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The Last Girl Scout
The past lies like a nightmare over the world.Two hundred years after the War when atomic fire rained from the skies and burned the world to cinders, human civilization has had time to rebuild within the burned-out husk of Old America. But the old terrors of the past still persist, and while some work to build a better world, others still dream of reclaiming the glory of the Old World.In southern Appalachia, political commissar Magnolia Blackadder is sent on a mission into the irradiated Exclusion Zone of Old DC, where an evil that humanity thought it had vanquished centuries ago is waking up and rebuilding its strength. Along the way, she meets a strange woman with terrible secrets and an unspeakable past, and as they forge a bond and brave the terrors of the wasteland together, she learns that some demons are not so easily exorcised, and that some stones are better left unturned. In this her debut novel, award-winning author Natalie Ironside delivers a new vision of the post-apocalypse, a tale of adventure, terror, love, and that most basic and most powerful of all human desires: Freedom.
564 pages, Paperback
First published November 2, 2020
95 people are currently reading
1414 people want to read
About the author
Natalie Ironside
3 books60 followersNatalie Ironside was born in Warren County, Mississippi in the early 1990s and still hasn't gotten over it. She primarily writes speculative fiction.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews
April 2, 2021
I loved this book - as brutal and violent as the narrative is, there's a powerful sense of hope and survival throughout. It's very much Trump-era literature - as LGBTQIA+ folks, we have been screwed over by the system, and Found Families and Fighting Back Against Fascism are the best remedy.
Librarian-style recommendation to adults with enough emotional spoons to handle fictional, apocalypse-style atrocities, but also to folks who need a good F Yeah, Trans* Protagonists Falling In Love cheer. If you've read the God Eaters, you should read the Last Girl Scout.
Librarian-style recommendation to adults with enough emotional spoons to handle fictional, apocalypse-style atrocities, but also to folks who need a good F Yeah, Trans* Protagonists Falling In Love cheer. If you've read the God Eaters, you should read the Last Girl Scout.
July 15, 2021
I don't want to be too cruel here; obviously different standards do apply to self-published novels, but The Last Girl Scout also suffers from all of the issues self-published novels stereotypically suffer from, particularly when it comes to the dialogue.
One thing that can be said for it is that it's a very personal book—I knew very little about Ironside when I started it, but by the time I finished, I could have written the bio at the end myself. The flip-side of this is that almost every character in it is basically a carbon copy of (some major aspect of) Ironside, and that a lot of it is protesting way, way too much.
The story itself is pretty thin—it has (American) communists fighting fascists and vampires and zombies but it doesn't do anything especially interesting or unexpected with them. It also has (non-deliberately) off-putting sex scenes and references to sexual violence and a bit at the end where and a bit after that where and it's all put together in a way that would lead a certain kind of reviewer to describe it as being a trans narrative about coming to terms with trauma, but it isn't really—it's just pretty flat wish-fulfilment.
If you're trans and a recent, still pretty reactionary convert to communism who isn't yet embarrassed by people making the aesthetic the entirety of their personality and you can look past the dialogue, you may be able to get into that wish-fulfilment vicariously yourself. As self-published novels go, though, The Last Girl Scout, though clearly a labour of love, isn't exactly the diamond-in-the-rough its following led me to expect it to be.
One thing that can be said for it is that it's a very personal book—I knew very little about Ironside when I started it, but by the time I finished, I could have written the bio at the end myself. The flip-side of this is that almost every character in it is basically a carbon copy of (some major aspect of) Ironside, and that a lot of it is protesting way, way too much.
The story itself is pretty thin—it has (American) communists fighting fascists and vampires and zombies but it doesn't do anything especially interesting or unexpected with them. It also has (non-deliberately) off-putting sex scenes and references to sexual violence and a bit at the end where and a bit after that where and it's all put together in a way that would lead a certain kind of reviewer to describe it as being a trans narrative about coming to terms with trauma, but it isn't really—it's just pretty flat wish-fulfilment.
If you're trans and a recent, still pretty reactionary convert to communism who isn't yet embarrassed by people making the aesthetic the entirety of their personality and you can look past the dialogue, you may be able to get into that wish-fulfilment vicariously yourself. As self-published novels go, though, The Last Girl Scout, though clearly a labour of love, isn't exactly the diamond-in-the-rough its following led me to expect it to be.
December 28, 2020
The dialogue in this book is atrocious, and the relationships are so artificial and contrived that they were unbearable.
July 17, 2023
Sapphic post-apocalypse with two trans women leads, by a trans woman. I loved the hell out of this debut novel in large part because of something that a few other reviewers have disliked: the dialogue. There are stretches where Ironside isn’t using dialogue to mimic an actual human conversation. She’s using it to lavish the female characters (trans and otherwise) with what they genuinely need: to share their story with someone who is truly listening, or to hear what they desperately need to hear from someone who really cares about their healing. I thought it was a wonderful example of how not all art has to follow the exact same form.
Also, at 500+ pages with two distinct story arcs, you basically get two books in one, and there’s a lot of punching Nazis in both. Win.
CW: Extensive discussions of sexual trauma and other violence, during the healing process.
Also, at 500+ pages with two distinct story arcs, you basically get two books in one, and there’s a lot of punching Nazis in both. Win.
CW: Extensive discussions of sexual trauma and other violence, during the healing process.
November 17, 2020
very very good read. I laughed a lot, and cried even more. it was definitely emotionally challenging. I would only recommend reading it if you're already in a healthy mental place, the content warning at the beginning was no joke. my only real criticism is sometimes it was hard to tell who was speaking during conversations. despite pushing 600 pages it flowed super well and I got through it in a couple days, being unable to put it down.
September 6, 2021
This fucking ruled. It’s two hundred years after a mid-21st century nuclear war! Some shit is still fucked — heavily nuked areas are still radioactive and have “roamers,” zombies more or less, products of biowar weapons, roaming around — but civilization has rebuilt in some areas. One such is the Ashland Confederated Republic, a communist federation of survivors in Kentucky, Tennessee, and parts south (until you get to the “exclusion zones” around nuked-out Birmingham and Atlanta… I guess they didn’t bother with Nashville? It’s ok). Across the Ohio River they face off with the Blacklands New Republic, a white supremacist fascist state. You might wonder why survivors of an apocalypse would, a hundred years later, decide to take up early twentieth century ideologies, complete with trappings (the Ashlanders still debate about Trotsky; the fascists have Arditi and often use Italian or German phrases). Well, post-apocalyptic (or generally futuristic) atavism has been a thing in scifi forever, with monarchies, feudalism, the Wild West, and god knows what else coming back after the bombs fall- so why not ideological struggle circa 1937? I dig it!
