I have wanted to read this since I was first introduced to Lauren James’s work with ‘The Loneliest Girl in the Universe.’ This was a wonderful book to read.

Synopsis (as taken from Amazon) is as follows:

How far would you go to save those you love? Lowrie and Shen are the youngest people on the planet after a virus caused global infertility. Closeted in a pocket of London and doted upon by a small, ageing community, the pair spend their days mudlarking and looking for treasure – until a secret is uncovered that threatens not only their family but humanity’s entire existence. Now Lowrie and Shen face an impossible choice: in the quiet at the end of the world, they must decide what to sacrifice to save the whole human race…

Ability to read – It was a bit slow to get into this book but I stayed with it because the characters were so compelling. After the first couple of chapters the book picked up and I was able to fully immerse myself into what I was reading.

Characterisation – Lowrie was adventurous and careless where Shen was cautious and fun and together they made the perfect team to bring the story alive. I can’t talk too much about the characters without spoiling the book but I did find that the characters involved were overflowing with emotion and humanity and painted a somewhat realistic profile of a scenario that isn’t as far-fetched as some would like to believe.

Visualisation – I found this very easy to visualise. A combination of video games and other books of the same genre helped me to create an imaginative visualisation of what was happening.

Uniqueness – I guess the main genre of this book is something I’ve shied away from in recent years because in its popularity, it has become overworked. Lauren James has a skill of creating something that is completely unique and formatting it in a way that feels fresh and new. There is a lot of depth to her characters and they feel very relatable and realistic.

Star Rating – ★★★★