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jenhurst's review
3.0
Meh. The story was very predictable. I could understand her feeling of loneliness but the actual plot wasn’t there for me. I figured out the ending pretty early
supernana's review
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
vinjii's review
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
This is a pretty quick and engaging read. The writing flows nicely, making it easy to breeze through. I really liked the beginning, but then the plot lost me. I couldn’t really connect with the main character either. Entertaining, but not James’ best work. I much preferred The Quiet at the End of the World.
kdahlo's review
Not rating because I don't have a well-calibrated sense of YA writing. This book is in turns very childish and shockingly graphic and violent. That effect is certainly partially deliberate and due to the choice of narrator, but sometimes I think it's a little 'off' in terms of portraying how a teenager would think. It starts very twee, but then it really takes off and changes tone. I basically enjoyed it, but I don't really get the niche for this book. I feel like the reading level is middle school and the violence level is high school. Like I said though, I don't really read much YA. And the narrator is meant to be ~18, however I think she is written more like a 13 year old. Lots of little nitpicks with the writing, but at least it was pretty short and kept me interested. The book has fake fanfic embedded in it, and the book itself definitely has a fanfic feel.
indigoblue777's review
4.0
4.5 stars.
This book popped up when I searched "Hades and Persephone retellings".
This is not at all a Hades and Persephone retelling (in case anyone else is misled by Google).
The Loneliest Girl in the Universe sounds like the beginning of a romance, but it's really more of a sci-fi thriller.
I'm not usually a thriller person, but I enjoyed this story. The book is short and engaging. I read it in a couple of hours. The twists at the end managed to surprise me! The book depicts trauma and shock well. I loved how relatable Romy is; she's obsessed with a supernatural-romance TV show, and she reads and writes fanfiction about the two main characters. I loved reading the short fanfiction drabbles and how she used fanfiction to cope with her social deprivation and trauma.
This book popped up when I searched "Hades and Persephone retellings".
This is not at all a Hades and Persephone retelling (in case anyone else is misled by Google).
The Loneliest Girl in the Universe sounds like the beginning of a romance, but it's really more of a sci-fi thriller.
I'm not usually a thriller person, but I enjoyed this story. The book is short and engaging. I read it in a couple of hours. The twists at the end managed to surprise me! The book depicts trauma and shock well. I loved how relatable Romy is; she's obsessed with a supernatural-romance TV show, and she reads and writes fanfiction about the two main characters. I loved reading the short fanfiction drabbles and how she used fanfiction to cope with her social deprivation and trauma.
prosebeforehoes's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
shaunidee's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
wendy815's review
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
maddie_reads_stuff's review
4.0
Romy has been piloting her spaceship alone for years when she gets news of a new ship that will join hers en route a new planet.
I finished this ten minutes ago and my heart is still racing. Space is dark, quiet, and lonely, but humans are capable of so much better (and worse). Read the whole thing in ~3.5 hours, including time spent solving the time dilation problem. I can't say how happy it makes me to see the spreadsheet that went into this.
I finished this ten minutes ago and my heart is still racing. Space is dark, quiet, and lonely, but humans are capable of so much better (and worse). Read the whole thing in ~3.5 hours, including time spent solving the time dilation problem. I can't say how happy it makes me to see the spreadsheet that went into this.
katykelly's review
4.0
Exciting and unusual sci-fi: is it a romance? a thriller? a dystopia?
4.5 stars
I felt for Romy instantly. Born IN SPACE?! Both her parents dead? The crew and passengers of their ship all dead on their way to colonise a new planet? Making her the Commander... at 17. Definitely caught my attention.
Loved the details of how she copes, with emails and videos back and forth between Earth, each taking months to arrive (and years as the gap between them increases). This may not be the first time we'e seen the concept of 'lone caretaker' in space-set books or films, but it may be the first teenager in that position.
Her world turns upside down (if of course this is possible in space...) when she learns that another ship has launched to follow her, with a single pilot on board - a young man called J who begins emailing her. They connect, and as the time until their ships connect shortens, Romy and J's email change from formal messages to more intimate and personal ones.
I thought I knew what I was getting, I was intrigued what would happen when the pair met, what would happen - but the author draws you in and twists it all around, turns the genre from one you think you can predict to something completely different. To say more would spoil it, so I won't.
It's a great great GREAT twist, as you start to realise that all is not as it seems. Kept me reading, and I really wasn't sure how it would all turn out.
A brilliant mix of genres, expectations, and I loved the mixed narrative, including Romy's own perspective and the back-and-forth messages between the two pilots as well to and from Earth.
I loved James's other time travel novels, got caught in up them just as easily as I did here. Her own background in physics shows here a little with the technical side of space travel. She creates believable female protagonists and I really hope this one makes it to a big screen, it would be a super medium for it.
With thanks to Walker Books for the sample reading copy.
4.5 stars
I felt for Romy instantly. Born IN SPACE?! Both her parents dead? The crew and passengers of their ship all dead on their way to colonise a new planet? Making her the Commander... at 17. Definitely caught my attention.
Loved the details of how she copes, with emails and videos back and forth between Earth, each taking months to arrive (and years as the gap between them increases). This may not be the first time we'e seen the concept of 'lone caretaker' in space-set books or films, but it may be the first teenager in that position.
Her world turns upside down (if of course this is possible in space...) when she learns that another ship has launched to follow her, with a single pilot on board - a young man called J who begins emailing her. They connect, and as the time until their ships connect shortens, Romy and J's email change from formal messages to more intimate and personal ones.
I thought I knew what I was getting, I was intrigued what would happen when the pair met, what would happen - but the author draws you in and twists it all around, turns the genre from one you think you can predict to something completely different. To say more would spoil it, so I won't.
It's a great great GREAT twist, as you start to realise that all is not as it seems. Kept me reading, and I really wasn't sure how it would all turn out.
A brilliant mix of genres, expectations, and I loved the mixed narrative, including Romy's own perspective and the back-and-forth messages between the two pilots as well to and from Earth.
I loved James's other time travel novels, got caught in up them just as easily as I did here. Her own background in physics shows here a little with the technical side of space travel. She creates believable female protagonists and I really hope this one makes it to a big screen, it would be a super medium for it.
With thanks to Walker Books for the sample reading copy.