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The Island of Last Things: A Novel
A SOARING, PROPULSIVE, AND UNFORGETTABLE novel about two zookeepers at the last zoo in the world
"An important, engaging read, filled with the hope for what could be.” — San Francisco Chronicle
“Sometimes a new author will sidle up and whisper in your ear, and sometimes she’ll grab you by the neck. Emma Sloley is in the latter camp.” ―REBECCA MAKKAI
Camille has always preferred animals to people. The wild has nearly disappeared, but as a zookeeper at the last zoo in the world, on Alcatraz Island, she spends her days caring for playful chimpanzees, gentle tree frogs, and a restless jaguar. Outside, resistance groups and brutal cartels fight to shape the world’s future, but Camille is safe within her routines. That is, until a new zookeeper, Sailor, arrives from Paris.
From their first meeting, Camille is drawn to Sailor, who seems to see something in Camille that no one has before. They bond over their shared passions and dream up ways to improve their lives. When Sailor whispers the story of an idyllic, secret sanctuary where wild animals roam free, Camille begins to imagine a new kind of life with Sailor by her side.
Sailor knows all too well the dangers beyond Alcatraz, but she increasingly chafes at the zoo’s rigid rules. She hatches a reckless plan to smuggle one of the most prized animals off the island to freedom, and invites Camille to join her. The consequences if they fail would be catastrophic, and Sailor’s contacts at the sanctuary go dark just as the threats from the cartels grow more extreme. Camille must decide if she’s ready to risk everything for the promise of a better world.
Propulsive and fiercely hopeful, with a heart-stopping final twist, The Island of Last Things is an elegy for a disappearing world and a gorgeous vision for the future.
"An important, engaging read, filled with the hope for what could be.” — San Francisco Chronicle
“Sometimes a new author will sidle up and whisper in your ear, and sometimes she’ll grab you by the neck. Emma Sloley is in the latter camp.” ―REBECCA MAKKAI
Camille has always preferred animals to people. The wild has nearly disappeared, but as a zookeeper at the last zoo in the world, on Alcatraz Island, she spends her days caring for playful chimpanzees, gentle tree frogs, and a restless jaguar. Outside, resistance groups and brutal cartels fight to shape the world’s future, but Camille is safe within her routines. That is, until a new zookeeper, Sailor, arrives from Paris.
From their first meeting, Camille is drawn to Sailor, who seems to see something in Camille that no one has before. They bond over their shared passions and dream up ways to improve their lives. When Sailor whispers the story of an idyllic, secret sanctuary where wild animals roam free, Camille begins to imagine a new kind of life with Sailor by her side.
Sailor knows all too well the dangers beyond Alcatraz, but she increasingly chafes at the zoo’s rigid rules. She hatches a reckless plan to smuggle one of the most prized animals off the island to freedom, and invites Camille to join her. The consequences if they fail would be catastrophic, and Sailor’s contacts at the sanctuary go dark just as the threats from the cartels grow more extreme. Camille must decide if she’s ready to risk everything for the promise of a better world.
Propulsive and fiercely hopeful, with a heart-stopping final twist, The Island of Last Things is an elegy for a disappearing world and a gorgeous vision for the future.
267 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 12, 2025
233 people are currently reading
29088 people want to read
About the author
Emma Sloley
3 books113 followersEmma Sloley is the author of the novels DISASTER'S CHILDREN and THE ISLAND OF LAST THINGS, forthcoming from Flatiron Books in 2025.
Her fiction and creative non-fiction has appeared in Catapult, Literary Hub, Joyland, The Common, and the Masters Review Anthology, among many others. She is a MacDowell fellow and a Bread Loaf scholar.
Born in Australia, Emma now divides her time between California and the city of Mérida, Mexico. For more info visit www.emmasloley.com
Her fiction and creative non-fiction has appeared in Catapult, Literary Hub, Joyland, The Common, and the Masters Review Anthology, among many others. She is a MacDowell fellow and a Bread Loaf scholar.
Born in Australia, Emma now divides her time between California and the city of Mérida, Mexico. For more info visit www.emmasloley.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 481 reviews
August 16, 2025
“I only ever felt fully real when I was working, and after the workday was done I retreated into a state of minimal existence, like a robot powered down between tasks.”
Emma Sloley’s The Island of Last Things is one of those rare novels that balances a pulse racing premise with quiet, aching beauty. Set in a near future where the natural world has all but disappeared, we follow Camille, a solitary zookeeper at the last zoo on earth, perched on a crumbling Alcatraz Island whose life is upended by the arrival of Sailor, a magnetic new keeper carrying whispers of a hidden sanctuary where wildlife still thrives.
The writing is luscious, painting the decaying world in strokes so vivid you can almost smell the salt air and hear the restless padding of the jaguar’s paws. Sloley captures the intimacy between humans and animals with tenderness, but never lets us forget the danger pressing in from beyond the zoo’s walls, cartels, political unrest, and the slow, inevitable collapse of the environment.
Camille’s evolution from guarded caretaker to someone willing to risk everything is the beating heart of the book. Her relationship with Sailor is layered, charged with longing, mistrust, and the fragile hope of escape. And then there’s that ending… sharp, gutting, and exactly right.
Part love letter to the wild, part warning for what we stand to lose, The Island of Last Things will stay with me for a very long time. It’s the kind of book you want to press into everyone’s hands and say, read this, before it’s too late!
My Highest Recommendation.
4.5
Thank you Text Publishing for my early readers copy.
Emma Sloley’s The Island of Last Things is one of those rare novels that balances a pulse racing premise with quiet, aching beauty. Set in a near future where the natural world has all but disappeared, we follow Camille, a solitary zookeeper at the last zoo on earth, perched on a crumbling Alcatraz Island whose life is upended by the arrival of Sailor, a magnetic new keeper carrying whispers of a hidden sanctuary where wildlife still thrives.
The writing is luscious, painting the decaying world in strokes so vivid you can almost smell the salt air and hear the restless padding of the jaguar’s paws. Sloley captures the intimacy between humans and animals with tenderness, but never lets us forget the danger pressing in from beyond the zoo’s walls, cartels, political unrest, and the slow, inevitable collapse of the environment.
Camille’s evolution from guarded caretaker to someone willing to risk everything is the beating heart of the book. Her relationship with Sailor is layered, charged with longing, mistrust, and the fragile hope of escape. And then there’s that ending… sharp, gutting, and exactly right.
Part love letter to the wild, part warning for what we stand to lose, The Island of Last Things will stay with me for a very long time. It’s the kind of book you want to press into everyone’s hands and say, read this, before it’s too late!
My Highest Recommendation.
4.5
Thank you Text Publishing for my early readers copy.
August 19, 2025
i've been trying to put my thoughts into words after finishing this book because the ending literally had my jaw on the floor!
this is a dystopian-esq novel that takes place in a world where a mold virus has killed all living flora, fauna, and animals. we follow our main character Camille who works at the last zoo on earth that is also located on Alcatraz Island. a new employee arrives on the scene and turns Camille's life, and the zoo as a whole, upside down. i really did enjoy this and i'm glad it was so short (272 pages) because it moved quickly, but at the same time i thought there were a few storylines that seemed a bit random. overall, very glad i read it!
this is a dystopian-esq novel that takes place in a world where a mold virus has killed all living flora, fauna, and animals. we follow our main character Camille who works at the last zoo on earth that is also located on Alcatraz Island. a new employee arrives on the scene and turns Camille's life, and the zoo as a whole, upside down. i really did enjoy this and i'm glad it was so short (272 pages) because it moved quickly, but at the same time i thought there were a few storylines that seemed a bit random. overall, very glad i read it!
