Review - The Last Boy and Girl in the World by Siobhan Vivian

The Last Boy and Girl in the World 
By Siobhan Vivian 
Published April 26th, 2016 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
320 pages

3 stars - Liked but didn't love.

Synopsis from Goodreads.com:

What if your town was sliding underwater and everyone was ordered to pack up and leave? How would you and your friends spend your last days together?

While the adults plan for the future, box up their possessions, and find new places to live, Keeley Hewitt and her friends decide to go out with a bang. There are parties in abandoned houses. Canoe races down Main Street. The goal is to make the most of every minute they still have together.

And for Keeley, that means taking one last shot at the boy she’s loved forever.

There’s a weird sort of bravery that comes from knowing there’s nothing left to lose. You might do things you normally wouldn’t. Or say things you shouldn’t. The reward almost always outweighs the risk.

Almost.

It’s the end of Aberdeen, but the beginning of Keeley’s first love story. It just might not turn out the way she thought. Because it’s not always clear what’s worth fighting for and what you should let become a memory.



Review:

I'm going to admit that this was mainly a cover read for me. The cover really pulled me in and I felt like I just had to read this book. I was definitely interested in finding out what the title meant. Like, what is happening to this town? And who is the last girl and who is the last boy in the world?

I had high hopes for this book because it just sounded plain interesting. Plus, the cover. But I didn't end up liking it as much as I thought I would. It actually fell kind of flat for me. At some points I even wanted to stop reading, but I also wanted to know how things were going to end for Keeley and her town. 

I think the characters just really annoyed me the most in this book. It wasn't just one character, it was a good chunk of them. Keeley, her dad, Jesse, some other characters. It was hard because I understood that Keeley and the rest of her town were scared and upset about losing their hometown, but I was also annoyed with how they were handling things. 

Keeley and Jesse were the town clowns basically. When they got nervous, unsure, or scared they goofed around and tried to get people to laugh. They tried to ignore the difficult situations with jokes. I can definitely understand trying to lessen the tension, but it got tiring to see it in almost every chapter. Keeley couldn't really be too serious until the end of the book and it definitely messed up a few of her relationships. Then there was Keeley's dad. He was completely stubborn and totally focused on what he wanted. Not all the characters gave me a hard time though and for that I was glad. 

Despite a few annoying and hard to handle characters, the whole idea of the book was pretty interesting. It was interesting to figure out why the town was sinking and to figure out what would become of it. It was more than I thought it would be in the beginning and that kept me reading when I felt like giving up. 

Overall, not too bad of a book. There were definitely a few lessons throughout and an interesting plot. Not totally my cup of tea but check it out nonetheless!

Vanessa