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The Last Place on Earth
Daisy's best friend is missing . . . and not for the reasons she thinks.
Henry Hawking is sixteen years old, brilliant, funny, and sly--and now he's missing. But no one seems worried except his best friend, Daisy Cruz, who knows that Henry's security-obsessed parents would never leave town without taking proper precautions. And Henry would never go away without saying good-bye.
Daisy considers all the obvious explanations for Henry's disappearance (federal witness protection program, alien abduction) before breaking into Henry's house. In his room, she finds a note that pleads, SAVE ME.
Desperate to find Henry, Daisy follows his trail deep into the California wilderness. What she finds there makes her wonder if she ever knew Henry at all . . . and if the world as she knows it will ever be the same.
Henry Hawking is sixteen years old, brilliant, funny, and sly--and now he's missing. But no one seems worried except his best friend, Daisy Cruz, who knows that Henry's security-obsessed parents would never leave town without taking proper precautions. And Henry would never go away without saying good-bye.
Daisy considers all the obvious explanations for Henry's disappearance (federal witness protection program, alien abduction) before breaking into Henry's house. In his room, she finds a note that pleads, SAVE ME.
Desperate to find Henry, Daisy follows his trail deep into the California wilderness. What she finds there makes her wonder if she ever knew Henry at all . . . and if the world as she knows it will ever be the same.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published February 23, 2016
29 people are currently reading
1894 people want to read
About the author
Carol Snow
40 books226 followersCalled “an author to watch” by Booklist, Carol Snow is an American author of contemporary women’s fiction and young adult literature. After graduating from Brown University with a degree in psychology, she spent many years writing literary short stories before accepting that she couldn't go more than a few hundred words without cracking a joke. She eventually turned her attention to crafting humorous, heartfelt stories with a wider commercial appeal, and In 2006, Berkley/Penguin published her first novel, Been There, Done That, which Publisher's Weekly called “humorous, wise . . . romance with a bit of social commentary.” Since then, she has written four more books for adults, Getting Warmer (2007), Here Today, Gone to Maui (2009), Just Like Me, Only Better (2010), and the upcoming What Came First (2011), about which Laura Fitzgerald, bestselling author of Veil of Roses, said, “Carol Snow mixes her trademark humor with tenderness and understanding in this good-mom/bad-mom tale of unexpected twists and turns.” Carol has also written two young adult books for HarperCollins, Switch (2008), an ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers, and Snap (2009). Foreign rights to her books have sold to publishers in Germany, Norway, and Romania.
Carol Snow grew up in New Jersey. Much of her childhood was spent immersed in books; the rest was focused on avoiding dodgeball. In addition to her psychology degree from Brown University, she holds an M.A.T. in English from Boston College. Before getting her first book published, she had the typical (for a writer) assortment of odd jobs: tour guide, tutor, chambermaid, waitress. She worked for a T-shirt company, a child services agency, and a vanity press. She even had a short stint in local politics. Her campaign brochures were really pretty, with flawless punctuation.
Since leaving New Jersey, Carol has lived all over the place: Rhode Island, London, Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, Utah, Arizona, and, now, Southern California, where she shares a cat-fur-coated house with her husband and their two children.
Carol Snow grew up in New Jersey. Much of her childhood was spent immersed in books; the rest was focused on avoiding dodgeball. In addition to her psychology degree from Brown University, she holds an M.A.T. in English from Boston College. Before getting her first book published, she had the typical (for a writer) assortment of odd jobs: tour guide, tutor, chambermaid, waitress. She worked for a T-shirt company, a child services agency, and a vanity press. She even had a short stint in local politics. Her campaign brochures were really pretty, with flawless punctuation.
Since leaving New Jersey, Carol has lived all over the place: Rhode Island, London, Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, Utah, Arizona, and, now, Southern California, where she shares a cat-fur-coated house with her husband and their two children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 109 reviews
July 15, 2017
This was a surprising little book. I picked it up on a whim and then proceeded to read it in one evening. It ended up taking a very strange turn, and became something I wasn't expecting at all. But it was unlike anything I've read before and I had a good time reading it.
January 26, 2016
This review was originally posted on It Starts at Midnight
Let us take a minute and look at how pretty the cover is. And intriguing! Then add in the synopsis, and wow, I am needing answers.
Now, kindly forget all of those things and open the book.
Let's start with Daisy, because I liked Daisy. She's funny, and relatable. Like, if I were her age, I could see us hanging out on weekends or something. She was a good narrator for the book, because she's equal parts appropriately freaked out and regular teenaged girl. It worked, because had she somehow turned into a serious faux-adult, it would have seemed ridiculous, but if she had been completely aloof it would have felt even worse. She has a good balance to her personality and I enjoyed it.
I also enjoyed how much she cared about her family, even though they definitely had their share of problems. They weren't perfect, but there was love and a bond and it was incredibly important to Daisy. Even while they were apart, Daisy thought of them, they never were missing from her mind, which was refreshing and believable.
The book also moved at a quick pace and was easy to read, and was interesting enough to keep me wanting to see the story out. Even when I was wavering on the plot or some of the character's actions and responses, I still was curious enough to go on.
"So, this 'wavering on the plot' stuff you speak of..." may be something you're curious about. Right. Well, this is kind of a weird story. Henry is missing and Daisy wants to find him. Okay, I am on board. But then things get... odd. And it's kind of where the logic ends too. I'm not even sure how much of this would be considered "spoilers", so I am treading carefully, but this book isn't about Henry's disappearance. It starts out that way, yes. But it definitely turns into something very different. At first, I was okay with that. But how it all played out was just not believable in any way. There were a group of people in the story who I am pretty sure were supposed to be extra-crazy versions of the Duggars? They were instead the Dunkles, and all seventy bagillion kids' names started with "K". And they were, as I said, even more off their rockers, and I feel like they were there for sheer entertainment/filler value. If you cut them out of the story, nothing would have really changed, except for a few fewer chapters and names to remember.
Then there's those pesky character reactions and responses that didn't work for me. At one point, Daisy is trapped somewhere. And instead of like, losing her shit, she does dishes for awhile. Look, I don't do the dishes on a good day, so when I am in a place I can't escape from and have no idea what my fate holds? I am going to skip the housework, mmmkay? And then she starts making crafts. Because of course she does. She is not the only character to do this kind of thing, but this is an early, non-spoilery example.
Okay, so the next part, which incidentally, is the part that annoyed me the most, has to be put into spoiler tags. The first spoiler doesn't spoil the whole book, but if you want to go in blind, don't read it.
Do not look if you haven't read/don't want to be spoiled!
So yes, I was kind of rolling my eyes at quite a few of these things. But again, I was still curious enough to read on to find out how it all wrapped up. Which brings me to my next spoiler...
Now, this one will spoil the whole book. So seriously, don't read it unless you have read the book or are like, into being spoiled, which it seems like some of you masochists are ;)
Bottom Line: While I liked the main character and found the book easy to read and relatively entertaining, the implausibility of the plot as well as the character's actions left me scratching my head.
Read
March 23, 2016This book was a strange amalgam of subgenres. I don't want to list them all as some are spoilers, but I went in expecting a quirky contemporary, then I thought I was getting a mental illness book or maybe gritty contemporary and then the story turned out to be something else altogether.
Maybe it was my constantly changing expectations, but in the end I just didn't find this a satisfying read. It seemed like the characters were also never quite sure what kind of story they were in, and not in a good way. Okay, I'll just explain under spoiler protection:
I just feel like this book had an identity crisis and that prevented me from connecting to the story like I hoped I would.
Read more of my reviews on YA Romantics or follow me on Bloglovin
Thanks to the publisher for providing a free advance copy of this book for me to review.
Maybe it was my constantly changing expectations, but in the end I just didn't find this a satisfying read. It seemed like the characters were also never quite sure what kind of story they were in, and not in a good way. Okay, I'll just explain under spoiler protection:
I just feel like this book had an identity crisis and that prevented me from connecting to the story like I hoped I would.