April 27, 2025
Thank you very much to Flatiron Books for sending me a free copy of this book to review.
2.5/5 stars
This book took me on a journey. At first, I thought I would be rating it three stars. I thought the premise was interesting - the last zoo in the world in the middle of a dystopian blight - but a lot of it fell flat. It had the potential to be fascinating, but there wasn't enough worldbuilding to get me really engaged in it. I wanted to know more about the blight - what was happening in the world? Did the government fall in a traditional post-apocalyptic book? Or did things happen as normal? We get glimpses of this throughout, but the narrative is mostly confined to the zoo at Alcatraz. This led to the lens of the novel ultimately feeling very narrow.
Around the 75% mark, I started getting annoyed with the characters. Up until this part, I mostly felt neutral toward them. When one of the main characters, Sailor, started telling Camille, the main character, about something that is SO OBVIOUSLY FAKE and is basically just manipulating her, but Camille eats it up anyway. I was SO annoyed - like girl, read the room! This is not convincing in the slightest! I get wanting to believe in the lie but c'mon. This continued for the rest of the novel.
And the ending. . .I mean, props to the author for ending it with a twist that I did not predict happening, but god, it is depressing. The above blurb says that this book is "propulsive and fiercely hopeful. . .an elegy for a disappearing world and a gorgeous vision for the future," but I disagree with that. I didn't feel any of that hope whatsoever. Instead, I ended the book feeling more depressed than when I started it! What good came out of the ending? It's vague enough, too, that there is the possibility of an open-ended ambiguity, but it's certainly not hopeful, in my opinion.
Finally, I think this book muddles the waters in the conversation between AZA-accredited zoos, wildlife sanctuaries, conservation centers, etc. and bad zoos. The book takes place in a dystopian future and the conditions in the zoo featured in the book are not always the best. That, in combination with one of the main characters being more on the radical side of the debate (all zoos are bad, animals deserve to be free), presents a not great image of zoos when taken out of context. The thing is -- in the current day, no blight or dystopia, there are good zoos and bad zoos. I think the author would agree with this statement, but it's a bit blurry in the book. This is just a reminder to check to see if your local zoo or wildlife center is AZA-accredited before visiting!
2.5/5 stars
This book took me on a journey. At first, I thought I would be rating it three stars. I thought the premise was interesting - the last zoo in the world in the middle of a dystopian blight - but a lot of it fell flat. It had the potential to be fascinating, but there wasn't enough worldbuilding to get me really engaged in it. I wanted to know more about the blight - what was happening in the world? Did the government fall in a traditional post-apocalyptic book? Or did things happen as normal? We get glimpses of this throughout, but the narrative is mostly confined to the zoo at Alcatraz. This led to the lens of the novel ultimately feeling very narrow.
Around the 75% mark, I started getting annoyed with the characters. Up until this part, I mostly felt neutral toward them. When one of the main characters, Sailor, started telling Camille, the main character, about something that is SO OBVIOUSLY FAKE and is basically just manipulating her, but Camille eats it up anyway. I was SO annoyed - like girl, read the room! This is not convincing in the slightest! I get wanting to believe in the lie but c'mon. This continued for the rest of the novel.
And the ending. . .I mean, props to the author for ending it with a twist that I did not predict happening, but god, it is depressing. The above blurb says that this book is "propulsive and fiercely hopeful. . .an elegy for a disappearing world and a gorgeous vision for the future," but I disagree with that. I didn't feel any of that hope whatsoever. Instead, I ended the book feeling more depressed than when I started it! What good came out of the ending? It's vague enough, too, that there is the possibility of an open-ended ambiguity, but it's certainly not hopeful, in my opinion.
Finally, I think this book muddles the waters in the conversation between AZA-accredited zoos, wildlife sanctuaries, conservation centers, etc. and bad zoos. The book takes place in a dystopian future and the conditions in the zoo featured in the book are not always the best. That, in combination with one of the main characters being more on the radical side of the debate (all zoos are bad, animals deserve to be free), presents a not great image of zoos when taken out of context. The thing is -- in the current day, no blight or dystopia, there are good zoos and bad zoos. I think the author would agree with this statement, but it's a bit blurry in the book. This is just a reminder to check to see if your local zoo or wildlife center is AZA-accredited before visiting!
August 14, 2025
Poignant yet hopeful. Such a strong sense of setting, this high-tech sterile zoo on Alcatraz island while the rest of the world rots away, starves, chokes on the air. A slow burn character study that reminded me how much I cannot and will not live in a world without animals.
If you're a fan of Charlotte McConaghy, this should definitely be on your radar, just don’t expect the same level of emotional mastery.
Thank you Flatiron for the review copy!
If you're a fan of Charlotte McConaghy, this should definitely be on your radar, just don’t expect the same level of emotional mastery.
Thank you Flatiron for the review copy!
August 19, 2025
Emma Sloley’s The Island of Last Things is one of those novels that feels both intimate and sweeping at the same time. On the surface, it’s about the last zoo in the world, improbably located on Alcatraz, where Camille spends her days tending to the few remaining creatures: chimps, frogs, and a restless jaguar. But beneath that, it’s a story about what it means to keep caring for fragile things in a world that seems determined to let them vanish.
This isn’t your typical dystopian novel—don’t expect nonstop action or elaborate worldbuilding outside the island. Instead, Sloley zooms in close, letting us sit with Camille’s quiet rituals and her growing connection with Sailor, the new arrival who disrupts her carefully ordered life. Their relationship is tender, complicated, and sometimes unsettling, pulling the book into psychological territory as much as ecological. I loved how the novel balances the personal and the political, showing us that the smallest choices can ripple outward in dangerous and unexpected ways.
The prose is stunning—lyrical without ever being overdone. Alcatraz itself becomes a paradox: a sanctuary, a prison, a symbol of both survival and confinement. Sloley wrings every ounce of atmosphere from it. The pacing is slow and contemplative, but I found it engaging rather than frustrating. You don’t race through this book; you sink into it.
The theme also, is impossible to shake: the way humanity relates to the natural world. The book is part elegy, part love letter, and part warning. It asks uncomfortable questions about whether saving something in captivity is really saving it at all. I found myself thinking about it long after I finished.
The audiobook deserves a spotlight, too. Suzy Jackson’s narration is beautifully matched to the material. She has this quiet clarity that makes Camille’s introspection feel even more raw, and she shifts just enough in tone and cadence to capture Sailor’s restless energy without ever overplaying it. Jackson gives the story room to breathe, leaning into its moments of melancholy and fragile hope.
Overall, The Island of Last Things is not a book you’ll forget easily. It’s haunting, strange, and gorgeously written, with an emotional resonance that lingers.
