The Last Boy and Girl in the World by Siobhan Vivian | Rating: ★★★★☆As a note, an e-galley of this novel was sent to me via Edelweiss by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not effect my opinions in any way.
What surprised me most about The Last Boy and Girl in the World was how it didn’t water down the attitudes of the cast of teenagers we are introduced to. It gave me a feeling of where the plot might go, but it didn’t end up the way I’d expected. If anything, readers are going to be surprised by the novel itself–I had assumed it was going to be farther into the thriller genre, yet it didn’t go that route at all. Still, it was compelling and Siobhan Vivian has a certain grace about her writing when it comes down to portraying teenagers and their coming of age stories.
You see, a lot of what people won’t like about this release is that the characters can often be insufferable and are horrendously flawed in the way that only teenagers can be. You’re going to be annoyed at times, you’re not going to like everything that they do, you’re going to scoff and roll your eyes at their actions or statements. Not everyone is going to be able to overlook that, but I cannot stress enough that that’s what makes them real.
You aren’t reading about adults. You’re reading about kids. Kids, who’s lives are changing. Kids, who are still learning and making mistakes and growing up and falling out–there’s a breath of life in each of them. It’s as simple as that and you can’t hate them for it. That’s what I found most endearing about the kids and the way they acted–they were real and they needed to grow, and maybe they won’t by the end of the novel, maybe they will.
