Review: The Last Boy And Girl In The World

The Last Boy And Girl In The World by Siobhan Vivian
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers
Release Date: April 26th, 2016
Source: ALA Midwinter
Date Read: 4/16/16 to 4/17/16
432 pages

Rating: ✰✰✰1/2

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.

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Book Depository

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Quotes taken from ARC may or may not be in the published edition.

I don't know if this is just me, but I was not expecting a contemporary here. For some reason I thought this would be fantasy? Either that, or a dystopian where the Last Boy and Girl would procreate and have babies. Or at least that's what my roommate was expecting. Sadly, we were both wrong, and instead we have a story about a town that's drowning. Due to rainfall.

Interestingly enough, this was based off of a true story. Or at least that's what it said on the first pages. I seriously wonder what town it was.

Keeley lives in a lovely, rainy town called Aberdeen, where the rainfall threatens the town almost every week. Even though sandbags line the river, the flooding still persists. It comes to the point where the mayor and governor are like "enough is enough", and they decide to turn the whole town into...wait for it...a man-made reservoir.

Rather than worry about what is to come, you know, the destruction of homes, Keeley decides that she's just not going to worry about that. Why should she? She just scored the number of her long-time crush, Jesse. Her father is finally getting off his butt and being social, supporting the locals and leading a protest against the governor. Yet, as more time passes, things slowly spin out of control.

I'm going to go straight to the point and say that every character in this book got on my nerves at least once. Which may be due to the fact that I resonated with Keeley's feelings a lot. But let's go down the list!

1. Elise: Such a goody-goody. She didn't tolerate much of Keeley's actions or personality, which mostly consisted of a fun, non-serious attitude. (Everyone needs fun in life! Hell, I used another girl's school ID to buy my dinner today, because she let me, even though we're technically not allowed. I'm sorry I ran out of money for food.)

2. Jesse: His relationship with Keeley was bleh. It was obvious he couldn't commit to a serious relationship, yet at the same time he still loved/liked her a lot. The reason why everyone thought he was a great pair was because they literally were each other. But in reality, he just couldn't handle it.

3. Morgan: As Keeley's childhood best friend, I liked her a lot. Although I don't know what she expected to happen when becoming friends with Elise. Keeley often felt out of the loop, even with her best friend, because this new friend here was "trying" to fit into their trio. Honestly, I felt a little ragey, because I understood what Keeley was going through (although selfish, I know what it's like to fight for a friend's attention).

4. Levi: Oh you. You are a squish. Although not sure where your relationship came from. That was very out of the blue.

I should probably wrap this up. As you can see, through most of the novel, I was adamantly on Keeley's side, as selfish as she was. But then I realized how damaging she was to her friends and family. Her one friend, Elise, lost her entire home to the flood, and had to relocate to Florida. Even though I didn't like her, I had to cut her some slack. Sometimes, people need a shoulder to cry on, and they won't be able to stand someone else having fun while they're sad. So although Keeley had the right intentions (at some points), her actions were often misunderstood as indifferent.

The ending was, a little sad for my tastes. Also, this book was also loooong. I'm not even sure HOW I got through it all? Though I can say that I don't regret reading it. Even if it wasn't about saving the world by making all the babies.