This isn’t your typical dystopian novel—don’t expect nonstop action or elaborate worldbuilding outside the island. Instead, Sloley zooms in close, letting us sit with Camille’s quiet rituals and her growing connection with Sailor, the new arrival who disrupts her carefully ordered life. Their relationship is tender, complicated, and sometimes unsettling, pulling the book into psychological territory as much as ecological. I loved how the novel balances the personal and the political, showing us that the smallest choices can ripple outward in dangerous and unexpected ways.
The prose is stunning—lyrical without ever being overdone. Alcatraz itself becomes a paradox: a sanctuary, a prison, a symbol of both survival and confinement. Sloley wrings every ounce of atmosphere from it. The pacing is slow and contemplative, but I found it engaging rather than frustrating. You don’t race through this book; you sink into it.
The theme also, is impossible to shake: the way humanity relates to the natural world. The book is part elegy, part love letter, and part warning. It asks uncomfortable questions about whether saving something in captivity is really saving it at all. I found myself thinking about it long after I finished.
The audiobook deserves a spotlight, too. Suzy Jackson’s narration is beautifully matched to the material. She has this quiet clarity that makes Camille’s introspection feel even more raw, and she shifts just enough in tone and cadence to capture Sailor’s restless energy without ever overplaying it. Jackson gives the story room to breathe, leaning into its moments of melancholy and fragile hope.
Overall, The Island of Last Things is not a book you’ll forget easily. It’s haunting, strange, and gorgeously written, with an emotional resonance that lingers.
August 12, 2025
4.25 stars. Great story. Really enjoyed this.
September 5, 2025
when you’re in a “who’s most delusional?” competition but your opponent is the mc camille
September 9, 2025
After some sort of catastrophic event in the not too distant future the natural world is in deep decline with poor air quality, poisoned oceans and a scourge that has killed off much of the plant and animal life. Several of the world’s largest zoos have created elaborate habitats to try and protect the last remaining wildlife from extinction. But like anything else that is desirable but becomes scarce a black market develops and the rich, powerful and often corrupt want to gather the spoils. The zoos are going under one by one and the last great zoo is on the island of Alcatraz off San Francisco. We meet two keepers who love the animals and their work but see the dark side of where the business is headed. Camille has worked at the zoo for several years when Sailor arrives after working at the failing zoo in Paris. Camille finds a close friend in Sailor and they become a tight pair. But Sailor challenges many of Camille’s ideas surrounding the protection of the animals in their care and her plans become ever riskier as she seeks a way to help return these creatures to a natural environment safe from the eyes of the world.
I enjoyed the fast moving story and found the premise interesting and alarming. How awful when we lose even one species to extinction so it is overwhelming to think of losing most or all of them. It was a lot to ponder. All in all I enjoyed the novel. There were a few loose threads that I felt weren’t woven back in well at the end but it didn’t distract from the overall story for me. Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron books for the Advanced Reader Copy!
I enjoyed the fast moving story and found the premise interesting and alarming. How awful when we lose even one species to extinction so it is overwhelming to think of losing most or all of them. It was a lot to ponder. All in all I enjoyed the novel. There were a few loose threads that I felt weren’t woven back in well at the end but it didn’t distract from the overall story for me. Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron books for the Advanced Reader Copy!
December 1, 2025
Anyone who’s been to Alcatraz probably understands the incredible range of emotions that accompany a visit: sadness, angst and fascination of the circumstances surrounding America’s most notorious criminals – but also juxtaposed with some of the most beautiful grounds, and views, in the country. (Folks of a certain age, also, can’t help but think of the Kevin Bacon “Murder in the First” movie).
Take those images into the future where Alcatraz Island is now home of the last zoo in the world, and you get a fantastic premise for a novel. While this book is sad for obvious reasons, it is also filled with love and lessons about family and friendship. You’ll learn a few things about wildlife behavior as well. I could relate to the love the zookeepers (Camille and Sailor) had for the world’s last wildlife, and for their convictions.
Sloley paints a not-too-distant future that feels all-too-possible (blights and fungus, fires, poor air quality, more virulent strains of Lyme disease), but imbues it with the one thing that some humans seem able to possess even in the most dire of circumstances: hope. My one complaint is that the book was actually quite short, and I felt it could have benefitted from more pages -- more fleshing out of the worldwide environmental condition/strain, more depth of the main characters.
Even so ... an enjoyable read. I look forward to this author’s next novel!
Take those images into the future where Alcatraz Island is now home of the last zoo in the world, and you get a fantastic premise for a novel. While this book is sad for obvious reasons, it is also filled with love and lessons about family and friendship. You’ll learn a few things about wildlife behavior as well. I could relate to the love the zookeepers (Camille and Sailor) had for the world’s last wildlife, and for their convictions.
Sloley paints a not-too-distant future that feels all-too-possible (blights and fungus, fires, poor air quality, more virulent strains of Lyme disease), but imbues it with the one thing that some humans seem able to possess even in the most dire of circumstances: hope. My one complaint is that the book was actually quite short, and I felt it could have benefitted from more pages -- more fleshing out of the worldwide environmental condition/strain, more depth of the main characters.
Even so ... an enjoyable read. I look forward to this author’s next novel!
September 13, 2025
ARC REVIEW
Thank you to @flatiron_books #flatironpartner for the #gifted book.
This is a dystopian tale. The world is in decline. There is a zoo at the end of the world on Alcatraz. These are the last wild animals who are being protected and cared for. Their extinction is inevitable. There is a friendship that grows between two women as they take care of the animals.
I felt completely misled whenever it was compared to Wild Dark Shore, my favorite novel ever to date. So, that’s a high order. Sadly, this was nothing like it. You know whenever someone says a book fell flat… that seems to be one of the most common phrases I see in book reviews. Well, this was definitely a bland story. I thought nothing really exciting happened. The writing itself was fine but when you compare it to Wild Dark Shore, I expect it to be exquisite.
The characters were nice. I enjoyed Sailor and Camille. Please read other reviews as others have enjoyed it.
3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you to @flatiron_books #flatironpartner for the #gifted book.
This is a dystopian tale. The world is in decline. There is a zoo at the end of the world on Alcatraz. These are the last wild animals who are being protected and cared for. Their extinction is inevitable. There is a friendship that grows between two women as they take care of the animals.
I felt completely misled whenever it was compared to Wild Dark Shore, my favorite novel ever to date. So, that’s a high order. Sadly, this was nothing like it. You know whenever someone says a book fell flat… that seems to be one of the most common phrases I see in book reviews. Well, this was definitely a bland story. I thought nothing really exciting happened. The writing itself was fine but when you compare it to Wild Dark Shore, I expect it to be exquisite.
The characters were nice. I enjoyed Sailor and Camille. Please read other reviews as others have enjoyed it.
3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
August 12, 2025
I closed this book and sat with it for a good half hour, wavering between three and four stars. It’s a story I mostly enjoyed, but one that left me with more questions than answers.
The premise is striking: the last zoo in the world, perched on Alcatraz Island, staffed by people whose work blurs the line between preservation and survival. The setup alone carries so much potential for commentary on human nature, environmental collapse, and our connection to the wild. And in many ways, it delivers. The dialogue between characters is a particular strength, and there’s a propulsive undercurrent that kept me turning pages once the central tension took hold.