Natalie Ironside, an IWW organizer, doesn’t mess around, and her main character, Magnolia “Mags” Blackadder, is a commissar, the supposed avatar of communist evil. But this is a state where communism works, more or less, and the commissars are there to ensure the rights of soldiers (keeping those pesky officers in line) and in general be kind of wandering Jedi of the revolution. Mags is young, her family got all fucked up in a famine, she’s a transwoman, and she lives for her work- advancing the Revolution and fighting fascists. She’s sent on an impossible mission- crack The Citadel. Deep in the “Exclusion Zone” in the Acela Corridor, the Citadel shines bright with the sort of technological salvage the communes could really use to up their automation game and advance towards utopia. It also shines with menace- few who have tried to take the Citadel have ever come back. Except for Ohio Nazis (“I fucking hate Ohio Nazis”)- they’re going to the Citadel and coming back. It’s ominous.
First, of course, Mags needs to gather a team. There’s the Prof, her old professor at the academy who knows Old American tech. There’s Connor, whose wife was horribly killed by a vampire (there’s vampires) last time out to the Citadel. There’s TJ, who they kind of pick up at an anarchist bar along the way, but they seem cool? And most importantly, there’s Jules. Jules is a renegade fascist Arditi, a transwoman and survivor of harrowing abuse at the hands of her former co-fascists. She labors under a crushing weight of trauma and guilt. She and Mags meet up and it’s love at first sight. They talk trauma and fuck all the way from the anarchist zone of the communist state (there’s some amusing insults back and forth between anarchists and communists but they work together in the crunch) in the Appalachians to the Baltimore suburbs where the Citadel waits.
There’s a few different kinds of action in the book and Ironside handles them all with aplomb. There’s a lot of fights, both “unbalanced” horror-style violence — her vampires are genuinely scary — and action-movie style fights dealing with unfriendly bandits and fascists. There’s also a lot of emotional relationship talk! Having read a lot of military science fiction due to Reasons lately, I’ve read a lot of both lately — your military scifi always has dudes thinking about love — and I think Ironside ranks with the best of them at military action and beats them all hollow on the relationship stuff. She comes out of the fanfiction scene and this is self-published, and if I’m being honest I think it could have benefited from professional editing — it gets repetitive — but not at the cost of Ironside’s style (hell, you ever listen to people talk relationships? Or politics? It’s repetitive!). It works quite well as stands.
There’s so much more, even in the first part, that I can’t give due consideration to — a friendly early 2000s hipster girl vampire (kind of a Marceline type)! Kaiserine/Nazi vampire experiments brought stateside by Operation Paperclip AND involving a gay WWI vampire romance that goes bad because one vampire becomes a Nazi and the other a Communist! A fascist prison camp/bordello for transwomen! Terrible revenge! Tac nukes! — and it’s just a hell of a lot of fun.
And then there’s the second part! If I’m being honest I think this could have been a separate book. It’s rare when I want more of a novel, but I wanted more of this one. After the Ohio fascist plan revolving around the Citadel goes up in smoke, the fash say “yolo” and try to bulldog the Ohio River anyway, just as a meeting of the Soviets is happening! The Soviets are doing the math and are realizing — except for some lame Stalinoid class reductionists — that they need to take these fash sons of bitches down. They can’t coexist. They’re expanding in the west against the Indigenious portions of the Republic. Who knows when they’ll find some other superweapon? They can’t do “force against force” — there’s more people in the fertile Ohio farmland than in the rocky Appalachia soil — but they can subvert the fash from beneath (which I like because it’s the fascists’ straight up worse nightmare). But the fash strike first! Mags, Jules, a new lover of theirs, and some of the rest of the old crew are sent into enemy territory to help light up the kindling under the fash’s asses.
This is also overstuffed with cool shit — fash vampire long-range raids to take out artillery! Guerrilla action! Inter-fash political bullshit! Commie spies using their control over the illicit cigarette and coffee trade to smuggle arms to the gay underground in fash cities! Forgiveness and revenge! More emotions talk! — to the point where, like I said, I would’ve liked to see it as its own big book. But it’s cool as is.
If I hazard a criticism beyond the editing/structure, I’d say that in the action, she could use to vary up the patterns of setback and victory a little. Ironside has made clear that she is not telling stories of dystopia, even with all the terrible shit that happens in the book and it’s background, she is telling stories of hope. We can build back better, together- we can be who we are and find love and peace. That’s cool! I would say it creates a pattern wherein we are frontloaded with tragedy — setbacks in the action and revelations of terrible trauma for the characters — and backloaded with victories. That’s fine as a first-level pattern. The victories feel earned. But I think she could heighten the tension and drama by having more setbacks and more contradictions — in the process of achieving victory —. She’s got the characters with depth for it, and the knowledge; clearly, she knows her stuff about politics, war (something tells me she’s followed the news out of Syria), ecology, etc. But, hell, when she wrote a book this fun, she can do her own thing. It’s been a long time since I “geeked out” over fiction, but here I am. *****
Natalie Ironside, an IWW organizer, doesn’t mess around, and her main character, Magnolia “Mags” Blackadder, is a commissar, the supposed avatar of communist evil. But this is a state where communism works, more or less, and the commissars are there to ensure the rights of soldiers (keeping those pesky officers in line) and in general be kind of wandering Jedi of the revolution. Mags is young, her family got all fucked up in a famine, she’s a transwoman, and she lives for her work- advancing the Revolution and fighting fascists. She’s sent on an impossible mission- crack The Citadel. Deep in the “Exclusion Zone” in the Acela Corridor, the Citadel shines bright with the sort of technological salvage the communes could really use to up their automation game and advance towards utopia. It also shines with menace- few who have tried to take the Citadel have ever come back. Except for Ohio Nazis (“I fucking hate Ohio Nazis”)- they’re going to the Citadel and coming back. It’s ominous.
