came kind of close to DNFing this one, actually. I was about 12% in, and I felt like I had been reading for hours (I hadn't been). And it was 432 pages, which is kind of long for a contemporary. Especially one about the rain. I was kind of hoping for a really epic apocalypse level water situation, but it really wasn't that at all. It was more like "Hmm, this place flooded a bit, and it's raining all the time for no actual reason but no one is concerned, so let's turn the town into a lake! For reasons."

Keeley is the main character, and she has these best friends, Morgan and Elise, but frankly, I felt like she just wanted Elise to go away. Then somehow, she ends up in a quasi-relationship with this guy Jesse, who she's had a big old crush on for years. So during this time, Keeley's dad is fighting for the townspeople's right to stay in their homes. And that's just something that is also happening, because Keeley is busy. She has to do immature stuff with Jesse, and ditch her friends, and be awful to the guy who was nice enough to give her a job even though the whole town is flooding away.

But then she had redeeming moments where I genuinely felt for her, and she did grow as a character, so she wasn't all bad. And while the whole flood thing wasn't exactly realistic, the relationships and friendships were, which I appreciated. I also have read that there are quite a few changes that were made in the finished copy, so maybe some of these things have been cleared up.

Bottom Line: While I didn't hate this one, it was long and draggy where it didn't need to be, and Keeley really was trying at times. But the honest relationship portrayal is a definite plus!

The Last Boy and Girl in the World

by Siobhan Vivian

Reviewed by shannonmiz on Apr 21, 2016

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