Read more of my reviews on YA Romantics or follow me on Bloglovin
Thanks to the publisher for providing a free advance copy of this book for me to review.
July 9, 2019
This book is one of those genre-bending stories that doesn't seem like it's trying to be so many things at once: it just is. I started this as soon as it arrived in the mail, and it just dragged me in. It isn't action-laced or one of those adrenaline-junkie type of plots, nor is it boring. The best-friend romance was a plus, too, as I adore best-friend romances (especially when they're done right, like this was).
This book was like a slice of life handed to me with a drizzle of the imaginative on top, and I really, really enjoyed it.
This book was like a slice of life handed to me with a drizzle of the imaginative on top, and I really, really enjoyed it.
August 11, 2017
Jskfkfjagkdssticjed
Ugh.
Ok so before I start, thanks to Raincoast Books for providing me an eARC of this book to review. All opinions are my own.
So I didn't know what to expect from the synopsis of this book. Actually, that's a lie. I thought I was getting a gripping thriller about a girl who saves her kidnapped friend.
WRONG!
This book was about doomsday preppers.
Now, this is not the sort of book I would have picked up normally. And I know why.
Aside from the ridiculous idea of the 'Madagascar Plague' this book had an annoying main character and none of the supporting characters were remotely interesting, except maybe Peter.
I just felt like some of the scenes were written sloppily and could have be changed to make more sense.
I almost DNF'd a couple times, which is why I gave a lower review.
The cover is gorgeous, but don't let it fool you!
Ugh.
Ok so before I start, thanks to Raincoast Books for providing me an eARC of this book to review. All opinions are my own.
So I didn't know what to expect from the synopsis of this book. Actually, that's a lie. I thought I was getting a gripping thriller about a girl who saves her kidnapped friend.
WRONG!
This book was about doomsday preppers.
Now, this is not the sort of book I would have picked up normally. And I know why.
Aside from the ridiculous idea of the 'Madagascar Plague' this book had an annoying main character and none of the supporting characters were remotely interesting, except maybe Peter.
I just felt like some of the scenes were written sloppily and could have be changed to make more sense.
I almost DNF'd a couple times, which is why I gave a lower review.
The cover is gorgeous, but don't let it fool you!
March 2, 2018
Daisy Cruz is used to her best friend Henry skipping school for unnecessary sick days. What she isn't used to is Henry not answering her texts and his entire family disappearing without notice.
At first Daisy thinks maybe is has something to do with their last awkward encounter. But the longer Henry is missing, the more Daisy worries--especially when she finds a note on Henry's desk that says "Save Me." Was it a sudden relocation because of witness protection? An alien abduction? Something even less plausible? Could it have something to do with all of her classmates that are getting sick?
Following Henry's trail leads Daisy into California's wilderness and straight to Henry's (and his family's) biggest secret in The Last Place on Earth (2016) by Carol Snow.
The Last Place on Earth is a strange little book where the mystery surrounding a missing friend quickly morphs into a story about a plague, survival, doomsday preppers, and a really awkward first kiss.
Heavy-handed exposition and erratic pacing unfortunately dilute the overall impact of an otherwise suspenseful and surprising story.
Daisy is an enterprising and sincere narrator as her search for Henry moves in unexpected directions.Her humor and the "will they or won't they" romance she has with Henry keeps the plot moving and adds heart to this unusual story.
The Last Place on Earth is has short chapters and numerous plot twists that make it ideal for reluctant readers and middle grade readers looking to transition into YA titles. An excellent choice for fans of survival stories and post-apocalyptic tales as well as readers who prefer their romances sweet and comfortably PG.
Possible Pairings: Emmy & Oliver by Robin Benway, No Parking at the End Times by Bryan Bliss, Vivian Apple at the End of the World by Katie Coyle, The Distance Between Lost and Found by Kathryn Holmes, Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson, Starters by Lissa Price, Catch & Release by Blythe Woolston
*An advance copy of this title was acquired from the publisher for review consideration*
You can find this review and more on my blog Miss Print
At first Daisy thinks maybe is has something to do with their last awkward encounter. But the longer Henry is missing, the more Daisy worries--especially when she finds a note on Henry's desk that says "Save Me." Was it a sudden relocation because of witness protection? An alien abduction? Something even less plausible? Could it have something to do with all of her classmates that are getting sick?
Following Henry's trail leads Daisy into California's wilderness and straight to Henry's (and his family's) biggest secret in The Last Place on Earth (2016) by Carol Snow.
The Last Place on Earth is a strange little book where the mystery surrounding a missing friend quickly morphs into a story about a plague, survival, doomsday preppers, and a really awkward first kiss.
Heavy-handed exposition and erratic pacing unfortunately dilute the overall impact of an otherwise suspenseful and surprising story.
Daisy is an enterprising and sincere narrator as her search for Henry moves in unexpected directions.Her humor and the "will they or won't they" romance she has with Henry keeps the plot moving and adds heart to this unusual story.
The Last Place on Earth is has short chapters and numerous plot twists that make it ideal for reluctant readers and middle grade readers looking to transition into YA titles. An excellent choice for fans of survival stories and post-apocalyptic tales as well as readers who prefer their romances sweet and comfortably PG.
Possible Pairings: Emmy & Oliver by Robin Benway, No Parking at the End Times by Bryan Bliss, Vivian Apple at the End of the World by Katie Coyle, The Distance Between Lost and Found by Kathryn Holmes, Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson, Starters by Lissa Price, Catch & Release by Blythe Woolston
*An advance copy of this title was acquired from the publisher for review consideration*
You can find this review and more on my blog Miss Print
April 25, 2017
The cover art is beautiful, however the story was a big miss.
I didn't feel or see any chemistry between Daisy and Henry, as friends or something more. I hated all the parents in this book. They were all mean and unpleasant. I didn't even know Kyle liked Daisy until he wanted to make her a blanket, and then all of a sudden kissed her.
I wasn't expecting a quarantine type of story, and I almost wish this went in a different direction. I'm all about apocalypses and stuff like the too, but this story was just horrible.
I enjoyed the mystery at first. The shooting star society, that I'm still not sure was even a real thing? To where Henry went and then Gwen. But once she found Henry it all went down hill from there.
I feel like this story could've been so much better. Way better.
I didn't feel or see any chemistry between Daisy and Henry, as friends or something more. I hated all the parents in this book. They were all mean and unpleasant. I didn't even know Kyle liked Daisy until he wanted to make her a blanket, and then all of a sudden kissed her.
I wasn't expecting a quarantine type of story, and I almost wish this went in a different direction. I'm all about apocalypses and stuff like the too, but this story was just horrible.
I enjoyed the mystery at first. The shooting star society, that I'm still not sure was even a real thing? To where Henry went and then Gwen. But once she found Henry it all went down hill from there.
I feel like this story could've been so much better. Way better.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 3, 2022
What s useless book.
October 12, 2020
Typically American teenage novel; Imaginative and full of potential that sadly, did not deliver
I enjoy the occasional light and crappy read, you know... something that doesn't require much brainpower? I was in the mood for a short but sweet novel, easy to ready and sure enough, The Last Place on Earth is most definitely all of the above.
It started off really captivating; from the first chapter I was flying through the story and it's pretty unrelatable and stereotypical cast of characters that consists of 'not your typical' teenage friends: Daisy who is 'edgy', and as the author most obviously points out that is she not like all the gossipy and girly girls of the school... you know, that kind of wanna-be cool and moody type of YA girl? Henry, on the other hand, has been pulled straight out of a John Green book and If I'm honest, it is the sort of coupling you can find everywhere in the contemporary market. We also a variety of side characters from Henry's strict and slightly deluded parents to Daisy and Peter's (her lazy gamer- yet somewhat likeable brother) care-free single mother; who fails to parent 99% of the story and a bunch of other less than interesting characters that the story could have easily done without.