First, of course, Mags needs to gather a team. There’s the Prof, her old professor at the academy who knows Old American tech. There’s Connor, whose wife was horribly killed by a vampire (there’s vampires) last time out to the Citadel. There’s TJ, who they kind of pick up at an anarchist bar along the way, but they seem cool? And most importantly, there’s Jules. Jules is a renegade fascist Arditi, a transwoman and survivor of harrowing abuse at the hands of her former co-fascists. She labors under a crushing weight of trauma and guilt. She and Mags meet up and it’s love at first sight. They talk trauma and fuck all the way from the anarchist zone of the communist state (there’s some amusing insults back and forth between anarchists and communists but they work together in the crunch) in the Appalachians to the Baltimore suburbs where the Citadel waits.
There’s a few different kinds of action in the book and Ironside handles them all with aplomb. There’s a lot of fights, both “unbalanced” horror-style violence — her vampires are genuinely scary — and action-movie style fights dealing with unfriendly bandits and fascists. There’s also a lot of emotional relationship talk! Having read a lot of military science fiction due to Reasons lately, I’ve read a lot of both lately — your military scifi always has dudes thinking about love — and I think Ironside ranks with the best of them at military action and beats them all hollow on the relationship stuff. She comes out of the fanfiction scene and this is self-published, and if I’m being honest I think it could have benefited from professional editing — it gets repetitive — but not at the cost of Ironside’s style (hell, you ever listen to people talk relationships? Or politics? It’s repetitive!). It works quite well as stands.
There’s so much more, even in the first part, that I can’t give due consideration to — a friendly early 2000s hipster girl vampire (kind of a Marceline type)! Kaiserine/Nazi vampire experiments brought stateside by Operation Paperclip AND involving a gay WWI vampire romance that goes bad because one vampire becomes a Nazi and the other a Communist! A fascist prison camp/bordello for transwomen! Terrible revenge! Tac nukes! — and it’s just a hell of a lot of fun.
And then there’s the second part! If I’m being honest I think this could have been a separate book. It’s rare when I want more of a novel, but I wanted more of this one. After the Ohio fascist plan revolving around the Citadel goes up in smoke, the fash say “yolo” and try to bulldog the Ohio River anyway, just as a meeting of the Soviets is happening! The Soviets are doing the math and are realizing — except for some lame Stalinoid class reductionists — that they need to take these fash sons of bitches down. They can’t coexist. They’re expanding in the west against the Indigenious portions of the Republic. Who knows when they’ll find some other superweapon? They can’t do “force against force” — there’s more people in the fertile Ohio farmland than in the rocky Appalachia soil — but they can subvert the fash from beneath (which I like because it’s the fascists’ straight up worse nightmare). But the fash strike first! Mags, Jules, a new lover of theirs, and some of the rest of the old crew are sent into enemy territory to help light up the kindling under the fash’s asses.
This is also overstuffed with cool shit — fash vampire long-range raids to take out artillery! Guerrilla action! Inter-fash political bullshit! Commie spies using their control over the illicit cigarette and coffee trade to smuggle arms to the gay underground in fash cities! Forgiveness and revenge! More emotions talk! — to the point where, like I said, I would’ve liked to see it as its own big book. But it’s cool as is.
If I hazard a criticism beyond the editing/structure, I’d say that in the action, she could use to vary up the patterns of setback and victory a little. Ironside has made clear that she is not telling stories of dystopia, even with all the terrible shit that happens in the book and it’s background, she is telling stories of hope. We can build back better, together- we can be who we are and find love and peace. That’s cool! I would say it creates a pattern wherein we are frontloaded with tragedy — setbacks in the action and revelations of terrible trauma for the characters — and backloaded with victories. That’s fine as a first-level pattern. The victories feel earned. But I think she could heighten the tension and drama by having more setbacks and more contradictions — in the process of achieving victory —. She’s got the characters with depth for it, and the knowledge; clearly, she knows her stuff about politics, war (something tells me she’s followed the news out of Syria), ecology, etc. But, hell, when she wrote a book this fun, she can do her own thing. It’s been a long time since I “geeked out” over fiction, but here I am. *****
April 5, 2022
I’ve followed Natalie Ironside on Tumblr for a couple years now, because, idunno, I have no rhyme or reason for why I follow people on Tumblr. So I knew about The Last Girl Scout well before it was published. But I really only pushed it up my to-read list when real live people that I know not from the internet also started reading it and said it was very good.
And it is. It is extremely fun. It is about a bunch of militant communists and anarchists killing Nazis in a post-apocalyptic wasteland where there are zombies and vampires and stuff. And also talking about their feelings and arguing about Lenin. There’s lots of jokes and swearing and blowing stuff up. There are a lot of trans characters, including both our protagonists–Mags, a political commissar in the Ashland Confederated Republic, and Jules, an ex-Arditi with lots of unfortunate tattoos–and one of the major villains in the second half (Natasha Wenden, an Arditi military doctor, foil for Jules and a not particularly subtle example of why doing the oppressors’ dirty work for them to keep yourself safe will always have an expiration date).
As a self-published book it could have used another round of at least copy edits; as much as I would have loved to see a more polished version of this that had gone through the whole process of professional-level attention, I do not think that a book this explicitly Bolsheviksy would get bought by a mainstream publisher without a certain amount of ~toning it down~, and the total lack of toning it down is a big part of what made it so enjoyable. It’s satisfyingly indulgent for a somewhat niche audience of leftist queerdos whomst have actually spent time trying to do a left unity and fight fascists–the reds and the blacks bicker good-naturedly but always manage to work together without major mishap; the Nazis have superior numbers but are both stupid and overconfident, and have a tendency to defect. Some helpful vampires appear out of nowhere. An entire U.S. military base gets nuked. Jules gets a kickass motorcycle. Mags sings John Brown’s Body and everyone claps. Just good clean fun all around.
Originally posted at Good old-fashion Nazi fightin', zombie apocalypse edition.
