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madiemayhem's review
4.0
Not the best one in the series. But couldn't put it down. I love these growing up. Great stories and quick reads.
jscarpa14's review
3.0
RECEIVED FROM: Net Galley For Review
***NOTE MY REVIEWS OFTEN CONTAIN SPOILERS***
David’s father has been missing for six months. After a nationwide search he is presumed dead. But during a ride on the subway David suffers what he thinks is a hallucination. He sees what he knows to be an abandoned subway station lit and teeming with people. Among those people is his Dad. But was it a hallucination or was it something else? Now David must discover if he’s losing his mind or if something unexplainable really did happen to his Dad. The question is which truth would David rather believe?
So this was one of the weirdest stories I’ve ever read. It’s also the first time I’ve read a Lerangis novel I considered giving four stars. My first encounter with Lerangis’s work was while reading The 39 Clues series. He’s always been my least favorite writer in that franchise, mostly because of discrepancies between other his and other series books. I wanted to read this series because I want to know if in a series where he’s calling all the shots his work was better. It most definitely was. My biggest issue with the book is I felt like it was just beginning when it ended. The story is entirely too short. The book is odd even in the way it’s written. For the most part it’s told in a first person, except that there are case files notes on David in some chapters not written by David, but someone else. Additionally at the end of each chapter is a conversation outside of David’s monologue of the story. You don’t know who’s talking or really completely what they’re talking about. You know it’s related to David, like he’s being monitored somehow, but it’s never fully explained for what or why. As the story progresses you learn that the mystery is not where David’s Dad has gone, it’s where David is. It’s not completely noticeable at first, his life is very similar to many thirteen year olds, and you think maybe he’s using nicknames or terms from another country. The further you get into the story, the more it becomes clear that everything is not what it seems. But as you start finding some answers you’re left with a lot more questions. Though a full story arc is included the arc is so short, leaving so many unanswered questions that it would fit more logically as a part of a larger novel. The book is well written and engaging, there’s just not enough of it.
I don’t think the book is long enough to consider the characters fully developed, but they’re semi-fully developed. You feel like you know them, but they’re gone so fast you don’t really get the opportunity to connect with them. Lerangis gives you just enough about each character to leave you wanting more.
Overall I’d definitely recommend the book to middle grade science fiction readers, but I might recommend buying the entire series at one time just because of the amount of questions left at this story’s end.
***NOTE MY REVIEWS OFTEN CONTAIN SPOILERS***
David’s father has been missing for six months. After a nationwide search he is presumed dead. But during a ride on the subway David suffers what he thinks is a hallucination. He sees what he knows to be an abandoned subway station lit and teeming with people. Among those people is his Dad. But was it a hallucination or was it something else? Now David must discover if he’s losing his mind or if something unexplainable really did happen to his Dad. The question is which truth would David rather believe?
So this was one of the weirdest stories I’ve ever read. It’s also the first time I’ve read a Lerangis novel I considered giving four stars. My first encounter with Lerangis’s work was while reading The 39 Clues series. He’s always been my least favorite writer in that franchise, mostly because of discrepancies between other his and other series books. I wanted to read this series because I want to know if in a series where he’s calling all the shots his work was better. It most definitely was. My biggest issue with the book is I felt like it was just beginning when it ended. The story is entirely too short. The book is odd even in the way it’s written. For the most part it’s told in a first person, except that there are case files notes on David in some chapters not written by David, but someone else. Additionally at the end of each chapter is a conversation outside of David’s monologue of the story. You don’t know who’s talking or really completely what they’re talking about. You know it’s related to David, like he’s being monitored somehow, but it’s never fully explained for what or why. As the story progresses you learn that the mystery is not where David’s Dad has gone, it’s where David is. It’s not completely noticeable at first, his life is very similar to many thirteen year olds, and you think maybe he’s using nicknames or terms from another country. The further you get into the story, the more it becomes clear that everything is not what it seems. But as you start finding some answers you’re left with a lot more questions. Though a full story arc is included the arc is so short, leaving so many unanswered questions that it would fit more logically as a part of a larger novel. The book is well written and engaging, there’s just not enough of it.