To make this review short, I was less than impressed when the story finally reached its mystery. I am extremely underwhelmed, disappointed- to say the least and I ended up skipping through chunks of pages for the last half of the book because what kind of boring twist was that?? Anyway, it's an interesting concept for a small part in a sci-fi/dystopian novel, but c'om, I fell for the whole 'aliens' idea in the blurb and that's definitely what was I hoping for!
I'm giving the first half of the book 3 stars and the last half 1 star, so I've settled on a fairly generous two stars considering my extreme disappointment.
I enjoy the occasional light and crappy read, you know... something that doesn't require much brainpower? I was in the mood for a short but sweet novel, easy to ready and sure enough, The Last Place on Earth is most definitely all of the above.
It started off really captivating; from the first chapter I was flying through the story and it's pretty unrelatable and stereotypical cast of characters that consists of 'not your typical' teenage friends: Daisy who is 'edgy', and as the author most obviously points out that is she not like all the gossipy and girly girls of the school... you know, that kind of wanna-be cool and moody type of YA girl? Henry, on the other hand, has been pulled straight out of a John Green book and If I'm honest, it is the sort of coupling you can find everywhere in the contemporary market. We also a variety of side characters from Henry's strict and slightly deluded parents to Daisy and Peter's (her lazy gamer- yet somewhat likeable brother) care-free single mother; who fails to parent 99% of the story and a bunch of other less than interesting characters that the story could have easily done without.
To make this review short, I was less than impressed when the story finally reached its mystery. I am extremely underwhelmed, disappointed- to say the least and I ended up skipping through chunks of pages for the last half of the book because what kind of boring twist was that?? Anyway, it's an interesting concept for a small part in a sci-fi/dystopian novel, but c'om, I fell for the whole 'aliens' idea in the blurb and that's definitely what was I hoping for!
I'm giving the first half of the book 3 stars and the last half 1 star, so I've settled on a fairly generous two stars considering my extreme disappointment.
December 23, 2016
What in the world did I just read? What was the point of that? What was the goal? What was the message? There were like five different ways the story could have gone and actually Done Something with the setup, but instead it veered off the path, sputtered, and died in the grass. Geez Louise. Also, my child, you can do SO MUCH BETTER than Henry. Up your standards, girl.
November 1, 2018
To start, can we just take a look at this cover? I picked this up for myself as a little present for being accepted into university, and it was definitely a cover buy. But it actually didn't disappoint - at least not completely!
This book is definitely a page-turner. It's so quick and easy, I read it in a matter of hours and I never really read that quickly! It's quite enthralling and entertaining, and I did really want to know what was going to happen in the rambling plot. Talking of the plot, it started really well. The first 50-100 pages completely captured my attention, and then things get strange. In fact, this book turns weirdddd. And I'm a little weird, but it might even be weirder than me. It just turned into something I wasn't ready for, or expecting at all.
So this book ends up being just completely absurd. Without giving away a lot of spoilers, it felt incredibly strange and random and I was left almost laughing with the pure anti-realism of it all. It's cool that Snow wanted to explore something unique and not really covered in YA, and in some ways I think it's done really well, but also what what what.
Talking of weirdness, this book also includes a family called the Dunkles. This family has 7 children with names all beginning with K and they were, of course, home schooled. Can I just confirm, as someone who was home schooled for 6 years, WE ARE NOT THE DUNKLES. Some of us are actually pretty normal, and live in normal houses with normal, conventional families. And personally, I don't want my home schooling years to be represented by the Dunkles.
After all that negativity, I still can't say this book was bad. If you take it at face value and don't expect a great work of literature or a masterpiece, it's really entertaining. Sure, there are mistakes and plot holes and it's certainly not perfect, but it's a fun adventure all the same.
★★★★
3.5 stars
-Beth
May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽
This book is definitely a page-turner. It's so quick and easy, I read it in a matter of hours and I never really read that quickly! It's quite enthralling and entertaining, and I did really want to know what was going to happen in the rambling plot. Talking of the plot, it started really well. The first 50-100 pages completely captured my attention, and then things get strange. In fact, this book turns weirdddd. And I'm a little weird, but it might even be weirder than me. It just turned into something I wasn't ready for, or expecting at all.
So this book ends up being just completely absurd. Without giving away a lot of spoilers, it felt incredibly strange and random and I was left almost laughing with the pure anti-realism of it all. It's cool that Snow wanted to explore something unique and not really covered in YA, and in some ways I think it's done really well, but also what what what.
Talking of weirdness, this book also includes a family called the Dunkles. This family has 7 children with names all beginning with K and they were, of course, home schooled. Can I just confirm, as someone who was home schooled for 6 years, WE ARE NOT THE DUNKLES. Some of us are actually pretty normal, and live in normal houses with normal, conventional families. And personally, I don't want my home schooling years to be represented by the Dunkles.
After all that negativity, I still can't say this book was bad. If you take it at face value and don't expect a great work of literature or a masterpiece, it's really entertaining. Sure, there are mistakes and plot holes and it's certainly not perfect, but it's a fun adventure all the same.
★★★★
3.5 stars
-Beth
May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽
November 2, 2019
It was okay. It touched on some good issues (class, race, intersectionality, etc), but went through them all too fast. I also REALLY hated the love interest. If Daisy didn't want to be romantically involved with him, she shouldn't have been so mad about him dating other people? Are these real feelings that people have? I thought it would've been much more interesting if she ACTUALLY didn't care and found some other love interest, or not found a love interest at all. The whole she-loves-him-but-doesn't-see-it-but-he-knows-best kinda plays into the whole "she wanted it but didn't know it" narrative, which is all kinds of mess. Also also, there was so much horrifying stuff going on which Daisy would cry about and the characters would be like "oh you cry so much" which kinda ruined the actual horrifyingness of it. Like are we not supposed to care about dead people? What? I felt like there was a lot of message but no impact.
February 21, 2024
I read this book a while ago and I really enjoyed it. I stayed up until three a.m. just turning page after page. I read this book during the whole 2020 Quarantine and the virus that is plaguing the world in this book literally sounded like Covid-19. It kind of freaked me out. But this was a good book. It ended kind of oddly, but it was good. Worth a read.
August 1, 2017
I'm going to end up talking about the plot in this review, which I actually can't do without spoilers. The thing is that the summary of the book doesn't even tell you what it's really about. So while technically, my review will have spoilers, I do believe that readers should know what the book is really about. Proceed with caution.
I've seen a lot of reviews upset about the direction the book went in. I read these reviews before getting the book, so I knew exactly what I was getting into. It was actually the reason why I was interested in the book, but I understand why many people would feel deceived, thinking they were getting a mystery but instead getting a...
Somewhat apocalyptic book about preppers.
It's true that the story is about a girl named Daisy trying to find out what happened to her missing friend Henry at first, but about halfway through, she does find him and the book changes into another genre. Henry's parents (which you find out from the beginning of the book, were always strange and paranoid) were preppers, convinced that the "end was near". They have an unfinished home waiting for them in the middle of the mountains, that they share with a few other families. These families noticed that a deadly virus was spreading, and left society before it could collapse.
It's difficult to review this book. It wasn't exactly boring, but I struggled to find the point in it all. Daisy trying to find Henry in the beginning seemed to drag a bit, but I understand why it took so long, since she had to start with basically no clues at all. My favorite part of the book, Daisy's brother Peter, was absent for the majority of the second half, so that was disappointing to me. I loved Peter's "I just don't care" attitude, and I also loved the bond he had with Daisy. They felt like true siblings that bickered and loved each other.
While I loved Peter almost immediately, it took time for Daisy to grow on me. She just came across as very young and silly. But the more I thought back to my own teenage years, I realized I was like that as well in some instances. She definitely came across as a real teenager, but perhaps a bit too naive. She definitely had a personality and wasn't bland, which is a big plus.
Daisy is best friends with Henry, and it's a shame we didn't get to see more of Henry in this novel. Even when Daisy finds him, he's more or less gone and we don't get to know him much in the scenes that he's in because Daisy is (rightfully) upset with him. Daisy's friendship-changing-to-crush seemed kind of random as well. I could tell that Henry had a crush on her, but I never got the same feeling for Daisy. All her thoughts of him are simply 'friendly' and then a random moment of her getting jealous would be thrown in. Then she would go back to feeling like he was 'just a friend' again. Her feelings for him seemed sudden.