And it is. It is extremely fun. It is about a bunch of militant communists and anarchists killing Nazis in a post-apocalyptic wasteland where there are zombies and vampires and stuff. And also talking about their feelings and arguing about Lenin. There’s lots of jokes and swearing and blowing stuff up. There are a lot of trans characters, including both our protagonists–Mags, a political commissar in the Ashland Confederated Republic, and Jules, an ex-Arditi with lots of unfortunate tattoos–and one of the major villains in the second half (Natasha Wenden, an Arditi military doctor, foil for Jules and a not particularly subtle example of why doing the oppressors’ dirty work for them to keep yourself safe will always have an expiration date).
As a self-published book it could have used another round of at least copy edits; as much as I would have loved to see a more polished version of this that had gone through the whole process of professional-level attention, I do not think that a book this explicitly Bolsheviksy would get bought by a mainstream publisher without a certain amount of ~toning it down~, and the total lack of toning it down is a big part of what made it so enjoyable. It’s satisfyingly indulgent for a somewhat niche audience of leftist queerdos whomst have actually spent time trying to do a left unity and fight fascists–the reds and the blacks bicker good-naturedly but always manage to work together without major mishap; the Nazis have superior numbers but are both stupid and overconfident, and have a tendency to defect. Some helpful vampires appear out of nowhere. An entire U.S. military base gets nuked. Jules gets a kickass motorcycle. Mags sings John Brown’s Body and everyone claps. Just good clean fun all around.
Originally posted at Good old-fashion Nazi fightin', zombie apocalypse edition.
March 4, 2024
Tldr: loved it, was written for me, trans women sniping fascists in the post apocalypse.
I very much enjoyed this post apocalyptic work, both kind and brutal, smart and dumb (affectionate). The world has fallen, shattered to nuclear glass. But humanity survived, the world is slowly being rebuilt, but what future do we see when we're busy surviving? People have bound together into bands, collections, towns and now cities. And with cities come politics. Politics borne on the ideology of those who already hold power. One side grew along unions and socialist ideals, the other fell face first into fascism. This is a terrifying and yet hopeful look at the post apocalypse, a merciful destruction of fascist talking points. Merciful in that they're not machines, robotic villains, but banal, evil people. They can be won over to the right side, because a fascist society sucks for most of the people in it - they just need to see it. Some can't be saved, especially the ones at the top, but an effort can be made when they're disarmed and out of power.
The book have a few flaws; part one is an action adventure while part two is more of a political journey with a much wider scope. I think it works but it felt a little off before I got into it. A few spelling and typesetting errors. Sometimes it goes on a little long with expository dialogue, but there's a lot to set up about this world.
All in all, this was written for me. A journey to fight fascism with both bullets and bread, lead by two kick ass trans women and their queer friends. I'm looking forward to seeing what Natalie Ironside will bring next, and if she wants to return to this world.
I very much enjoyed this post apocalyptic work, both kind and brutal, smart and dumb (affectionate). The world has fallen, shattered to nuclear glass. But humanity survived, the world is slowly being rebuilt, but what future do we see when we're busy surviving? People have bound together into bands, collections, towns and now cities. And with cities come politics. Politics borne on the ideology of those who already hold power. One side grew along unions and socialist ideals, the other fell face first into fascism. This is a terrifying and yet hopeful look at the post apocalypse, a merciful destruction of fascist talking points. Merciful in that they're not machines, robotic villains, but banal, evil people. They can be won over to the right side, because a fascist society sucks for most of the people in it - they just need to see it. Some can't be saved, especially the ones at the top, but an effort can be made when they're disarmed and out of power.
The book have a few flaws; part one is an action adventure while part two is more of a political journey with a much wider scope. I think it works but it felt a little off before I got into it. A few spelling and typesetting errors. Sometimes it goes on a little long with expository dialogue, but there's a lot to set up about this world.
All in all, this was written for me. A journey to fight fascism with both bullets and bread, lead by two kick ass trans women and their queer friends. I'm looking forward to seeing what Natalie Ironside will bring next, and if she wants to return to this world.
May 29, 2023
What a weird, unrefined, wonderful little gem. The Pros & Cons of Anarchism & Communism, featuring one of fiction's greatest One True Pairings. What more could I possibly want? Neurodiversity rep, basically, to go along with this Sapphic Anarcho-Commie T4T Apocalypse Adventure ft. Zombies & Vampires & Radiation!
Read
May 7, 2021If "literally anarcho-communist zombie/vampire queer af post-apocalyptic war story" sounds appealing, this is the one book for you. Very (very!) chatty but still fun.
dnf
March 22, 2025DNF at 14% (73 pages). The story starts strong, but around 50 pages, it takes a turn in storytelling where it's primarily told through the conversations the characters are having. Honestly, I was bored.
I do believe that the author is talented - like I said, I enjoyed the first couple of chapters - this particular setup just wasn't for me.
I do believe that the author is talented - like I said, I enjoyed the first couple of chapters - this particular setup just wasn't for me.
November 22, 2020
Very literally the best book I've read in years.
May 15, 2022
I would not recommend this book. The plot is confusing, the characters are badly developed and I did not care for any of them. I prefer character driven books in general but a good plot can often save a book with badly written characters for me. But when the plot is as poorly constructed as the characters are, there is really no reason to go on. I forced myself to continue reading because we picked this is a book club book but it was a real struggle for me. The only upside in this dumpster fire of a narrative is the LGBTQ+ rep which is at the centre of the story. But even scenes where trans characters were mocked and abused by other characters didn’t evoke any emotion or caring in me because the whole thing was just so badly written. I’m kind of sorry to leave such a harsh review but I really want to save people from picking this up. This is maybe the worst book I ever read and I really have a hard time understanding the positive reviews on here.
October 20, 2022
Please mind the content warnings (mine and others') on this book: it's trauma-ful in many ways.
A solid 4, but definitely not a 5 for me. The book is great and recommended just as a breath of fresh air: it's unrepentantly queer, unrepentantly trans-centered, and unrepentantly communist, and that is not something we see at all anywhere else. The book itself is heavier on characters and worldbuilding and catharsis than it is on plot, really. The first half of the book is ostensibly a heist, introducing the world and characters, generating a problem, gathering a group to go deal with the problem, and then (very, kind of improbably simply) dealing with the problem. The second half of the book is basically a different novella dealing with a larger set of problems that come after the first half, and again it spends a lot of time worldbuilding and reuniting characters (there is a lot of space devoted to going to, negotiating at, and speaking to a communist General Assembly, for instance) and spends a relatively short amount of time dealing with the actual war toward the end.