Still, I found myself wishing for more clarity in certain areas. Why was Alcatraz chosen as the final sanctuary? What really drove Sailor’s rapid rise through the zoo’s ranks? Several plot points, from mysterious family histories to unsettling incidents at other zoos, felt touched on but left unresolved. A few inaccurate animal details pulled me out of the story altogether. I’m comfortable inferring, but here the gaps sometimes made the world feel less lived-in than I wanted.
Comparisons to Téa Obreht and Charlotte McConaghy set a high bar, especially for readers (like me) who love McConaghy’s deeply immersive eco-fiction. While The Island of Last Things shares thematic DNA (environmental decline, fragile hope, the pull of human connection), its emotional weight didn’t land for me. Key moments, including Sailor’s tragic final act, lacked the buildup that might have made them devastating. And the focus given to certain animals early on, like Feliz, the jaguar on the cover, didn’t match their impact in the narrative.
Even with these misgivings, there’s a good story here. Sloley captures a certain tension between resignation and hope that feels both timely and timeless, and her premise will stick with you. It’s not the kind of book that swept me away entirely, but it is one I’m glad to have read. It has the potential to spark interesting conversations about where we are, where we're headed, and what/who we choose to protect along the way.
Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. I did notice one typo in my advance copy, "thiryt" instead of thirty around the 79% mark, that's likely to be corrected before publication (today).
The premise is striking: the last zoo in the world, perched on Alcatraz Island, staffed by people whose work blurs the line between preservation and survival. The setup alone carries so much potential for commentary on human nature, environmental collapse, and our connection to the wild. And in many ways, it delivers. The dialogue between characters is a particular strength, and there’s a propulsive undercurrent that kept me turning pages once the central tension took hold.
Still, I found myself wishing for more clarity in certain areas. Why was Alcatraz chosen as the final sanctuary? What really drove Sailor’s rapid rise through the zoo’s ranks? Several plot points, from mysterious family histories to unsettling incidents at other zoos, felt touched on but left unresolved. A few inaccurate animal details pulled me out of the story altogether. I’m comfortable inferring, but here the gaps sometimes made the world feel less lived-in than I wanted.
Comparisons to Téa Obreht and Charlotte McConaghy set a high bar, especially for readers (like me) who love McConaghy’s deeply immersive eco-fiction. While The Island of Last Things shares thematic DNA (environmental decline, fragile hope, the pull of human connection), its emotional weight didn’t land for me. Key moments, including Sailor’s tragic final act, lacked the buildup that might have made them devastating. And the focus given to certain animals early on, like Feliz, the jaguar on the cover, didn’t match their impact in the narrative.
Even with these misgivings, there’s a good story here. Sloley captures a certain tension between resignation and hope that feels both timely and timeless, and her premise will stick with you. It’s not the kind of book that swept me away entirely, but it is one I’m glad to have read. It has the potential to spark interesting conversations about where we are, where we're headed, and what/who we choose to protect along the way.
Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. I did notice one typo in my advance copy, "thiryt" instead of thirty around the 79% mark, that's likely to be corrected before publication (today).
August 18, 2025
Wow, what a disappointment. I opened this book hoping for a dystopian analysis of a post-climate change world and how the relationships between humans, animals, and capitalism clash. I was holding my breath for the feelings I got while reading How High We Go In The Dark, I Who Have Never Known Men, or similar thought-provoking novels. Instead, this story is bland, surface-level, and elementary. There are barely any critiques of society, government, or humanity, and when they are present, it’s like the sentences have been plopped on top of a pile of basic sentence structures and almost no character work.
To me, this felt super similar to The Phoenix Keeper, which was also trash. Like TPK, our main character here is bland and directionless, waiting for other people to drill lessons into her because she practices almost no autonomy. Then, a spunky, mysterious woman is introduced and forces our main character to consider ideas and people outside of her immediate circle. It’s so basic, the conversations were stale, and we haven’t even gotten to the plot (which didn’t start until 50% of the way into the book).
Again, the plot mirrors TPK in that there are groups of people who want to smuggle animals out of the zoo to the highest bidder. But it happens in an unrealistic yet uninteresting fashion. If I’m honest, I skimmed the last 100 pages just to see if I would be at all intrigued. I guess you could call the end a twist, but at that point I couldn’t give less of a shit.
If you want to read 300 pages of watching people shovel animal poop and clean enclosures, then fine, pick this up. But it’s a huge, huge missed opportunity for something great. We could have had such important, provocative conversations but this is, in its entirety, a waste of paper.
To me, this felt super similar to The Phoenix Keeper, which was also trash. Like TPK, our main character here is bland and directionless, waiting for other people to drill lessons into her because she practices almost no autonomy. Then, a spunky, mysterious woman is introduced and forces our main character to consider ideas and people outside of her immediate circle. It’s so basic, the conversations were stale, and we haven’t even gotten to the plot (which didn’t start until 50% of the way into the book).
Again, the plot mirrors TPK in that there are groups of people who want to smuggle animals out of the zoo to the highest bidder. But it happens in an unrealistic yet uninteresting fashion. If I’m honest, I skimmed the last 100 pages just to see if I would be at all intrigued. I guess you could call the end a twist, but at that point I couldn’t give less of a shit.
If you want to read 300 pages of watching people shovel animal poop and clean enclosures, then fine, pick this up. But it’s a huge, huge missed opportunity for something great. We could have had such important, provocative conversations but this is, in its entirety, a waste of paper.
Want to read
November 22, 2024"A soaring, propulsive, and unforgettably poignant novel about two zookeepers at the last zoo in the world, in the vein of Téa Obreht and Charlotte McConaghy"
an "elegy for a disappearing world and a gorgeous vision for the future" so keen
an "elegy for a disappearing world and a gorgeous vision for the future" so keen
January 17, 2026
I love the cover. The ending is well-intentioned but hopeless. In between, it failed to touch me in any way other than exasperation. I was thoroughly disappointed and just can't rate it as low as I'd like.
By the time I'd read the first couple of pages, I thought: whoops. The reason I had to buy this book, I'll admit, is the cover. It might be the most gorgeous cover I've ever seen. And a jaguar. I've spent some quality time from childhood watching jaguars in Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo. Books with animals are tough for me because I've spent so much time observing them.
Despite the premise and partially because of it, the entire story seems bloodless, despite eventual blood. The characters seemed to be about to have a relationship that doesn't happen.
The premise of protecting the last animals alive in the world is interesting, but then the reason for this is thin. A disease/mold that killed food plants and all animals in the wild conveniently fails to jump to humanity? No, I don't believe that. Not for a moment. As a device it didn't work for me. I wish she'd come up with a plausible scenario. And that kind of missed opportunity failed for me, since the focus was on saving these last live animals, the desperation of those starving millions of humans protesting across the Bay. The replacement foods and all the details and more details about the exhibits, etc., don't add up. I appreciate how hard she worked at the world-building but it's based on an absurdity that doesn't fly, and none of the characters grabbed my heart.
I get that people are often stupid about animals but couldn't understand how all these people are supposedly trying to save the last animals so clueless? However, my husband's work in a large metropolitan zoo, led him to assure me: "never underestimate the stupidity of zookeepers." The keepers are mostly stupid here and I had no sense that the author was any smarter about the animals.