I don’t think the book is long enough to consider the characters fully developed, but they’re semi-fully developed. You feel like you know them, but they’re gone so fast you don’t really get the opportunity to connect with them. Lerangis gives you just enough about each character to leave you wanting more.
Overall I’d definitely recommend the book to middle grade science fiction readers, but I might recommend buying the entire series at one time just because of the amount of questions left at this story’s end.
macfiar's review
5.0
I didn't like the beginning because it was confusing and choppy but I LOVED the ending! This should have been a much longer book.
dtaylorbooks's review
5.0
I just wanna hug Open Road for re-releasing all of this epically awesome cheese. I'm loving it. And LAST STOP is at the top of the cheese pile in a good way.
It's a quick read in more of a middle grade way than in an old school YA way but aside from the age of the MC (13, I think) it could definitely pass for one of your Diane Hoh's or insert your favorite old school YA horror writer's name here. It's got a creepy element to it that'll have you thinking one way but end up on a completely different path by the end of it. I really liked the twist, the explanation as to why David was seeing what he was seeing and it definitely made me want to keep reading in the series. It had me asking, "where is this going, exactly?"
Like a lot of the other old school YA cheese I've been reading the characters aren't immensely likable, especially David's female friend, whose name escapes me at the moment. But they end up having this rapid growth spurt once the story really picks up that kind of washes away their childishness from the beginning and hands them this wisdom that's required to make it all the way to the end.
The whole psychic element that the blurb talks about I felt ended up being really contrived but I was easily able to overlook that for the greatness that is the rest of the premise. I like how it ended up not going where I thought it was going to go. I liked how it opened up these crazy new doors because of that derailment (no pun intended) and now it has me jonsing for the next installment. Thankfully this series is an older one so the titles are available now. But that doesn't erase the giddy of Open Road re-releasing them. It's like having a Christmas present that you already know about but you're still genuinely surprised to see it anyway.
LAST STOP is one of the few cheese books that I think the majority of people will genuinely like for something other than its cheese factor. The ending is the real beginning and it's such an effective hook that I'm mentioning how I want to keep reading the series for what, the third time now in this review? That's something.
It's a quick read in more of a middle grade way than in an old school YA way but aside from the age of the MC (13, I think) it could definitely pass for one of your Diane Hoh's or insert your favorite old school YA horror writer's name here. It's got a creepy element to it that'll have you thinking one way but end up on a completely different path by the end of it. I really liked the twist, the explanation as to why David was seeing what he was seeing and it definitely made me want to keep reading in the series. It had me asking, "where is this going, exactly?"
Like a lot of the other old school YA cheese I've been reading the characters aren't immensely likable, especially David's female friend, whose name escapes me at the moment. But they end up having this rapid growth spurt once the story really picks up that kind of washes away their childishness from the beginning and hands them this wisdom that's required to make it all the way to the end.
The whole psychic element that the blurb talks about I felt ended up being really contrived but I was easily able to overlook that for the greatness that is the rest of the premise. I like how it ended up not going where I thought it was going to go. I liked how it opened up these crazy new doors because of that derailment (no pun intended) and now it has me jonsing for the next installment. Thankfully this series is an older one so the titles are available now. But that doesn't erase the giddy of Open Road re-releasing them. It's like having a Christmas present that you already know about but you're still genuinely surprised to see it anyway.
LAST STOP is one of the few cheese books that I think the majority of people will genuinely like for something other than its cheese factor. The ending is the real beginning and it's such an effective hook that I'm mentioning how I want to keep reading the series for what, the third time now in this review? That's something.
heathermassa's review
3.0
In a somewhat complicated scifi/thriller plot, David tries to accept that his dad has died. Then he sees his dad in a subway station. There's a mystery, insanity, paranoia--everything that teen's are looking for. It's also super easy to read. It's big on plot and thin on character, but that's to be expected...
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