That's not to say that there is a lot of romance in this book, because there's not. In fact, there's none, which I appreciated. In a time where the characters are worried about surviving and what state the world is in, romance isn't the main focus. Daisy was much more focused on her mom and brother, who were out in society with a deadly virus. I liked this about her, her family always came first and never left her mind. This was made clear in the end when
However, along with her naivety, what also bothered me about her is that Daisy could do nothing right. I understand that she is inexperienced in most things, but everything she did to help the prepper community went wrong. She failed at everything and never seemed to catch on or learn anything. She was essentially useless. I would have liked some character growth here, or Daisy taking more of an initiative to do things right once she learned that the virus was real.
The other characters were okay. They were introduced all at once, which made it difficult for me to follow who was who. There was also the Dunkle family (think of the Duggars) who had a bunch of kids whose names started with the letter "K". This made it extremely difficult to connect a personality and appearance to a name. Some of these Dunkel kids were hardly in the sorry, but they were all given names, so when they would appear, it just left me even more confused. Just when I was starting to get to know the characters, they left the story.
I enjoyed that Daisy had a female friendship with one of the children that contained no jealousy. The friend she makes (Kristen? Kirsten?) loves makeup and doings nice things with her hair and there is no "ugh, what a typical girl that only cares about her appearance" comment from Daisy at all. Daisy befriends this girl despite the fact that they might not have the exact same interests and despite her crazy family. There isn't judgement, and instead Daisy wishes these girls could fulfill their dreams that their family is keeping them from. She thinks about them with worry after they .
I mentioned earlier that the book felt like it didn't have a point. That is because despite the situation, Daisy doesn't seem to learn much. Even though there was a super-deadly virus, Was the point meant to be that Daisy and Henry because that was not the focus of the book at all. I wanted more of an impact from this journey that Daisy took.
One reason I feel I didn't get this impact was because of the writing. It's very juvenile, which makes sense because of Daisy's age and immaturity, but dampens any kind of punch this novel could have had. There's a lot of humorous parts but not enough seriousness for a novel where a catastrophe is taking place. Daisy often thinks about random, silly things that I don't feel would go through her mind and makes ridiculous decisions (). There are also times when Daisy seems to be talking directly to the reader, which threw me for a bit. This tactic is okay if it is used consistently, but instead, it would randomly pop up after being absent for chapters on end. It didn't fit, nor flow with the rest of the narrative.
I have to end this review with venting about the extreme overuse of parentheses. I know I use them in reviews, and they can be affective in writing, but they were used way too much in this book. Often at times, the text in the parentheses were used to point out the obvious, other than to give us helpful information. I ended up groaning every time I saw them. I've noticed this author does this in every one of her books, which bothers me even more. I understand if it was just something that came with the character of Daisy, but the fact that it is used in every book makes me unwilling to pick up other books by her, even one that I currently have on my bookshelf.
This book would have been a two star rating, as I was growing increasingly frustrated with it, but the redeeming qualities of Daisy having a solid female friendship and her care for her family over romance bumped it up to a three. I'd say that if someone went into this story knowing about the prepper/virus plotline, and if it wouldn't bother them that the book reads for a younger audience without any real suspense, then to give it a try.
I've seen a lot of reviews upset about the direction the book went in. I read these reviews before getting the book, so I knew exactly what I was getting into. It was actually the reason why I was interested in the book, but I understand why many people would feel deceived, thinking they were getting a mystery but instead getting a...
Somewhat apocalyptic book about preppers.
It's true that the story is about a girl named Daisy trying to find out what happened to her missing friend Henry at first, but about halfway through, she does find him and the book changes into another genre. Henry's parents (which you find out from the beginning of the book, were always strange and paranoid) were preppers, convinced that the "end was near". They have an unfinished home waiting for them in the middle of the mountains, that they share with a few other families. These families noticed that a deadly virus was spreading, and left society before it could collapse.
It's difficult to review this book. It wasn't exactly boring, but I struggled to find the point in it all. Daisy trying to find Henry in the beginning seemed to drag a bit, but I understand why it took so long, since she had to start with basically no clues at all. My favorite part of the book, Daisy's brother Peter, was absent for the majority of the second half, so that was disappointing to me. I loved Peter's "I just don't care" attitude, and I also loved the bond he had with Daisy. They felt like true siblings that bickered and loved each other.
While I loved Peter almost immediately, it took time for Daisy to grow on me. She just came across as very young and silly. But the more I thought back to my own teenage years, I realized I was like that as well in some instances. She definitely came across as a real teenager, but perhaps a bit too naive. She definitely had a personality and wasn't bland, which is a big plus.
Daisy is best friends with Henry, and it's a shame we didn't get to see more of Henry in this novel. Even when Daisy finds him, he's more or less gone and we don't get to know him much in the scenes that he's in because Daisy is (rightfully) upset with him. Daisy's friendship-changing-to-crush seemed kind of random as well. I could tell that Henry had a crush on her, but I never got the same feeling for Daisy. All her thoughts of him are simply 'friendly' and then a random moment of her getting jealous would be thrown in. Then she would go back to feeling like he was 'just a friend' again. Her feelings for him seemed sudden.
That's not to say that there is a lot of romance in this book, because there's not. In fact, there's none, which I appreciated. In a time where the characters are worried about surviving and what state the world is in, romance isn't the main focus. Daisy was much more focused on her mom and brother, who were out in society with a deadly virus. I liked this about her, her family always came first and never left her mind. This was made clear in the end when
However, along with her naivety, what also bothered me about her is that Daisy could do nothing right. I understand that she is inexperienced in most things, but everything she did to help the prepper community went wrong. She failed at everything and never seemed to catch on or learn anything. She was essentially useless. I would have liked some character growth here, or Daisy taking more of an initiative to do things right once she learned that the virus was real.
The other characters were okay. They were introduced all at once, which made it difficult for me to follow who was who. There was also the Dunkle family (think of the Duggars) who had a bunch of kids whose names started with the letter "K". This made it extremely difficult to connect a personality and appearance to a name. Some of these Dunkel kids were hardly in the sorry, but they were all given names, so when they would appear, it just left me even more confused. Just when I was starting to get to know the characters, they left the story.
I enjoyed that Daisy had a female friendship with one of the children that contained no jealousy. The friend she makes (Kristen? Kirsten?) loves makeup and doings nice things with her hair and there is no "ugh, what a typical girl that only cares about her appearance" comment from Daisy at all. Daisy befriends this girl despite the fact that they might not have the exact same interests and despite her crazy family. There isn't judgement, and instead Daisy wishes these girls could fulfill their dreams that their family is keeping them from. She thinks about them with worry after they .
I mentioned earlier that the book felt like it didn't have a point. That is because despite the situation, Daisy doesn't seem to learn much. Even though there was a super-deadly virus, Was the point meant to be that Daisy and Henry because that was not the focus of the book at all. I wanted more of an impact from this journey that Daisy took.
One reason I feel I didn't get this impact was because of the writing. It's very juvenile, which makes sense because of Daisy's age and immaturity, but dampens any kind of punch this novel could have had. There's a lot of humorous parts but not enough seriousness for a novel where a catastrophe is taking place. Daisy often thinks about random, silly things that I don't feel would go through her mind and makes ridiculous decisions (). There are also times when Daisy seems to be talking directly to the reader, which threw me for a bit. This tactic is okay if it is used consistently, but instead, it would randomly pop up after being absent for chapters on end. It didn't fit, nor flow with the rest of the narrative.
I have to end this review with venting about the extreme overuse of parentheses. I know I use them in reviews, and they can be affective in writing, but they were used way too much in this book. Often at times, the text in the parentheses were used to point out the obvious, other than to give us helpful information. I ended up groaning every time I saw them. I've noticed this author does this in every one of her books, which bothers me even more. I understand if it was just something that came with the character of Daisy, but the fact that it is used in every book makes me unwilling to pick up other books by her, even one that I currently have on my bookshelf.
