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Book Review: All That’s Left in the World

 

All That’s Left in the World

– Erik J. Brown –

Balzer + Bray

Published 8 March 2022

♥♥♥♥♥

 

I’ve been meaning to write and share this review for a while now but I just haven’t been able to put into words just how incredible and amazing and jaw-dropping and additive this book is. It’s also slightly terrifying. And amazing.

Okay, here goes.

Dystopian, queer romance, illness that is wiping out the population. That completely undersells everything that this book is. It is heart and grief and fight and sacrifice. It is love and family and loss. It’s discovery and it’s a book I just loved. So much.

An illness, far worse than COVID and the pandemics that have come before, has decimated the population and the world as we know it. Andrew is injured, on foot, and desperately trying to make up for the mistakes he’s made. Then he stumbles upon Jamie. Jamie is hiding out in the cabin he and his mother escaped to when things started to get bad. Now he is on his own, but with plenty of supplies, thanks to his mother’s quick thinking. When Andrew appears on his doorstep, he isn’t sure if he can trust him, but he also knows he has to help this injured, hurting, desperate boy. Over the course of Andrew’s recovery, they form a solid friendship and so Jamie decides to accompany Andrew on his journey. On their perilous journey, they face danger they never could have predicted and make decisions to survive that will haunt them. They also grow closer and while Andrew is sure of his feelings towards Jamie, for Jamie it is new and unexpected and he’s not sure what it means for him. But survival comes first and the boys will do everything it takes to face the secrets that haunt them and the future they so desperately crave.

Honestly, just go and preorder, order, buy, borrow, beg (don’t steal), this book, find yourself a comfy corner and come back when you are done reading. Only then will I have been able to impart to you just how good this book is. I’ve had a book hangover for weeks!!! It is fantastic, scary, beautiful, sad, brilliant and all the feelings. I loved it. Can’t wait to get it on our library shelves and into the hands of readers.

I have already added Erik J. Brown’s next book – still without a title or a synopsis – because I know I have to read it and as soon as humanly possible. I adore the way he brings characters to life and puts them through hell and makes me LOVE it. Congrats Erik J. Brown. What a debut!!

The publishers provided an advanced readers copy of this book for reviewing purposes. All opinions are my own.

More information

Category: Young adult fiction

Genre: Dystopian.

Themes: Illness, virus, death, grief, LGBT+, romance, relationships, survival

Reading age guide: Ages 13 and up.

Advisory: Violence, death, illness, details about guns, shooting, hunting animals, injuries, blood, death, dead bodies. sexual references. Coarse language, f*** (20), sh** (44), as***** (2), pi** (9), di** (4),

Published: 8 March 2022 by Balzerv+ Bray

Format: Hardcover, ebook. 40 pages.

ISBN: 9780063054974

Find it on Goodreads

2 Comments

  1. aleyi

    is it scary?

    • madisonslibrary

      Depends on what you find scary. It’s not set up to be scary, no jump scares, it’s not a horror story. But it is about the next deadly virus that kills the majority of the population. After living with Covid, that might be scary for some readers to think about. It also has lots of tension and action scenes. There is fighting and scenes when the characters are in a lot of danger. Hope that helps!

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