The one star comes off because some of the plot-liteness did leave the book feeling (for all its length and charm and gritty details) kind of light-weight. The tension is built up but then dealt with relatively quickly . Also, the characters' conversations often seemed to drag on. I lost count of how many times, on-page, Jules had to tell her terrible backstory in roughly the same way, over and over, to different people, just because the author didn't seem to want to cut away or summarize. The book also suffered a tad from everyone on the good side talking like therapists and being excruciatingly respectful of each other in exactly the same way throughout - it's nice wish-fulfillment to see someone accepted, despite their terrible backstory, over and over, but from a reader standpoint, it just felt repetitive. Also, just as in many other books, I felt like it was really either dumb or improbable how the characters fell in love/in bed with someone they'd met like that day. But, that's me. There's also the usual editing fails of typos and characters occasionally saying the same thing in rapid succession, but eh, I didn't mind that much: this is a massive book to publish yourself.
These are all obviously stylistic decisions, where the author was doing what they wanted with the book and nothing more, and I can respect that.
A solid 4, but definitely not a 5 for me. The book is great and recommended just as a breath of fresh air: it's unrepentantly queer, unrepentantly trans-centered, and unrepentantly communist, and that is not something we see at all anywhere else. The book itself is heavier on characters and worldbuilding and catharsis than it is on plot, really. The first half of the book is ostensibly a heist, introducing the world and characters, generating a problem, gathering a group to go deal with the problem, and then (very, kind of improbably simply) dealing with the problem. The second half of the book is basically a different novella dealing with a larger set of problems that come after the first half, and again it spends a lot of time worldbuilding and reuniting characters (there is a lot of space devoted to going to, negotiating at, and speaking to a communist General Assembly, for instance) and spends a relatively short amount of time dealing with the actual war toward the end.
The one star comes off because some of the plot-liteness did leave the book feeling (for all its length and charm and gritty details) kind of light-weight. The tension is built up but then dealt with relatively quickly . Also, the characters' conversations often seemed to drag on. I lost count of how many times, on-page, Jules had to tell her terrible backstory in roughly the same way, over and over, to different people, just because the author didn't seem to want to cut away or summarize. The book also suffered a tad from everyone on the good side talking like therapists and being excruciatingly respectful of each other in exactly the same way throughout - it's nice wish-fulfillment to see someone accepted, despite their terrible backstory, over and over, but from a reader standpoint, it just felt repetitive. Also, just as in many other books, I felt like it was really either dumb or improbable how the characters fell in love/in bed with someone they'd met like that day. But, that's me. There's also the usual editing fails of typos and characters occasionally saying the same thing in rapid succession, but eh, I didn't mind that much: this is a massive book to publish yourself.
These are all obviously stylistic decisions, where the author was doing what they wanted with the book and nothing more, and I can respect that.
December 12, 2020
I was promised a queer post-apocalyptic story where lots of fascists get busted. I definitely got what I asked for, with a side of urban fantasy too. While some characters were not developed enough considering their importance (thinking mostly about Kitty, but TJ and Becky were also a bit hard to grasp), and the last part felt a bit too fast, or perhaps less emotional than the previous ones since the main cast is a bit pushed aside, but every knot was tied and it leaves a grim satisfaction. I'd love to read more in same universe. :)
December 1, 2021
I have a lot of thoughts about this book. It's pulpy and fun, but also it really drags in some places. There's also a lot of fairly heavy subject matter in this book, and some of it feels like it draws from personal experience, but sometimes it just feels like it isn't handled super well. The pacing is also a little rough, as this kind of feels like two books stapled together, and the first book is a hell of a lot better than the second, which feels like a lot of bureaucracy (which I did think was fun to explore in a post apocalyptic communist utopia featuring Native American nations with their own sovereignty), but then the Nazis attack all of a sudden and then they get obliterated in like four chapters and a happy ending and it feels awfully rushed. Also, they set this thing up to be (at least partially) a zombie apocalypse, and by the latter half that's basically been forgotten about. I almost never say this but I think this book should not have had zombies in it. Tl;dr, it feels like a book in dire need of an editor. I do know that the author has been writing more since then, and her more recent fantasy and sci-fi stuff is a lot better, but this book does feel a lot more amateurish. If Goodreads would let me, I'd bump this up to 3.5 stars.
April 23, 2022
god i don't even know what to say.
on the one hand, this is a queer as hell self-published novel. it's post-apocalyptic with zombies and vampires. and in it we get to see communists destroying fascists. all of those are good things that the world needs more of.
on the other hand... i really wish this had a firmer editor. and a few more drafts. it's basically two books in one. the romance is instantaneous and never properly earned. despite being 550 pages it still feels deeply lacking in depth. the dialogue all has the same voice, with characters who had never met using the same strange turns of phrase.
in the end i'm happy this exists, and i'm happy i read it. but i wish she'd taken more time with it.
on the one hand, this is a queer as hell self-published novel. it's post-apocalyptic with zombies and vampires. and in it we get to see communists destroying fascists. all of those are good things that the world needs more of.
on the other hand... i really wish this had a firmer editor. and a few more drafts. it's basically two books in one. the romance is instantaneous and never properly earned. despite being 550 pages it still feels deeply lacking in depth. the dialogue all has the same voice, with characters who had never met using the same strange turns of phrase.
in the end i'm happy this exists, and i'm happy i read it. but i wish she'd taken more time with it.
January 24, 2021
outstanding world-building that would benefit from being 200 pages shorter
the first half of the book is wonderful but seems almost as if an entirely different person wrote the second half. def written by someone who has a lot of sychophants and not enough editors. it's a flawed final draft, but is so cheap ($3 as i write this) it's worth buying for the first half alone. just be smart and close the book after jules and mags go home the first time.
i would also suggest this author spend less time on tumblr as the blue hellsite oozes throughout and dates things a bit.
the first half of the book is wonderful but seems almost as if an entirely different person wrote the second half. def written by someone who has a lot of sychophants and not enough editors. it's a flawed final draft, but is so cheap ($3 as i write this) it's worth buying for the first half alone. just be smart and close the book after jules and mags go home the first time.
i would also suggest this author spend less time on tumblr as the blue hellsite oozes throughout and dates things a bit.