This book would have been a two star rating, as I was growing increasingly frustrated with it, but the redeeming qualities of Daisy having a solid female friendship and her care for her family over romance bumped it up to a three. I'd say that if someone went into this story knowing about the prepper/virus plotline, and if it wouldn't bother them that the book reads for a younger audience without any real suspense, then to give it a try.
December 1, 2017
I dove into this book and didn’t come up for air until I hit the very end, closing the book with a satisfication that I hadn’t done in an age. While there were books that I had liked here and there, there hasn’t been one that I really *clicked* with, and this book did it for me. It was all about surviving out in the wild, a trope that I really love, and learning how to get on after the fall of humanity. I saw where this book was going when the first few classmates that Daisy had started sick, but it was still an unexpected twist at the end. I liked Henry, I liked Kyle, and Karessa, and Kirsten was awesome. I liked Mrs. Hawking, and Daisy’s mother, and Peter. The characters were all identifiable. The situation was something that I believe fully possible, though I didn’t believe the solution to the epidemic was correct.
This is a book about “preppers”, families who go out into the wild to survive against any kind of ‘fall of humanity’ type of situation, anything from the zombie apocalypse to the buobonic plague. It’s all very fascinating, and some of it read like a horror novel as well, which was a bonus to me. Daisy spent most of the book searching for her best friend Henry, who mysteriously disappears. After breaking into his home to see if he left any clues (he did, a note that reads “save me”), she goes on a quest to find him. As she searches for him, there are all kinds of various survival situations. I was disappointed this wasn’t an “alien invasion” type book, but it still was one of my favorites. I believe fans of “The Fifth Wave” by Rick Yancy would really enjoy this book, it echoes that world very strongly.
The Last Place on Earth is going to be one of those books that lingers long after I read it, and I’m happy to say that it’s also helped shove me out of my reading slump that I’ve been in lately. I’ve read this one, and immediately after that I’ve read a handful of others as well that will soon have reviews posted at some point in time.
Five stars!
This is a book about “preppers”, families who go out into the wild to survive against any kind of ‘fall of humanity’ type of situation, anything from the zombie apocalypse to the buobonic plague. It’s all very fascinating, and some of it read like a horror novel as well, which was a bonus to me. Daisy spent most of the book searching for her best friend Henry, who mysteriously disappears. After breaking into his home to see if he left any clues (he did, a note that reads “save me”), she goes on a quest to find him. As she searches for him, there are all kinds of various survival situations. I was disappointed this wasn’t an “alien invasion” type book, but it still was one of my favorites. I believe fans of “The Fifth Wave” by Rick Yancy would really enjoy this book, it echoes that world very strongly.
The Last Place on Earth is going to be one of those books that lingers long after I read it, and I’m happy to say that it’s also helped shove me out of my reading slump that I’ve been in lately. I’ve read this one, and immediately after that I’ve read a handful of others as well that will soon have reviews posted at some point in time.
Five stars!
July 26, 2016
I'm going back and forth between giving this three stars or four stars, and I'm thinking I'll give it four to offset all the two and three star reviews for the book.
The problem with this book is that it is essentially two stories in one, and the one you read in the blurb is only the first half. I wouldn't take the novel at face value; if anything, I would say there is a good chance someone will underestimate how much there is to this.
With that being said, it's a slow moving novel. It's character driven and has very little in the way of outside conflict. I would even go so far as to say that even though there is a rather large influencing factor surrounding our characters, that event takes a backseat to the relationships between everyone. I can't reveal too much without spoiling what the big event is in the book, but suffice to say that I couldn't care less about it. I was much more focused on the relationship between Henry and Daisy. It was one of the first times in a while that a budding relationship actually seemed realistic, complete with misunderstandings and miscommunication and resentment.
I enjoyed it quite a bit. Quite a bit more than I thought I would, truth be told. This is the perfect book for younger YA readers and I think it'll find its niche.
The problem with this book is that it is essentially two stories in one, and the one you read in the blurb is only the first half. I wouldn't take the novel at face value; if anything, I would say there is a good chance someone will underestimate how much there is to this.
With that being said, it's a slow moving novel. It's character driven and has very little in the way of outside conflict. I would even go so far as to say that even though there is a rather large influencing factor surrounding our characters, that event takes a backseat to the relationships between everyone. I can't reveal too much without spoiling what the big event is in the book, but suffice to say that I couldn't care less about it. I was much more focused on the relationship between Henry and Daisy. It was one of the first times in a while that a budding relationship actually seemed realistic, complete with misunderstandings and miscommunication and resentment.
I enjoyed it quite a bit. Quite a bit more than I thought I would, truth be told. This is the perfect book for younger YA readers and I think it'll find its niche.
August 25, 2016
First of all, I absolutely like the cover. It's so beautiful. Now to the review, I liked this book, but that's about it. I liked what a quick read it was, and I liked how different it was. Usually, when there's a book dealing with these kinds of situations, the usual protagonist is in the midst of things, but in this book, you have the protagonist not in the middle of the problems, but away. You don't get much on the panic in the cities and how most people are surviving. Instead, you get the protagonist surviving away from the mess, which I really liked. It changes the story from dystopian and makes it more real. I also liked the conflicted families which also makes it more real because you don't get that we're-all-in-this-together vibe even though they try to make it work. So this book was good. It was a quick read and I enjoyed it.
February 13, 2017
Wel the prologue was misleading. This isn't about her finding Henry, it's about what happens when she does.
So Henry's family are crazy preppers and they believe the end of the world is coming. At first I thought they had lost their dang minds and were overreacting, but turned out they weren't completely wrong. There is a plague.
The story revolves around what happens after Daisy joins joins them at their "bugout" camp.
The Dunklers are a family that was supposed to be getting this home ready. Imagine the Duggers but batcrap crazy. I felt so bad for these kids. They honestly thought Daisy would be having Meth withdrawals and that she was pregnant when she didn't feel well because she goes to public school and that's how everyone is. Not to mention they then kidnap her to be their babysitter!
Honestly Daisy was the only one in the whole story I liked.
So Henry's family are crazy preppers and they believe the end of the world is coming. At first I thought they had lost their dang minds and were overreacting, but turned out they weren't completely wrong. There is a plague.
The story revolves around what happens after Daisy joins joins them at their "bugout" camp.
The Dunklers are a family that was supposed to be getting this home ready. Imagine the Duggers but batcrap crazy. I felt so bad for these kids. They honestly thought Daisy would be having Meth withdrawals and that she was pregnant when she didn't feel well because she goes to public school and that's how everyone is. Not to mention they then kidnap her to be their babysitter!
Honestly Daisy was the only one in the whole story I liked.
July 30, 2016
When I read MS and YA books, I do so with the mindset of will my students like the book and read it all the way to the end.
Even though I didn't like everything about the book, I think middle school readers will like it.
There is plenty of mystery and suspense. I think the story drug a bit after Daisy reaches the compound and realizes what is going on. The adults and the twins were totally unlikeable. I thought they were too big to still be in diapers. And where did the diapers come from, dispose able? Surely they weren't washing cloth diapers in the cold creek water.
I was hoping that the families turned out to be just doomsdayers and as Daisy kept commenting, what if nothing is happening out there and we are living in the wilderness for nothing.
Even though I didn't like everything about the book, I think middle school readers will like it.
There is plenty of mystery and suspense. I think the story drug a bit after Daisy reaches the compound and realizes what is going on. The adults and the twins were totally unlikeable. I thought they were too big to still be in diapers. And where did the diapers come from, dispose able? Surely they weren't washing cloth diapers in the cold creek water.