An example: The zoo decides to sling the new elephant under a helicopter rather than taking him across the Bay on a barge because he might get seasick? Was that meant to be funny? I assumed at first it was. Has the author ever been out on a boat in San Francisco Bay? We didn't get any immediate follow-up about drugging the elephant to make him calm while slung over an expanse of water or any complaint from the elephant. I am cringing over what seems to have been delivery of a bull Asian elephant by dropping him the last few feet from a helicopter. No. Just no. They'd likely kill him doing that.
Detailed but absurd. All this with the goal to get animals out of cages? Well, yes, but. None of this is really about the animals. Or the people.
This is the first novel in a long time that I've disliked this much. But the cover art!
By the time I'd read the first couple of pages, I thought: whoops. The reason I had to buy this book, I'll admit, is the cover. It might be the most gorgeous cover I've ever seen. And a jaguar. I've spent some quality time from childhood watching jaguars in Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo. Books with animals are tough for me because I've spent so much time observing them.
Despite the premise and partially because of it, the entire story seems bloodless, despite eventual blood. The characters seemed to be about to have a relationship that doesn't happen.
The premise of protecting the last animals alive in the world is interesting, but then the reason for this is thin. A disease/mold that killed food plants and all animals in the wild conveniently fails to jump to humanity? No, I don't believe that. Not for a moment. As a device it didn't work for me. I wish she'd come up with a plausible scenario. And that kind of missed opportunity failed for me, since the focus was on saving these last live animals, the desperation of those starving millions of humans protesting across the Bay. The replacement foods and all the details and more details about the exhibits, etc., don't add up. I appreciate how hard she worked at the world-building but it's based on an absurdity that doesn't fly, and none of the characters grabbed my heart.
I get that people are often stupid about animals but couldn't understand how all these people are supposedly trying to save the last animals so clueless? However, my husband's work in a large metropolitan zoo, led him to assure me: "never underestimate the stupidity of zookeepers." The keepers are mostly stupid here and I had no sense that the author was any smarter about the animals.
An example: The zoo decides to sling the new elephant under a helicopter rather than taking him across the Bay on a barge because he might get seasick? Was that meant to be funny? I assumed at first it was. Has the author ever been out on a boat in San Francisco Bay? We didn't get any immediate follow-up about drugging the elephant to make him calm while slung over an expanse of water or any complaint from the elephant. I am cringing over what seems to have been delivery of a bull Asian elephant by dropping him the last few feet from a helicopter. No. Just no. They'd likely kill him doing that.
Detailed but absurd. All this with the goal to get animals out of cages? Well, yes, but. None of this is really about the animals. Or the people.
This is the first novel in a long time that I've disliked this much. But the cover art!
July 15, 2025
Last zoo in the world..set in a dystopian era? Yeah sign me up, this sounded interesting!
when I started the book I was excited to see how the world would be mapped out.. but there wasn’t any real world building. Everything felt so grey… and for dystopian I feel like we NEED the world building. It all felt very muddled.
I liked Camille and Sailor, but I felt like I couldn’t really FEEL them being friends. Totally thought they were going to be lovers, so that’s a bit of a bummer. Their friendship just felt surface level. The whole book really felt surface level to me.
There were some plot lines that could have been flushed out so well, but it’s like we got a little glimpse and then… nothing.
I did like the ending.
Thank you to FlatIron for the physical arc and Macmillan audio for the ALC!
when I started the book I was excited to see how the world would be mapped out.. but there wasn’t any real world building. Everything felt so grey… and for dystopian I feel like we NEED the world building. It all felt very muddled.
I liked Camille and Sailor, but I felt like I couldn’t really FEEL them being friends. Totally thought they were going to be lovers, so that’s a bit of a bummer. Their friendship just felt surface level. The whole book really felt surface level to me.
There were some plot lines that could have been flushed out so well, but it’s like we got a little glimpse and then… nothing.
I did like the ending.
Thank you to FlatIron for the physical arc and Macmillan audio for the ALC!
September 14, 2025
The Island of Last Things is a dystopian LitFic book about two zookeepers at the last zoo on earth. Sailor is new to the island, coming from the recently closed zoo in Paris. Sailor is a rebel who wants to save all of the animals, Camille loves animals and wants them to love her back. This book has a relatively lower rating on Goodreads, 3.58 as I write this, but I found it an insightful commentary on the intersection between late stage capitalism and, animal cruelty and climate change. The cover looks like “horror” to me, but it reads as contemplative LitFic. The ending is a symbolic yet sad image that will stay with me.
High recommend from me
High recommend from me
August 18, 2025
Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me with an ALC.
This book has a great premise about the last zoo at the end of the world. It was really nice seeing Camille and Sailor's interaction with the animals. The ending was super unexpected and saddening. Sadly, things fell flat during the execution. In a supposedly dystopian setting, I wanted to see more of the world building, like how all the animals went extinct, why and how is there a highly protected zoo on Alcatraz etc. I understand that the author wanted to send a message about zoos, animal extinction and illegal trade but I wanted more from the story itself. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a book about zoos and people's interaction with animals.
The narrator did a great job but it would have been nicer if the emotional parts were read out with more emotion.
This book has a great premise about the last zoo at the end of the world. It was really nice seeing Camille and Sailor's interaction with the animals. The ending was super unexpected and saddening. Sadly, things fell flat during the execution. In a supposedly dystopian setting, I wanted to see more of the world building, like how all the animals went extinct, why and how is there a highly protected zoo on Alcatraz etc. I understand that the author wanted to send a message about zoos, animal extinction and illegal trade but I wanted more from the story itself. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a book about zoos and people's interaction with animals.
The narrator did a great job but it would have been nicer if the emotional parts were read out with more emotion.
August 25, 2025
2.5 ⭐
The natural world and the nonhuman beings in it are part of what makes life worth living. If we kill all the beauty around us, we kill a part of ourselves.
"Were you sad to leave the zoo?"
"I was sad it existed, if that's what you mean."
We're set at Alcatraz Zoo (yes the prison island), the last zoo on earth.
However, not in a we-have-finally-stopped-exploiting-depressed-imprisoned-animals 🥰 type of way, but in a there-are-literally-not-more-than-one-zoos-worth-of-animals-alive 😐 way.
Here the story revolves around two of the keepers constantly torn between their love for animals and the outside forces that have made these nonhuman creatures one of the rarest commodities in the world.
This setting, a late stage capitalist dystopian nightmare, is incredibly vivid.
I felt like I was smelling smog in the air, like I could see the ever burning flames on the horizon.
There is little to no explanation on how exactly the world turned into this baren, burning, lifeless pit but I found my experience being alive right now to be more than sufficient for filling in those gaps.
My biggest issue with this book was the pacing.
I can't say for sure whether the issue was my impatience or Sloley's structuring of the book, but I was bored for a lot of it.
There wasn't much happening and while I liked Camille and Sailor as protagonists, their inner worlds weren't enough to keep me engaged throughout.
The climax is hinted at by the narrative, there are two timelines and the book is written after the events have actually taken place, but the author chose to keep what exactly happens for the very end.
In my case that meant there was nothing really to look forward to and the journey on it's own was slow and meandering so it did not build intrigue in it's own right.
The protagonist's relationship is maybe the closest thing this book has to a driving force.