February 7, 2021
I enjoyed the story.
The writing reused a lot of words and phrases over and over again. That can get a little repetitive.
The Kindle version I read had many grammar and spelling errors in it.
The writing reused a lot of words and phrases over and over again. That can get a little repetitive.
The Kindle version I read had many grammar and spelling errors in it.
February 4, 2021
Oh g-d. This book. This fucking book. Where do I start? My partner and I have been excited to read this book for ages now, and now that I've finally gotten around to it, I'm spellbound.
From a technical standpoint, it's rough. There's no getting around that bit. The pacing is strange, there's a handful of typos that slipped through publishing, the pov shifts frequently and disorientingly, and the first few chapters are heavy on universe-specific jargon that can be daunting until the worldbuilding starts to unfold and more is explained.
That being said, this book is still DAMN good, technical issues and minor gripes notwithstanding. The roughness quickly fades into the background and becomes a charming character of miss Ironside's writing. It takes a brilliant mind to make a plot like this work, whimsical and fluid and intensely personal, and in that regard the author succeeded and then some. The juxtaposition of the serious, gritty, and viscerally real deep-dive into the characters' trauma and the politics of their world, with a backdrop of snarky vampires and a charming, relatable supporting cast, this book balances introspection with much-needed levity. And more than that, the author writes with passion. Dedication and love for her craft just oozes through the whole book. I'm rambling on and on about her style, so let me just ramble a moment about one thing in specific. Spoilers ahead!
The Last Girl Scout is a story, yes. It's a piece of speculative fiction with a vivid cast of characters and just enough sweetness to offset the bitter. But it's also, in places, theory. It's a frank look at a world that is not our own, but could be, a searing critique of evils in the here and now framed through the lens of a distant, yet not impossible future.
I think this author has great potential, especially as she hones that passion over the course of her career. If this excellent debut novel is anything to go by, we have a lot to look forward to.
From a technical standpoint, it's rough. There's no getting around that bit. The pacing is strange, there's a handful of typos that slipped through publishing, the pov shifts frequently and disorientingly, and the first few chapters are heavy on universe-specific jargon that can be daunting until the worldbuilding starts to unfold and more is explained.
That being said, this book is still DAMN good, technical issues and minor gripes notwithstanding. The roughness quickly fades into the background and becomes a charming character of miss Ironside's writing. It takes a brilliant mind to make a plot like this work, whimsical and fluid and intensely personal, and in that regard the author succeeded and then some. The juxtaposition of the serious, gritty, and viscerally real deep-dive into the characters' trauma and the politics of their world, with a backdrop of snarky vampires and a charming, relatable supporting cast, this book balances introspection with much-needed levity. And more than that, the author writes with passion. Dedication and love for her craft just oozes through the whole book. I'm rambling on and on about her style, so let me just ramble a moment about one thing in specific. Spoilers ahead!
The Last Girl Scout is a story, yes. It's a piece of speculative fiction with a vivid cast of characters and just enough sweetness to offset the bitter. But it's also, in places, theory. It's a frank look at a world that is not our own, but could be, a searing critique of evils in the here and now framed through the lens of a distant, yet not impossible future.
I think this author has great potential, especially as she hones that passion over the course of her career. If this excellent debut novel is anything to go by, we have a lot to look forward to.
April 30, 2021
So, I absolutely loved this book. Reading hopeful leftist fiction is always amazing, and this feels like it'll be a book I turn back to when I need a reminder of the type of future I want to bring into existence.
I loved the characters and the plot. I liked that it felt a little meandering at times. I liked that we got to linger on some side characters' backstories for a while. I liked that the world had a sense of history to it. I loved that we got trans characters, and lots of them, from various points across the gender spectrum. I loved the representation of diverse leftist viewpoints, from "authoritarians" to "liberals," and the way that different groups functioned together and apart. I loved that it imagined a world where indigenous people were still around, still fighting, still had their language. I loved that this was effectively an action/political thriller for communists. Amazing. Cannot believe I got to read this with my own two eyeballs. Can definitely believe I cried at one point, though that was a pleasant surprise. The world is a beautiful place.
I wouldn't say it's a perfect book, but it was perfect for me. My main critiques are basically what I noticed because I can't take my Editor Hat off. There are some funky typos and some sentences that are structured a little awkwardly. There are parts of the book that felt like they could've been moved around a little to assist with pacing. Some of the dialogue feels repetitive, particularly as you get deeper into the book. And there were some moments where things were kept offscreen during a pivotal conversation only to come up in detail in another conversation that had lower stakes. I understood some of those choices--no need to wallow in that very dark well of Trans Pain--but at other times it just felt unnecessary, especially since the topic was danced around for a lot of dialogue instead of sidestepped in fewer words. Basically: this book is a touch unpolished. These issues did not reduce my overall enjoyment of this book as a reader, but I figured they were worth mentioning for those who might take issue with them.
Overall, I am deeply grateful that this book exists. It's one I hope to revisit in a few years, and one I'm going to carry in my heart now that I've finished it.
I loved the characters and the plot. I liked that it felt a little meandering at times. I liked that we got to linger on some side characters' backstories for a while. I liked that the world had a sense of history to it. I loved that we got trans characters, and lots of them, from various points across the gender spectrum. I loved the representation of diverse leftist viewpoints, from "authoritarians" to "liberals," and the way that different groups functioned together and apart. I loved that it imagined a world where indigenous people were still around, still fighting, still had their language. I loved that this was effectively an action/political thriller for communists. Amazing. Cannot believe I got to read this with my own two eyeballs. Can definitely believe I cried at one point, though that was a pleasant surprise. The world is a beautiful place.
