Book Review: The Last Bookstore on Earth by Lily Braun-Arnold

About The Last Bookstore on Earth

Two teen girls fall in love and fight for survival in an abandoned bookstore weeks before another cataclysmic storm threatens to bring about the end of the world in this unforgettable YA debut. Perfect for fans of Station Eleven and The Last of Us.

“A thoroughly original, intimate, and sometimes harrowing meditation on survival, forgiveness, and learning how to love again at the almost end of the world.”—Nicola Yoon #1 New York Times bestselling author


The world is about to end. Again.

Ever since the first Storm wreaked havoc on civilization as we know it, seventeen-year-old Liz Flannery has been holed up in an abandoned bookstore in suburban New Jersey where she used to work, trading books for supplies with the few remaining survivors. It’s the one place left that feels safe to her.

Until she learns that another earth-shattering Storm is coming . . . and everything changes.

Enter Maeve, a prickly and potentially dangerous out-of-towner who breaks into the bookstore looking for shelter one night. Though the two girls are immediately at odds, Maeve has what Liz needs—the skills to repair the dilapidated store before the next climate disaster strikes—and Liz reluctantly agrees to let her stay.

As the girls grow closer and undeniable feelings spring up between them, they realize that they face greater threats than the impending Storm. And when Maeve’s secrets and Liz’s inner demons come back to haunt them both, they find themselves fighting for their lives as their world crumbles around them.

“A hauntingly beautiful story of love, loss, and the raw fight for survival.” —Jarrod Shusterman, New York Times bestselling author of Dry

“Hopeful, thrilling, and twisty…the snarky sapphic dystopian of our dreams.” —Jennifer Dugan, author of Some Girls Do (source: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/760650/the-last-bookstore-on-earth-by-lily-braun-arnold/)

Karen’s Thoughts

I have always been a fan of a good post-apocalyptic novel, and this one was very engaging. As I got towards the end and the parts that you know are going to happen begin to happen, I had to go to work and put my book aside. Fun fact, librarians do not actually get paid to read, and never have I been more disappointed in that fact then I was on this morning because I desperately wanted to keep reading.

A lot of post-apocalyptic fiction focuses on books, because books and reading and the access to information are huge hallmarks to a well educated, organized, and democratic society. It makes sense that as the world falls apart, the loss of books is a symbol that resonates. In Fahrenheti 451, they burned them. In other post-apocalyptic warnings, they ban them and secret societies try and save them (see The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa as a good example of this). In The Last Bookstore on Earth, they become a refuge for one young woman, a source of “income” as she traded knowledge for basic supplies, and then finally a battleground for the future. Bookstore as a refuge felt powerful, meaningful and relatable. And it’s hard not to reflect on the role of books in a post-apocalyptic world when we are, once again, in a time where book banners are trying to control access to words and stories and information and trying to control what stories get told, who gets to matter, and who gets the power. The symbolism seems all too relevant in these days, and every time a book is destroyed, my heart ached.

The sign of a good story is character growth. As a reader, the character you end a book with should not be the same character that you start that book with. Liz, our main character, goes through a lot of growth. As do the important supporting characters. Liz falls in love, she learns some survival skills, and she moves from a place of wanting to be with people because she needs them to wanting to be with people because she just wants to be with them. Liz is a beacon of hope that those of us who would not likely survive in a post-apocalyptic world might be able to develop the skills to survive. Liz is relatable and carries you through as a reader.

Lest you think The Last Bookstore on Earth is a timely and relatable screed against book banners, you should know that it is not. The importance of books is definitely written in the fabric of this story, but the book is not about book banning. The final battle is not about the book themselves, but quite literally about power. If anything, it is about climate change and the slow creep of inevitable destruction and how we often fail as humans to pay attention to the destruction that we wrought and don’t heed our scientists and scholars and properly prepare. It’s about survival and resilience and finding ourselves and our people in the midst of destruction and despair. It’s about losing everything, including ourselves, and starting over. It’s about the very worst and the very best of things that make us human.

I love that everything bad that happens later is born our of Liz’s naivete and just not knowing when to keep your mouth shut. That is, perhaps, the most relatable thing about this story. In one second, everything changes, as it always does.

I liked the beats of this story, the rhythm of it. When we first meet Liz, she is alone, apart from the occasional bookstore visitor. Then one becomes two. And, because human nature is messy, more characters are introduced to the story and the inevitable clash for resources builds to the climax that any good post-apocalyptic story happens. It’s familiar to readers, but still exciting and original enough to be interesting. It does not disappoint, and at the end of the day, that’s what we want from a good book.

I’m not a big lovey-dovey person, so I often don’t comment on the romance of a book. But this is a slow-burning sapphic romance that I think readers will appreciate. Because of the nature of a post-apocalyptic world and our characters, there are understandable trust issues. At the end of the book, even cold-hearted Karen was rooting for them!

Highly recommended. Engaging, appealing, thoughtful and moving. Readers won’t be disappointed.

Filed under: new books, New Releases, New YA