Camille and Sailor feel like very fleshed out and decidedly different characters.
Camille's rule and routine loving personality clashes beautifully with Sailor's small but continuous acts of rebellion. They can always fall back of their shared, and well depicted, love for animals though.
Those contradicting personalities were what made the most interesting parts of this book possible: the constant moral struggle of loving animals while keeping them imprisoned (for the animals own good obviously) (but also so that billionaires can stare at them).
I like to think that having to exploit what you love is a uniquely modern problem and this book has a lot of interesting discussions on it that I honestly wish had been an even bigger part of it.
Overall, this was one of the best premises I have read this year, with pretty solid characters, no plot and a too slow pacing.
This is a very mild spoiler warning!
If you're hoping that this book is queer like I was, I must deliver the disappointing news, it is not. At least not explicitly.
The relationship between them is definitely special but there is no romance between the protagonist's.
I think this book is the closest to a queer bait I have read in a long time.
Edit Review
The natural world and the nonhuman beings in it are part of what makes life worth living. If we kill all the beauty around us, we kill a part of ourselves.
"Were you sad to leave the zoo?"
"I was sad it existed, if that's what you mean."
We're set at Alcatraz Zoo (yes the prison island), the last zoo on earth.
However, not in a we-have-finally-stopped-exploiting-depressed-imprisoned-animals 🥰 type of way, but in a there-are-literally-not-more-than-one-zoos-worth-of-animals-alive 😐 way.
Here the story revolves around two of the keepers constantly torn between their love for animals and the outside forces that have made these nonhuman creatures one of the rarest commodities in the world.
This setting, a late stage capitalist dystopian nightmare, is incredibly vivid.
I felt like I was smelling smog in the air, like I could see the ever burning flames on the horizon.
There is little to no explanation on how exactly the world turned into this baren, burning, lifeless pit but I found my experience being alive right now to be more than sufficient for filling in those gaps.
My biggest issue with this book was the pacing.
I can't say for sure whether the issue was my impatience or Sloley's structuring of the book, but I was bored for a lot of it.
There wasn't much happening and while I liked Camille and Sailor as protagonists, their inner worlds weren't enough to keep me engaged throughout.
The climax is hinted at by the narrative, there are two timelines and the book is written after the events have actually taken place, but the author chose to keep what exactly happens for the very end.
In my case that meant there was nothing really to look forward to and the journey on it's own was slow and meandering so it did not build intrigue in it's own right.
The protagonist's relationship is maybe the closest thing this book has to a driving force.
Camille and Sailor feel like very fleshed out and decidedly different characters.
Camille's rule and routine loving personality clashes beautifully with Sailor's small but continuous acts of rebellion. They can always fall back of their shared, and well depicted, love for animals though.
Those contradicting personalities were what made the most interesting parts of this book possible: the constant moral struggle of loving animals while keeping them imprisoned (for the animals own good obviously) (but also so that billionaires can stare at them).
I like to think that having to exploit what you love is a uniquely modern problem and this book has a lot of interesting discussions on it that I honestly wish had been an even bigger part of it.
Overall, this was one of the best premises I have read this year, with pretty solid characters, no plot and a too slow pacing.
This is a very mild spoiler warning!
If you're hoping that this book is queer like I was, I must deliver the disappointing news, it is not. At least not explicitly.
The relationship between them is definitely special but there is no romance between the protagonist's.
I think this book is the closest to a queer bait I have read in a long time.
Edit Review
August 9, 2025
4.5 ⭐️
Camille has no family but a love for animals when she has the opportunity to work on alcatraz island she can't turn it down. the once jail has been remodeled into a zoo and camille is very dutiful with her job and she loves it. When she is assigned to a new keeper to show them around they become the unlikeliest of friends. Sailor has transferred from a zoo in Paris and is a little strange. There is a vibe to her that you can't put your finger on but, the more time they spend together the closer they get. When Sailor is faced with some demons from her past she is forced to make a decision that will alter both of their lives. i LOVED this one! as someone who loves animals this one was too good to put down with a hint of thriller it was phenomenal.
thank you to the publishers and netgalley for the ARC!
Camille has no family but a love for animals when she has the opportunity to work on alcatraz island she can't turn it down. the once jail has been remodeled into a zoo and camille is very dutiful with her job and she loves it. When she is assigned to a new keeper to show them around they become the unlikeliest of friends. Sailor has transferred from a zoo in Paris and is a little strange. There is a vibe to her that you can't put your finger on but, the more time they spend together the closer they get. When Sailor is faced with some demons from her past she is forced to make a decision that will alter both of their lives. i LOVED this one! as someone who loves animals this one was too good to put down with a hint of thriller it was phenomenal.
thank you to the publishers and netgalley for the ARC!
September 23, 2025
Well, I was weeping by the end. Brilliant writing.
August 9, 2025
If I had to come up with a compact description for The Island of Last Thing's genre, I'd suggest something like minimalist dystopian/friendship/coming of age/adventure. It takes place on an earth where massive extinctions have meant that a shrinking handfuls of zoos are the only place one has much hope of seeing actual animals—and that's only if you're wealthy enough to afford a tour. One of those zoos is situated on Alcatraz.
Our central characters, Camille and Sailor, work as keepers at the Alcatraz zoo. When you work at Alcatraz, you live there due to concerns about biocontamination—and the fact that life elsewhere generally involves next-to-no-food, as opposed to the simulated meat and other "food-like products" the keepers have access to.
Camille has been at the Alcatraz zoo for a number of years now. Her father, now disappeared, was once the driver of the zoo's owner Mr. Pinkton. She's still young, but she has developed a remarkable set of skills caring for the animals on Alcatraz, which range from songbirds and house cats to elephants and pythons. One of those skills is knowing she must do everything exactly as she is told to do it—no deviation, no innovation. Any change, even small ones, might put the animals at risk.
Sailor is a new arrival. She grew up on an alligator farm back when animals were still around and not rarities most people never see. She worked previously at the Paris zoo, which is now being shuttered. She's a good bit older than Camille and has equally rich animal care skills. But Sailor likes to "think outside the cage." And she has a way of charming and cajoling others into giving in to, if not exactly embracing, her ideas. Case in point: "Bleat and Greet," a Sailor-proposed program that allows animals under supervision to wander about the zoo grounds. The first two participants are a flamingo and a porcupine.
Given the rarity of animals and desire of the ultra-rich to own them, animal cartels have developed. They'll steal animals from zoos so they can be added into private collections. There are rumors about clandestine zoos created inside abandoned office buildings. Animals are money. Zoos, whether private or marginally public—the real public has no access to them—are a realm of big-money bidding wars and illegal trade.
Some of the animals on Alcatraz do well. Others—those that evolved to survive in broad territories or to follow migratory routes—not so much. Camille knows the set-up on Alcatraz isn't ideal, but she's convinced it's the only way to keep vanishing animals alive. Sailor weaves tales of a sanctuary that may or may not exist where animals live on large tracts of land without forced interaction with humans. And maybe an animal or two from Alcatrz could make it to the sanctuary...
The world-building here is minimal. Readers don't know the form of government, the kinds of lives lived off Alcatraz, the economy. The focus is on the facts of Alcatraz. If you like lots of specifics in your dystopias, The Island of Last Things may disappoint. If you're interested in how two keepers with very different backgrounds and values live their lives in and rebel against this less-than-perfect zoo, you'll quite satisfied.