I wouldn't say it's a perfect book, but it was perfect for me. My main critiques are basically what I noticed because I can't take my Editor Hat off. There are some funky typos and some sentences that are structured a little awkwardly. There are parts of the book that felt like they could've been moved around a little to assist with pacing. Some of the dialogue feels repetitive, particularly as you get deeper into the book. And there were some moments where things were kept offscreen during a pivotal conversation only to come up in detail in another conversation that had lower stakes. I understood some of those choices--no need to wallow in that very dark well of Trans Pain--but at other times it just felt unnecessary, especially since the topic was danced around for a lot of dialogue instead of sidestepped in fewer words. Basically: this book is a touch unpolished. These issues did not reduce my overall enjoyment of this book as a reader, but I figured they were worth mentioning for those who might take issue with them.
Overall, I am deeply grateful that this book exists. It's one I hope to revisit in a few years, and one I'm going to carry in my heart now that I've finished it.
July 5, 2021
catch me lying in a lil puddle of tears at the end of this book oh Boy
the plotting and pacing of this book was a little wack/unfamiliar to me, but i didn't not like it. there's typos and some overly-repeated phrases sure, but the heart of the book is about recovery and hope for the future and yall--my depression is a bitch, but this book bit harder yo
f to my favorite characters who died in the first half of the book ✌️ but boy oh boy did the ending really just. wrap it all together and be so satisfying. i cried at like. three different parts. about characters i'd only really known for just a little while! incredible
this is nigh incoherent but i'll blame the uhhhhhh brain. this book got me yearning and hoping. it's incredibly unapologetically queer and takes nihilism by the throat yelling "MAYBE IF YOU'D LOOK AT SOME FLOWERS AND DIRT YOU'D FEEL BETTER" and yeah. yeah
if there's a character i'd love to get more story from, like a prequel or something *respectfully looking*, it'd be kitty
i just can't stop thinking about
if this book were to be summarized i'd use this lil bit near the end:
(bold text added)
it's about *clenches fist* the found family, and fighting for the human experience, and well i just think that's neat
the plotting and pacing of this book was a little wack/unfamiliar to me, but i didn't not like it. there's typos and some overly-repeated phrases sure, but the heart of the book is about recovery and hope for the future and yall--my depression is a bitch, but this book bit harder yo
f to my favorite characters who died in the first half of the book ✌️ but boy oh boy did the ending really just. wrap it all together and be so satisfying. i cried at like. three different parts. about characters i'd only really known for just a little while! incredible
this is nigh incoherent but i'll blame the uhhhhhh brain. this book got me yearning and hoping. it's incredibly unapologetically queer and takes nihilism by the throat yelling "MAYBE IF YOU'D LOOK AT SOME FLOWERS AND DIRT YOU'D FEEL BETTER" and yeah. yeah
if there's a character i'd love to get more story from, like a prequel or something *respectfully looking*, it'd be kitty
i just can't stop thinking about
if this book were to be summarized i'd use this lil bit near the end:
Jules stole a quick glance at Mags and said, "I'm not doing it for y'all."
"Oh, so you're telling me that you're only doing it for the best and most noble reason anyone possibly could? Cut out the antihero schtick, kid. You're among friends."
(bold text added)
it's about *clenches fist* the found family, and fighting for the human experience, and well i just think that's neat
December 15, 2024
The Last Girl Scout
let's get the negatives out of the way first
I feel that the book should have ended with the first part and an epilogue
now onto the positives
I can't say I remember everything about the book. Still, I will say the general premise of trans girls fighting fascism in a post-apocalyptic America is fucking awesome
a lot of people tend to criticize the dialogue in this book. Still, I feel that the dialogue is great, the story and narrative are brutal and don't hold anything back. if you like adult queer dystopian fiction then this is a must read
let's get the negatives out of the way first
I feel that the book should have ended with the first part and an epilogue
now onto the positives
I can't say I remember everything about the book. Still, I will say the general premise of trans girls fighting fascism in a post-apocalyptic America is fucking awesome
a lot of people tend to criticize the dialogue in this book. Still, I feel that the dialogue is great, the story and narrative are brutal and don't hold anything back. if you like adult queer dystopian fiction then this is a must read
March 28, 2022
could have been awesome
I was excited about this book. The world had so much potential: zombies, nuclear fallout, fascist bad guys, vampires… what more could you want? Even the story, on its face, was compelling.
That being said, there were myriad typos almost every page, the same turns of phrase were used either throughout the whole book like the author did a “find/replace”, or in such bulk like she ran out of metaphors, you really wonder who the editor was. The dialogue was pretty poor, and while I’m definitely not against or offended by cursing, it was overdone here. Also, the “omg I’m in love with you!” relationships after characters only know each other for literally hours was super eye-roll inducing. The second half of the book should have been a separate book - both would have been a lot stronger than cramming the sections together. All the action sequencers were done quickly and without the kind of detail you’d want, but certain conversations drew on forever and felt contrived. Most of the interesting characters are fleeting, and a LOT of time is spent listening to the main character(s) work through their own personal problems.
2 stars, would not recommend.
I was excited about this book. The world had so much potential: zombies, nuclear fallout, fascist bad guys, vampires… what more could you want? Even the story, on its face, was compelling.
That being said, there were myriad typos almost every page, the same turns of phrase were used either throughout the whole book like the author did a “find/replace”, or in such bulk like she ran out of metaphors, you really wonder who the editor was. The dialogue was pretty poor, and while I’m definitely not against or offended by cursing, it was overdone here. Also, the “omg I’m in love with you!” relationships after characters only know each other for literally hours was super eye-roll inducing. The second half of the book should have been a separate book - both would have been a lot stronger than cramming the sections together. All the action sequencers were done quickly and without the kind of detail you’d want, but certain conversations drew on forever and felt contrived. Most of the interesting characters are fleeting, and a LOT of time is spent listening to the main character(s) work through their own personal problems.
2 stars, would not recommend.
July 17, 2023
I really liked the ideas this book put forward, but it is way too overhyped for what it actually is.
The book would be much better as an ongoing series of novels, but as it is, the pacing is so incredibly bad. For example,
The story really does have a ton of things I enjoy! Cool queer characters with flaws and personalities, hard leftist politics, zombies, vampires, nazi killing. But the story is killed by the pacing, and the copious typos...
I'd say pick it up if you wanna support an indie author, and want some inspiration for your own writing, but not if you're looking for an actual good book.