I was hoping that the families turned out to be just doomsdayers and as Daisy kept commenting, what if nothing is happening out there and we are living in the wilderness for nothing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 21, 2019
Daisy is your average everyday girl who knows something is up when her best friend, Henry goes missing. So she does pretty much everything she can to find him and eventually she does. The novel took a turn I wasn’t expecting when it turned out it wasn’t a sci-if with alien invasions but rather an action adventure with some interesting plot points. This books gets for stars because although I enjoyed it overall their was some moments that I was extremely bored: including but not limited to:
A whole chapter of a truth or dare game
Daisy constantly making unfunny jokes
2 whole pages about peeling potatoes
A whole chapter of a truth or dare game
Daisy constantly making unfunny jokes
2 whole pages about peeling potatoes
August 15, 2017
I like the PREMISE of this book, and I even liked the ending. I just wish she had done it in a way that it didn't feel like a waste of my time by the time I got to the end.
I liked the main character, but the main dude I found especially annoying, along with the creepy side characters who didn't get nearly enough fleshing out, imo. This could have been so great! Instead I was left feeling like it was half-baked. What a bummer. I might give her writing another try though, because I did like the premise and ending and it wasn't boring.
I liked the main character, but the main dude I found especially annoying, along with the creepy side characters who didn't get nearly enough fleshing out, imo. This could have been so great! Instead I was left feeling like it was half-baked. What a bummer. I might give her writing another try though, because I did like the premise and ending and it wasn't boring.
December 21, 2015
It's not going to get better. I award this book the "MOST BORING BOOK OF 2015" award. An implausible premise tops it off. The writing is fine but not special, but it's going nowhere fast and I am officially DNFing on page 108. This one is pretty awful.
May 25, 2019
Two and a half stars. Vague spoilers, I guess. It's important to myself that I point out in reviews where I go the idea to read the book or where I picked it up, and the format of the book if it deviates from the normal library book or paperback. This--could have easily been placed on hold for two reasons: I was reading different fiction stories about cults, or I saw this on someone's TBR in my Goodreads feed. I want to say it's both and they occurred around the same time, but I can't for certain. I do remember thinking, "Oh, this person is interested in fictional cult stories? Oh, no, they just like YA friend stories, which I think are fantastic as a genre as well, and maybe they would like my favorite book." And I didn't get around to recommending it to them. Yeah, that's--yeah. Okay, solved. Onward.
The first half of this book is a character study. While the writing was vivid, I was indifferent but not bored enough to put it down. As stuff kept repeating, I realized idly I was missing something and was slowly disliking the book. Then, around page two hundred, this book gets a plot really fast. The book jacket makes this seem like a missing kid story. It is not--it's about kids whose parents forced them to become doomsday preppers.
I suddenly paid close attention and was annoyed that two totally different plots had been yoked together. I didn't fully understand until I finished the book and pouted at its unimpressive cover, and then it hit me: readers need to go through the whole character study of the first two hundred pages in order to fully understand the second half of the book. It's all there. The way Snow writes is brilliant, and I didn't see it at first at all. Why the excessive, over-the-top mentions of bubonic plague? Because people get sick with one on a massive scale. Why the weird, controlling, cult-member parents? Because they force their kids to join a tiny one with every intention of--yeah. Why all the odd focus on family? (Original snide remark redacted). And because it was a buildup to demonstrate just how creepy the Dunkle family was. One thing I really liked in this book was how the families all were from different socioeconomic backgrounds and just wound up squabbling about every little thing. That's what would happen in real life: you sit there bored, annoyed, and sad and scared during a plague, and things fall apart as you all bring out the worst in one another.
The Dunkle family naming conventions: they could easily point to certain characterization considering all their first names start with K. That noted, um, my dad's siblings and he all have first names starting with K and middle name starting with D. My late grandfather's first name starts with K, and my late grandmother's name started with D, so I smiled a little in recognition. And yeah, I might frown if it were made fun of. Plus there's a name that's been passed down for four generations in my family, and my siblings and I agreed awhile ago we'd continue it if able. So, I noticed all that in the book and was all, Daisy, stop making fun of their names.
The Dunkle family from the very start made me uneasy, although I couldn't explain why. Every time Kyle popped up, I felt like I needed a shower. And he kept showing up and getting creepier and creepier, and I wanted to scream in fear. Still couldn't explain why! Then his behavior hit the peak that it did and I wanted to vomit. I was grateful to myself for being creeped out the entire time, even if I couldn't tell why at first. And one of his sisters sighs about how it's such a cute little romance. NO, CREEPY CULT DAUGHTER, NO. I liked how the daughter who had wanted to go to a mainstream high school was characterized, and how little actions she took were really subtle foreshadowing. At first, I thought her characterization was just to lighten an increasingly dark story, but no, Snow's ability for foreshadowing is amazing. Every time Daisy hit her head in the morning and the littlest sister was all, "Watch your head," I smiled a little. Some of the interactions and quips had me laughing, even.
I think the ending was rushed and also bland. I was annoyed. I fully admit to being aware that I'm not the intended audience for this book, and I was expecting more than I got in some ways. Snow's writing skill makes me definitely curious about other projects of hers, and I do wonder if she's written anything for adults. I'm eager to find out..
The first half of this book is a character study. While the writing was vivid, I was indifferent but not bored enough to put it down. As stuff kept repeating, I realized idly I was missing something and was slowly disliking the book. Then, around page two hundred, this book gets a plot really fast. The book jacket makes this seem like a missing kid story. It is not--it's about kids whose parents forced them to become doomsday preppers.
I suddenly paid close attention and was annoyed that two totally different plots had been yoked together. I didn't fully understand until I finished the book and pouted at its unimpressive cover, and then it hit me: readers need to go through the whole character study of the first two hundred pages in order to fully understand the second half of the book. It's all there. The way Snow writes is brilliant, and I didn't see it at first at all. Why the excessive, over-the-top mentions of bubonic plague? Because people get sick with one on a massive scale. Why the weird, controlling, cult-member parents? Because they force their kids to join a tiny one with every intention of--yeah. Why all the odd focus on family? (Original snide remark redacted). And because it was a buildup to demonstrate just how creepy the Dunkle family was. One thing I really liked in this book was how the families all were from different socioeconomic backgrounds and just wound up squabbling about every little thing. That's what would happen in real life: you sit there bored, annoyed, and sad and scared during a plague, and things fall apart as you all bring out the worst in one another.
The Dunkle family naming conventions: they could easily point to certain characterization considering all their first names start with K. That noted, um, my dad's siblings and he all have first names starting with K and middle name starting with D. My late grandfather's first name starts with K, and my late grandmother's name started with D, so I smiled a little in recognition. And yeah, I might frown if it were made fun of. Plus there's a name that's been passed down for four generations in my family, and my siblings and I agreed awhile ago we'd continue it if able. So, I noticed all that in the book and was all, Daisy, stop making fun of their names.
The Dunkle family from the very start made me uneasy, although I couldn't explain why. Every time Kyle popped up, I felt like I needed a shower. And he kept showing up and getting creepier and creepier, and I wanted to scream in fear. Still couldn't explain why! Then his behavior hit the peak that it did and I wanted to vomit. I was grateful to myself for being creeped out the entire time, even if I couldn't tell why at first. And one of his sisters sighs about how it's such a cute little romance. NO, CREEPY CULT DAUGHTER, NO. I liked how the daughter who had wanted to go to a mainstream high school was characterized, and how little actions she took were really subtle foreshadowing. At first, I thought her characterization was just to lighten an increasingly dark story, but no, Snow's ability for foreshadowing is amazing. Every time Daisy hit her head in the morning and the littlest sister was all, "Watch your head," I smiled a little. Some of the interactions and quips had me laughing, even.
I think the ending was rushed and also bland. I was annoyed. I fully admit to being aware that I'm not the intended audience for this book, and I was expecting more than I got in some ways. Snow's writing skill makes me definitely curious about other projects of hers, and I do wonder if she's written anything for adults. I'm eager to find out..
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 5, 2019
Daisy's best friend is missing . . . and not for the reasons she thinks.
Henry Hawking is sixteen years old, brilliant, funny, and sly--and now he's missing. But no one seems worried except his best friend, Daisy Cruz, who knows that Henry's security-obsessed parents would never leave town without taking proper precautions. And Henry would never go away without saying good-bye.