I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via Edelweiss; the opinions are my own.
Our central characters, Camille and Sailor, work as keepers at the Alcatraz zoo. When you work at Alcatraz, you live there due to concerns about biocontamination—and the fact that life elsewhere generally involves next-to-no-food, as opposed to the simulated meat and other "food-like products" the keepers have access to.
Camille has been at the Alcatraz zoo for a number of years now. Her father, now disappeared, was once the driver of the zoo's owner Mr. Pinkton. She's still young, but she has developed a remarkable set of skills caring for the animals on Alcatraz, which range from songbirds and house cats to elephants and pythons. One of those skills is knowing she must do everything exactly as she is told to do it—no deviation, no innovation. Any change, even small ones, might put the animals at risk.
Sailor is a new arrival. She grew up on an alligator farm back when animals were still around and not rarities most people never see. She worked previously at the Paris zoo, which is now being shuttered. She's a good bit older than Camille and has equally rich animal care skills. But Sailor likes to "think outside the cage." And she has a way of charming and cajoling others into giving in to, if not exactly embracing, her ideas. Case in point: "Bleat and Greet," a Sailor-proposed program that allows animals under supervision to wander about the zoo grounds. The first two participants are a flamingo and a porcupine.
Given the rarity of animals and desire of the ultra-rich to own them, animal cartels have developed. They'll steal animals from zoos so they can be added into private collections. There are rumors about clandestine zoos created inside abandoned office buildings. Animals are money. Zoos, whether private or marginally public—the real public has no access to them—are a realm of big-money bidding wars and illegal trade.
Some of the animals on Alcatraz do well. Others—those that evolved to survive in broad territories or to follow migratory routes—not so much. Camille knows the set-up on Alcatraz isn't ideal, but she's convinced it's the only way to keep vanishing animals alive. Sailor weaves tales of a sanctuary that may or may not exist where animals live on large tracts of land without forced interaction with humans. And maybe an animal or two from Alcatrz could make it to the sanctuary...
The world-building here is minimal. Readers don't know the form of government, the kinds of lives lived off Alcatraz, the economy. The focus is on the facts of Alcatraz. If you like lots of specifics in your dystopias, The Island of Last Things may disappoint. If you're interested in how two keepers with very different backgrounds and values live their lives in and rebel against this less-than-perfect zoo, you'll quite satisfied.
I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via Edelweiss; the opinions are my own.
November 15, 2025
One more time I can’t decide in how to feel about the book.
It definitely wasn’t a wasted time but I think it’s just not my book. It was just “not enough”. Not enough action, not enough plot and not enough emotions were extracted from me, as a reader. You get the impression that the character, telling the story, gave up on the future, on hopes and on herself as well. It’s a very “doom-accepted” view, and I do not like it. I am not sure whether it’s worthy to live if your life is hope deprived.
As I was reading I thought about “Do androids dream of electric sheep“ and animals as „status symbols“ in the dystopian world. I think I’d love to read more books that develop this idea, just long for something that will be more pro-action or at least not that „submissive“ in a way.
I loved the ending. I kinda liked the characters. Didn’t fell in live with the story but am intrigued by the general premise. A good book, not a great one
It definitely wasn’t a wasted time but I think it’s just not my book. It was just “not enough”. Not enough action, not enough plot and not enough emotions were extracted from me, as a reader. You get the impression that the character, telling the story, gave up on the future, on hopes and on herself as well. It’s a very “doom-accepted” view, and I do not like it. I am not sure whether it’s worthy to live if your life is hope deprived.
As I was reading I thought about “Do androids dream of electric sheep“ and animals as „status symbols“ in the dystopian world. I think I’d love to read more books that develop this idea, just long for something that will be more pro-action or at least not that „submissive“ in a way.
I loved the ending. I kinda liked the characters. Didn’t fell in live with the story but am intrigued by the general premise. A good book, not a great one
August 19, 2025
Rating: 3.5 stars
Things I enjoyed:
Setting
Animal talk
Speculative
Great discussion for book club
Island of Last Things is a dystopian novel about the last zoo on the planet. It was a slow burn character study. Even though it was a short book, it somehow took me a long time to finish. I enjoyed the literary writing and the surprise twist near the end that made me gasp. If you enjoy Charlotte McConaghy’s books, then you might enjoy this one.
I received a complimentary advanced physical copy from publisher Flatiron Books. Thank you for the opportunity to preview this book.
Things I enjoyed:
Setting
Animal talk
Speculative
Great discussion for book club
Island of Last Things is a dystopian novel about the last zoo on the planet. It was a slow burn character study. Even though it was a short book, it somehow took me a long time to finish. I enjoyed the literary writing and the surprise twist near the end that made me gasp. If you enjoy Charlotte McConaghy’s books, then you might enjoy this one.
I received a complimentary advanced physical copy from publisher Flatiron Books. Thank you for the opportunity to preview this book.
December 7, 2025
I picked this book up purely because of the cover — it’s stunning — and thankfully the story inside lived up to the quiet pull of it. The Island of Last Things drops you into an apocalyptic world that feels eerie, fragile, and uncomfortably close to possible. It focuses on extinction, loss, and a world where animals are disappearing — which is easily my biggest apocalypse fear. What really worked for me was the atmosphere. This book isn’t loud or action-heavy; it’s reflective, bleak in a quiet way, and deeply focused on loss — not just of creatures and ecosystems, but of memory, meaning, and how humanity once related to the world. The writing has a haunting softness to it that makes the devastation feel even heavier.
August 11, 2025
*4.5
Slice-of-life litfic isn't usually a hit for me, but apparently all it's missing is a dystopian setting where zookeepers are responsible for caring for the last surviving animals on Earth. Set on an island conservation sanctuary, this slower-paced, near-future novel balances emotional depth with a haunting sense of realism that feels entirely too possible.
I was completely drawn in by the details of the zoo island itself—learning about the animals, their behaviors in captivity, and what might’ve been “normal” in the wild felt both tender and devastating. The relationship between the two main characters was beautifully developed, and the ethical questions they face, about care, extinction, and responsibility, make this story stand out for me.
The novel’s environmental and conservation themes are baked in with care and nuance, sparking reflection without feeling too preachy. While a few sections meandered more than I would have preferred in terms of plot progression, the rich storytelling, layered character work, and a genuinely surprising ending more than made up for it.
Highly engaging and deeply powerful, this book was truly amazing and worth picking up.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review! Release date 8/12/2025.
Slice-of-life litfic isn't usually a hit for me, but apparently all it's missing is a dystopian setting where zookeepers are responsible for caring for the last surviving animals on Earth. Set on an island conservation sanctuary, this slower-paced, near-future novel balances emotional depth with a haunting sense of realism that feels entirely too possible.
I was completely drawn in by the details of the zoo island itself—learning about the animals, their behaviors in captivity, and what might’ve been “normal” in the wild felt both tender and devastating. The relationship between the two main characters was beautifully developed, and the ethical questions they face, about care, extinction, and responsibility, make this story stand out for me.
