3.5*
This was fun, and full of excitement! I think the comparisons to The Fifth Wave are perfect, but also, it's still completely different- in a good, yet dark way.
Things I Liked:
- •This book could (and should!) be a movie. The author wrote it in such a way that I could genuinely picture Clover and the situations she was in. I could see how flawlessly scenes would change, etc. And sometimes it is just plain fun to read a book that moves so great.
- •I love the apocalypse. You can judge me, but I do. I love it because it brings forth all these thought-provoking questions, and makes me really ponder every situation the character is in. This particular apocalypse felt especially terrifying- as you can see by the title, we're working with the assumption that these are the last eight people on Earth.
- •The atmosphere was incredible. Continuing on my last pro, the author really made the world feel desperate and awful. You could truly sense the desolation that Clover was experiencing and just... wow.
- •Full of twists! There is so much happening, and a lot of it I did not see coming. I read this super quickly, because it was hard to put down!
Things I Didn't Love:
- •I had some trouble keeping all the survivors straight. Clover, obviously I knew. But the rest I kept getting confused, and that was hard. So when the focus was on the internal workings of the group, I got a wee bit bored.
- •The pacing was a bit off in the middle. This leads back to my last point, because when there was a lot of discussion about the group in general, or infighting, I was kind of lost and my eyes were glazing over. It started out so action-packed, and ended up that way too, that the middle just felt a little underwhelming in comparison.
Bottom Line: A dark and enjoyable end-of-the-world book featuring a ton of diverse characters and some very good twists!