Daisy considers all the obvious explanations for Henry's disappearance (federal witness protection program, alien abduction) before breaking into Henry's house. In his room, she finds a note that pleads, SAVE ME.
Desperate to find Henry, Daisy follows his trail deep into the California wilderness. What she finds there makes her wonder if she ever knew Henry at all . . . and if the world as she knows it will ever be the same.
Just from the description i taught this was going to be a good read. Daisy seemed like a good character and the writing wasn't that bad, well until I found out why Henry was missing. But lets save that for later. Unto the stuff i did like.
I really liked the fact that the author described the clothing Daisy was wearing, i don't know why but for some reason i really like it when authors describe clothing🤷♀️
Daisy seemed like she wasn't going to be that stereotypical YA female character, and she wasn't, not really at least until she found Henry...once she found Henry she turned into every other YA female, i'm not sure how to describe it but sometimes in books when the girl gets a boyfriend (haha spoiler alert) she suddenly becomes a random shell of a human.
None of the characters were memorable, (literately two seconds after i was done reading the book i forgot the characters names) she refereed to two characters as ''the twins" and gave them no individual personality. The only characters that it seemed the authors spent time with was Henry and Daisy which was quite sad because they didn't have much either.
And the whole thing of why Henry and some other people where hiding underground was for some reason disappointing. I mean you'd think the Madagascar plague would be interesting, but it just wasn't, it fell short of my expectations, because honestly it just seemed like people where being Paranoid. And yes another spoiler alert some people did die, but basically everyone around the main characters was safe. And that really bothered me, the main character had no baggage, no losses, and no tragedy's. I mean i'm not saying you have to make your characters life into a funereal but please give them something to make the reader care about they're existence. I think the author could have tried harder with this book and i really wish she would have.
Henry Hawking is sixteen years old, brilliant, funny, and sly--and now he's missing. But no one seems worried except his best friend, Daisy Cruz, who knows that Henry's security-obsessed parents would never leave town without taking proper precautions. And Henry would never go away without saying good-bye.
Daisy considers all the obvious explanations for Henry's disappearance (federal witness protection program, alien abduction) before breaking into Henry's house. In his room, she finds a note that pleads, SAVE ME.
Desperate to find Henry, Daisy follows his trail deep into the California wilderness. What she finds there makes her wonder if she ever knew Henry at all . . . and if the world as she knows it will ever be the same.
Just from the description i taught this was going to be a good read. Daisy seemed like a good character and the writing wasn't that bad, well until I found out why Henry was missing. But lets save that for later. Unto the stuff i did like.
I really liked the fact that the author described the clothing Daisy was wearing, i don't know why but for some reason i really like it when authors describe clothing🤷♀️
Daisy seemed like she wasn't going to be that stereotypical YA female character, and she wasn't, not really at least until she found Henry...once she found Henry she turned into every other YA female, i'm not sure how to describe it but sometimes in books when the girl gets a boyfriend (haha spoiler alert) she suddenly becomes a random shell of a human.
None of the characters were memorable, (literately two seconds after i was done reading the book i forgot the characters names) she refereed to two characters as ''the twins" and gave them no individual personality. The only characters that it seemed the authors spent time with was Henry and Daisy which was quite sad because they didn't have much either.
And the whole thing of why Henry and some other people where hiding underground was for some reason disappointing. I mean you'd think the Madagascar plague would be interesting, but it just wasn't, it fell short of my expectations, because honestly it just seemed like people where being Paranoid. And yes another spoiler alert some people did die, but basically everyone around the main characters was safe. And that really bothered me, the main character had no baggage, no losses, and no tragedy's. I mean i'm not saying you have to make your characters life into a funereal but please give them something to make the reader care about they're existence. I think the author could have tried harder with this book and i really wish she would have.
August 15, 2025
Well. Reading this in 2025 was certainly an experience. It was such an experience that the realism of the events affected my review, actually.
This is a great book for people who like slow builds of tension, mysteries, teenagers trying to survive, and all the emotional angst of growing up in a difficult place/time.
I liked the protagonist as a person. Daisy is able to seem like a real kid straight out of 2016, with all the associated awkwardness and cringiness of growing up, without it seeming too “LOL RANDOM,” the way some authors try to write awkward teens. The way her relationship with Henry was explained felt refreshing, there was something of a romantic subplot between them, but it felt realistic and natural for a pair of teenagers to question how they liked each other and where they wanted it to go.
I liked how some sympathy was extended to the Dunkle kids, who, let’s be real, didn’t ask to be in this situation any more than Daisy. Like they have their issues, but they’re people, too. And it’s not their fault their parents suck.
The way terror/anxiety was built as we approached the thing that is definitely a spoiler was pretty well-done. As someone who’s lived through that kind of massive event (and as someone ho’s presuming you’ve lived through it, too, because we all kind of did) it was remarkably similar to my actual experience. My only problem with it was how everything resolved so neatly. Yes, it was a disaster, but it was wrapped up way faster than any of this works in real life. But this book came out in 2016 (or at least the edition I was reading) so I’ll give that a pass.
I was not a fan of how Daisy acted when she first got to the woods. This feels a little like a spoiler, but I’m not going into detail, I’m only saying she got a little too naively hopeful for a character who I assume is 16-17. By that point, I would’ve been freaking out, as would most characters who aren’t super-tough and battle-scarred. It might’ve been intended to read like she was so nervous it was turning into optimism, but I still didn’t really like that.
There were also a few scenes that made me uncomfortable, but I don’t think that was the intention— for example, there’s a part with underage drinking where nobody seems to think it’s out of place at all, not even Daisy, who grew up very differently from the other characters and seems to have reservations about that kind of thing. But I guess that’s what to expect when TSHTF!
I’d give this 4.5 stars, rounding down because I round up a little too often.
This is a great book for people who like slow builds of tension, mysteries, teenagers trying to survive, and all the emotional angst of growing up in a difficult place/time.
I liked the protagonist as a person. Daisy is able to seem like a real kid straight out of 2016, with all the associated awkwardness and cringiness of growing up, without it seeming too “LOL RANDOM,” the way some authors try to write awkward teens. The way her relationship with Henry was explained felt refreshing, there was something of a romantic subplot between them, but it felt realistic and natural for a pair of teenagers to question how they liked each other and where they wanted it to go.
I liked how some sympathy was extended to the Dunkle kids, who, let’s be real, didn’t ask to be in this situation any more than Daisy. Like they have their issues, but they’re people, too. And it’s not their fault their parents suck.
The way terror/anxiety was built as we approached the thing that is definitely a spoiler was pretty well-done. As someone who’s lived through that kind of massive event (and as someone ho’s presuming you’ve lived through it, too, because we all kind of did) it was remarkably similar to my actual experience. My only problem with it was how everything resolved so neatly. Yes, it was a disaster, but it was wrapped up way faster than any of this works in real life. But this book came out in 2016 (or at least the edition I was reading) so I’ll give that a pass.
I was not a fan of how Daisy acted when she first got to the woods. This feels a little like a spoiler, but I’m not going into detail, I’m only saying she got a little too naively hopeful for a character who I assume is 16-17. By that point, I would’ve been freaking out, as would most characters who aren’t super-tough and battle-scarred. It might’ve been intended to read like she was so nervous it was turning into optimism, but I still didn’t really like that.
There were also a few scenes that made me uncomfortable, but I don’t think that was the intention— for example, there’s a part with underage drinking where nobody seems to think it’s out of place at all, not even Daisy, who grew up very differently from the other characters and seems to have reservations about that kind of thing. But I guess that’s what to expect when TSHTF!
I’d give this 4.5 stars, rounding down because I round up a little too often.
September 27, 2021
What is this book all about??!! Leaving earth? Marikh as the new home? Alien abduction? a cult? Zombie apocalypse prevention? Up until - nearly - half of the book I'm still wondering and exciting to know what this suspicious secret - of missing people - all about!