The novel’s environmental and conservation themes are baked in with care and nuance, sparking reflection without feeling too preachy. While a few sections meandered more than I would have preferred in terms of plot progression, the rich storytelling, layered character work, and a genuinely surprising ending more than made up for it.
Highly engaging and deeply powerful, this book was truly amazing and worth picking up.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review! Release date 8/12/2025.
September 30, 2025
knjiga iz žanra: prevara sa lepim koricama
September 4, 2025
This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. I even went out and bought it in hardcover. I was that certain I was going to love it.
It’s an atmospheric slow burn about two zookeepers who become best friends while working at the last zoo on earth, doing what they can to keep their animals from going extinct in a strange, post-pandemic world where entire ecosystems have collapsed.
We've got the naive goody-two-shoes employee who befriends the new recruit, an unrepentant rule-breaker with a hidden agenda; the tension between the ethical treatment vs the exploitation of animals; and an isolated setting where the lines between hope and desperation blur.
It's moody and sleepy and quiet, while also pressing its weight down upon you. Stirring and entrancing, with an ending that caught me off guard. And yet... I didn't fully love it. I don't know what it's missing exactly, I just know that it's missing something...
It’s an atmospheric slow burn about two zookeepers who become best friends while working at the last zoo on earth, doing what they can to keep their animals from going extinct in a strange, post-pandemic world where entire ecosystems have collapsed.
We've got the naive goody-two-shoes employee who befriends the new recruit, an unrepentant rule-breaker with a hidden agenda; the tension between the ethical treatment vs the exploitation of animals; and an isolated setting where the lines between hope and desperation blur.
It's moody and sleepy and quiet, while also pressing its weight down upon you. Stirring and entrancing, with an ending that caught me off guard. And yet... I didn't fully love it. I don't know what it's missing exactly, I just know that it's missing something...
August 14, 2025
The entire book I was just waiting for the animals to eat someone - ANYONE! - and when it finally happened it was over before it started.
A book about forced friendship… that’s it. This book was the equivalent of the orchestra tuning… forever.
Thank you to NetGalley for giving me an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. To be honest, I hated it. I hope NetGalley doesn’t dump me.
A book about forced friendship… that’s it. This book was the equivalent of the orchestra tuning… forever.
Thank you to NetGalley for giving me an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. To be honest, I hated it. I hope NetGalley doesn’t dump me.
June 30, 2025
The premise of this story is so good – there was a blight, animals are actually going extinct, and Alcatraz is the last zoo. That sounded SO interesting, but there was next to no world building outside of the zoo. They mention the blight, carrying branded inhalers, and at various times reference how different the world is compared to present day, but there was just not enough building given the number of times the outside world is referenced. I did enjoy when there was exposition about the animals and how they used to be, pre-blight. Talking about the miracle of petting a cat, for example, really does make you pause and think about the animals we see every day.
That being said – overall, I'm just meh about this book. I thought there were so many opportunities to really create something unique and instead it was just sort of a sloooooooow moving journey with not as much going on as the blurb would have you believe. The ending for one character SHOCKED me, but the ending for the other felt, again, meh. It was just kind of like okay, it's over now. The end. Which I did not love.
Solid 2.5 stars.
*Thank you to Flatiron Books and NetGalley for the ARC!*
That being said – overall, I'm just meh about this book. I thought there were so many opportunities to really create something unique and instead it was just sort of a sloooooooow moving journey with not as much going on as the blurb would have you believe. The ending for one character SHOCKED me, but the ending for the other felt, again, meh. It was just kind of like okay, it's over now. The end. Which I did not love.
Solid 2.5 stars.
*Thank you to Flatiron Books and NetGalley for the ARC!*
August 30, 2025
In a dystopian future where creatures (including Homo sapiens) vie for the lowest building block of needs in Maslow’s theory of hierarchy, Camille zookeeps in one of the remaining zoos in the world. Camille needs this job on Alcatraz, “retrofitted as a high security animal conservation project by some pharma industry billionaires,” because she needs to support her mom financially. Thankfully, Camille cares about the island’s inhabitants with an innocent wonder and a protective instinct for the world’s remaining solitary animals.
The zoo’s new hire, Sailor, transfers from the Paris Zoo, which could not keep its doors open, and Sailor quickly befriends Camille. Both women want what’s best for the animals, but Sailor’s more radical approach to preserving wildlife (i.e., freeing the animals from the zoo’s captivity) will push Camille’s boundaries. Camille gradually adopts Sailor’s understanding of the animals’ rights to live freely in light of the zoo owner’s greedy scheme of running his enterprise like a circus, charging guests for a spectacle at the animals’ expense.
Unbeknownst to Camille, a man in SF is blackmailing Sailor, demanding she smuggle an animal for him to sell on the black market. Framing the breakout as “setting the alligator free” and bringing it to a superior living space, Camille watches in horror as Sailor sacrifices her life so that the alligator can eat real meat and simultaneously ends her obligation to her blackmailer.
I appreciated Sloley’s thought experiment on the consequences of the dwindling of natural resources and the effects on creatures, both extinct and the last of their kind. I’m reminded I need to brush up on Singer’s sentientism, contra speciesism, which Sailor’s death suggests. The metaphorical incarceration of animals and the world-building within the federal penitentiary kept me engaged, though the two women’s back stories leading up to their time at Alcatraz required more development. For example, detailing Camille’s relationship with her late dad and absent mom would fill out her character. And, Sailor, hailing from Paris without strings attached to anyone, confused me, not to mention her repeated ability to evade management’s punitive measures despite her raucous behavior.
I rate The Island of Last Things 2.5 stars and round up to 3 because of Sloley’s teeming-with-life writing. My thanks to Flatiron Books and NetGalley for an ARC.
The zoo’s new hire, Sailor, transfers from the Paris Zoo, which could not keep its doors open, and Sailor quickly befriends Camille. Both women want what’s best for the animals, but Sailor’s more radical approach to preserving wildlife (i.e., freeing the animals from the zoo’s captivity) will push Camille’s boundaries. Camille gradually adopts Sailor’s understanding of the animals’ rights to live freely in light of the zoo owner’s greedy scheme of running his enterprise like a circus, charging guests for a spectacle at the animals’ expense.
Unbeknownst to Camille, a man in SF is blackmailing Sailor, demanding she smuggle an animal for him to sell on the black market. Framing the breakout as “setting the alligator free” and bringing it to a superior living space, Camille watches in horror as Sailor sacrifices her life so that the alligator can eat real meat and simultaneously ends her obligation to her blackmailer.
I appreciated Sloley’s thought experiment on the consequences of the dwindling of natural resources and the effects on creatures, both extinct and the last of their kind. I’m reminded I need to brush up on Singer’s sentientism, contra speciesism, which Sailor’s death suggests. The metaphorical incarceration of animals and the world-building within the federal penitentiary kept me engaged, though the two women’s back stories leading up to their time at Alcatraz required more development. For example, detailing Camille’s relationship with her late dad and absent mom would fill out her character. And, Sailor, hailing from Paris without strings attached to anyone, confused me, not to mention her repeated ability to evade management’s punitive measures despite her raucous behavior.
I rate The Island of Last Things 2.5 stars and round up to 3 because of Sloley’s teeming-with-life writing. My thanks to Flatiron Books and NetGalley for an ARC.
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