The book would be much better as an ongoing series of novels, but as it is, the pacing is so incredibly bad. For example,
The story really does have a ton of things I enjoy! Cool queer characters with flaws and personalities, hard leftist politics, zombies, vampires, nazi killing. But the story is killed by the pacing, and the copious typos...
I'd say pick it up if you wanna support an indie author, and want some inspiration for your own writing, but not if you're looking for an actual good book.
April 19, 2023
I really enjoyed this book. I usually steer clear of post-apocalyptic stories, but the promise of trans lesbians falling in love; killing Nazis, zombies, AND vampires was too good to say no to. A compelling read with some really excellent parts, and a good story throughout.
I found some of the dialogue clunky, but after a while I kind of came to realise that it was very real. Conversation often doesn’t flow as we would like: it’s not as elegant and we aren’t as articulate as we think we are, so I understand why the author wrote the dialogue as she did.
I’m not versed at all in communist theory, so some parts took a little more concentration.
As others have said, and as per the Dead Dove Do Not Eat warning, seriously don’t read this if you are not in a place to encounter the particular violence that trans women face. While not wholly explicit, which I thank the author for, parts of this novel were absolutely harrowing.
I knocked a star off because of grammar mistakes, typos, and general flow.
I found some of the dialogue clunky, but after a while I kind of came to realise that it was very real. Conversation often doesn’t flow as we would like: it’s not as elegant and we aren’t as articulate as we think we are, so I understand why the author wrote the dialogue as she did.
I’m not versed at all in communist theory, so some parts took a little more concentration.
As others have said, and as per the Dead Dove Do Not Eat warning, seriously don’t read this if you are not in a place to encounter the particular violence that trans women face. While not wholly explicit, which I thank the author for, parts of this novel were absolutely harrowing.
I knocked a star off because of grammar mistakes, typos, and general flow.
February 19, 2022
Loved it, it had me hooked early on and it's one of the only recent novels I've read where I feel represented by the characters. One character's journey of finding herself in a far more accepting and loving world than she grew up in and slowly learning how to embrace herself, make up for lost time, and protect her new community felt especially close to my heart. The book is painfully relevant to the last couple of years and touches on a lot of the fears my community has about rising fascism and its inherent transphobia, racism etc. but also provides a possibility for something better. It is a book that handles extremely difficult topics like the intense hatred and violence of fascism and sexual abuse so make sure you can handle before deciding to pick it up but there is so so much love and hope in this book. While it does get very dark at times I promise this book is fun, affirming, celebratory, and hopeful.
July 9, 2021
I think this author has potential with a good editor and some maturity as a writer. The first half was engaging and the plot moved quickly - the second half was slow and anti-climactic.
The queer representation, obviously, was great. The premise was interesting, and overall I enjoyed the plot.
The insta-romance made me roll my eyes soooo hard. No relationships are completely free of conflict, especially when you've got traumatized people who have no reason to trust each other. The dialogue between the main characters was cringey too.
I felt like I was being beat over the head with leftist theory, so I hope the author learns to write leftist shit without sounding like a grad student.
IDK how I felt about it being set in appalachia. It didn't feel like it was written by someone FROM the region, but the portrayal was pretty alright for an outsider.
The queer representation, obviously, was great. The premise was interesting, and overall I enjoyed the plot.
The insta-romance made me roll my eyes soooo hard. No relationships are completely free of conflict, especially when you've got traumatized people who have no reason to trust each other. The dialogue between the main characters was cringey too.
I felt like I was being beat over the head with leftist theory, so I hope the author learns to write leftist shit without sounding like a grad student.
IDK how I felt about it being set in appalachia. It didn't feel like it was written by someone FROM the region, but the portrayal was pretty alright for an outsider.
Read
June 30, 2023This book convinced me that I don't want to give books star ratings.
Truthfully, I thought it needed an editor for typos, writing/prose issues, and tightening up some story elements (switching character POV mid-chapter is one of my biggest fiction pet peeves).
But ALSO, it's a very readable leftist utopia about trans love and acceptance? Yes, there are Nazis, but the fall of the US isn't a tragedy, the communities that leftists have built up are working, the anarchists and the communists are working together with only playful infighting. (I'm not a fan of state communism, but whatever, it's a fucking utopia.)
So like, if you want to read about two trans ladies who just love each other right away and kill Nazis and are friends with anarchists...I think the writing issues fade to the background.
Truthfully, I thought it needed an editor for typos, writing/prose issues, and tightening up some story elements (switching character POV mid-chapter is one of my biggest fiction pet peeves).
But ALSO, it's a very readable leftist utopia about trans love and acceptance? Yes, there are Nazis, but the fall of the US isn't a tragedy, the communities that leftists have built up are working, the anarchists and the communists are working together with only playful infighting. (I'm not a fan of state communism, but whatever, it's a fucking utopia.)
So like, if you want to read about two trans ladies who just love each other right away and kill Nazis and are friends with anarchists...I think the writing issues fade to the background.
May 29, 2021
“She has a girlfriend now and they’re in lesbians together, it’s adorable.”
Thanks, Becky, you wrote my review for me. All I have to add is that it’s important to me that you know that Becky said that, because Becky is my favorite. So is Kitty. They’re in lesbians with Kitty too, but I don’t think Becky knew that yet, so she is forgiven for the omission (Kitty is not a lady, but I love this phrase too much to stop using it. I think they would forgive me for that.)
Like I guess there are also zombies and vampires and nazis and whatever, and our beloved lesbians shoot them. So that’s cool too.
You broke my heart and put it back together, Natalie, just like you promised. I loved every second of it.
Thanks, Becky, you wrote my review for me. All I have to add is that it’s important to me that you know that Becky said that, because Becky is my favorite. So is Kitty. They’re in lesbians with Kitty too, but I don’t think Becky knew that yet, so she is forgiven for the omission (Kitty is not a lady, but I love this phrase too much to stop using it. I think they would forgive me for that.)
Like I guess there are also zombies and vampires and nazis and whatever, and our beloved lesbians shoot them. So that’s cool too.
You broke my heart and put it back together, Natalie, just like you promised. I loved every second of it.
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