I love this book. The language are so simple to understand and I'm - as a non-english speaker - easy to imagine every situations that described by the author.
I'm having fun reading this. Daisy do have sense of humor and She is the best narrator I've ever read. I imagine Daisy as person that funny with poker faced from the way she's thinking, talking (judging) to herself about something (or someone), or even when she's chating with anybody else.
I also like Peter. He's - I think - not the same with any other brothers in this world (at least my world). He's cute (I know cause his sister think he is, and that's unusual), he's clean (his room clean and he has body spray) and I remember he's quite well on responding to his sister (that he's not the type of annoying brother). No wonder Peter is Henry's role model.
So, this book is about surviving disturbance that reading this book in 2021 makes me think that we all can relate to the "outside world" of this survival community. Turn me speechless - more to impressed - how this 2016's book can go all accurate about what happen to this past years - 2019 until now.
Moral values shows in this book such how important your family, how selfish can harm your emotions, how scary in believing false or uncurtained informations from media and many more.
Overall it's an exciting, adventures and page turner book!
I love this book. The language are so simple to understand and I'm - as a non-english speaker - easy to imagine every situations that described by the author.
I'm having fun reading this. Daisy do have sense of humor and She is the best narrator I've ever read. I imagine Daisy as person that funny with poker faced from the way she's thinking, talking (judging) to herself about something (or someone), or even when she's chating with anybody else.
I also like Peter. He's - I think - not the same with any other brothers in this world (at least my world). He's cute (I know cause his sister think he is, and that's unusual), he's clean (his room clean and he has body spray) and I remember he's quite well on responding to his sister (that he's not the type of annoying brother). No wonder Peter is Henry's role model.
So, this book is about surviving disturbance that reading this book in 2021 makes me think that we all can relate to the "outside world" of this survival community. Turn me speechless - more to impressed - how this 2016's book can go all accurate about what happen to this past years - 2019 until now.
Moral values shows in this book such how important your family, how selfish can harm your emotions, how scary in believing false or uncurtained informations from media and many more.
Overall it's an exciting, adventures and page turner book!
May 9, 2017
Well.......... WHAT THE HECK?!??!?!? The summary of this book is:
"Henry Hawking is 16 years old, brilliant, funny, and sly-and now he's gone.... In his room, she finds a note that pleads, SAVE ME. Desperate to find Henry, Daisy follow his trail deep into the California wilderness. What she finds there makes her wonder if she ever knew Henry at all... and if her world will ever be the same."
After reading this summary, I falsely believed this book would be quite good. I was expecting maybe a mystery, maybe a bit of horror thrown in. Well, I got that for the first maybe quarter of the book and then things just... well......... everything was just terrible then. The story was going quite well and then, out of the blue the plot completely changed!!!!!!!!!! SPOLIER: Daisy randomly finds Henry and the world is ending. The plot change was so abrupt, it literally went from an interesting mystery to some random kids' fantasy book. IT MADE NO SENSE!!!!! There were so many things that just randomly happened without any warning at all, it made me want to BURN THE BOOK! Ugh!!!! I could write an essay with every random thing that happened in this book. Well....... In the end, I was INCREDIBLY dissapointed by this book, and I reccomed this book to ABSOLUTELY NO ONE!!!!!!!!
"Henry Hawking is 16 years old, brilliant, funny, and sly-and now he's gone.... In his room, she finds a note that pleads, SAVE ME. Desperate to find Henry, Daisy follow his trail deep into the California wilderness. What she finds there makes her wonder if she ever knew Henry at all... and if her world will ever be the same."
After reading this summary, I falsely believed this book would be quite good. I was expecting maybe a mystery, maybe a bit of horror thrown in. Well, I got that for the first maybe quarter of the book and then things just... well......... everything was just terrible then. The story was going quite well and then, out of the blue the plot completely changed!!!!!!!!!! SPOLIER: Daisy randomly finds Henry and the world is ending. The plot change was so abrupt, it literally went from an interesting mystery to some random kids' fantasy book. IT MADE NO SENSE!!!!! There were so many things that just randomly happened without any warning at all, it made me want to BURN THE BOOK! Ugh!!!! I could write an essay with every random thing that happened in this book. Well....... In the end, I was INCREDIBLY dissapointed by this book, and I reccomed this book to ABSOLUTELY NO ONE!!!!!!!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 28, 2018
My review would be similar to other reviews here. Tried to keep it ambiguous and spoiler free.
So friend goes missing, and main character goes on an adventure to find them. It sounds great, and it was, for that bit. Once she finds something, or rather, it finds her, the book takes it's strange turn. Some of the other reviewers have labeled it as having an identity crisis. I can definitely agree with this.
So the story then goes on in this new location, but it's really bland and it's as if the author lost sight of where they wanted to to take it and how to end the book. It just kinda meanders on through these daily tasks and oddball occurrences in what could be labeled as an outdoor survival experience and loses steam really fast.
Overall, it wasn't a gripping read for me. I didn't see any problems with the writing, I just didn't attach to the characters, and the relationships she had with the guys were really creepy when you looked at them from an outside perspective.
So friend goes missing, and main character goes on an adventure to find them. It sounds great, and it was, for that bit. Once she finds something, or rather, it finds her, the book takes it's strange turn. Some of the other reviewers have labeled it as having an identity crisis. I can definitely agree with this.
So the story then goes on in this new location, but it's really bland and it's as if the author lost sight of where they wanted to to take it and how to end the book. It just kinda meanders on through these daily tasks and oddball occurrences in what could be labeled as an outdoor survival experience and loses steam really fast.
Overall, it wasn't a gripping read for me. I didn't see any problems with the writing, I just didn't attach to the characters, and the relationships she had with the guys were really creepy when you looked at them from an outside perspective.
March 5, 2022
This book was so disappointing the first time I read it. You think it’s going to be this cool story about a kidnapping plot and then it lets you down by becoming a doomsday prepping book.
In the acknowledgments the author writes that she had ”no idea whatsoever where the plot was headed” and it really shows. The ending feels like such a cop out. Aspirin was the cure? Aspirin?!?
I don’t even want to get into the way excessive detail ruins the flow. A friend pointed it out and then I couldn’t stop seeing it. We absolutely had to know that she eats frozen burritos every night? Then it had to be brought up every other chapter?
Maybe I’m just being a hater, but I just really didn’t like this book. I was pissed when I first read it back in 2016 and I’m still pissed rereading it now.
In the acknowledgments the author writes that she had ”no idea whatsoever where the plot was headed” and it really shows. The ending feels like such a cop out. Aspirin was the cure? Aspirin?!?
I don’t even want to get into the way excessive detail ruins the flow. A friend pointed it out and then I couldn’t stop seeing it. We absolutely had to know that she eats frozen burritos every night? Then it had to be brought up every other chapter?
Maybe I’m just being a hater, but I just really didn’t like this book. I was pissed when I first read it back in 2016 and I’m still pissed rereading it now.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 3, 2022
How I mean HOW could the writer predict (Nostradamus-esque) what exactly happened on 2020 planet earth (well we still having the effect till today)?! It was just mind-blowing! I mean the book is published in 2016 🤯
This book is simple, 300 pages story about survival group with a twist. BUT the details of what happened there, is so RELATABLE!
I mean if I read this before the pandemic, I might just gave this 3 stars since the story is just a fiction, an Ok for me, a bit unthibkable, BUT since I luckily found and decided to read this book after 2020 and in the time of Corona Pandemic, man.. No one is laughing or think that this is unthinkable.
So I would highly suggest for people to read this book. This is good!
This book is simple, 300 pages story about survival group with a twist. BUT the details of what happened there, is so RELATABLE!
I mean if I read this before the pandemic, I might just gave this 3 stars since the story is just a fiction, an Ok for me, a bit unthibkable, BUT since I luckily found and decided to read this book after 2020 and in the time of Corona Pandemic, man.. No one is laughing or think that this is unthinkable.
So I would highly suggest for people to read this book. This is good!
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