The Quiet at the end of the World by Lauren James | 5 Star Book Review
The Quiet at the end of the World by Lauren James | 5 Star Book Review
Hi friends! I’m SO excited to share this review with you. I was sent this book for free for an honest review by WalkerYA and honestly I haven’t been this excited about a book in a while. The Loneliest Girl in the Universe really blew me away so I knew I wouldn’t be disappointed by this one.
This book is incredibly difficult to review without spoilers, so forgive me if I’m a bit vague! Trust me – it’s for your own good. I saw Alice Osman call it a ‘soft apocalypse’ and honestly what an amazing term. I hope you enjoy this review, and make sure you add it to your Goodreads!
The Quiet explores the terror of the slow certainty of the end of the human race as we know it.
The Quiet at the End of the World by Lauren James Published by Walker Books on March 7, 2019
Pages: 352
Goodreads
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 for artefacts from history and looking for treasure in their once-opulent mansion.
Their idyllic life is torn apart when a secret is uncovered that threatens not only their family but humanity’s entire existence. Lowrie and Shen face an impossible choice: in the quiet at the end of the world, they must decide who to save and who to sacrifice . . .
Lauren James is amazing at a good plot twist, the one in The Loneliest Girl in the Universe really got me! The Quiet did not disappoint! I had some inklings but even so I still didn’t get the full picture until the reveal. This story is very character driven and I loved getting to know Lowrie and Shen, the last two humans to be born. It explores some very interesting themes and I loved seeing the characters work through them. Knowing that eventually they’d be the last two people on the planet? How terrifying would that be? Would any amount of preparation ever be enough?
Lowrie and Shen are treasure hunters, and I really loved this aspect as I found it fascinating what they could potentially be finding in the flooded underground and on the riverbank of the Thames. It was so very imaginative.
I ADORED the structure of The Quiet at the End of the World. It was told predominantly from Lowrie’s POV, interspersed with someone’s social media status’ from when the virus broke out. I loved it.
The way the social updates were written were informative but also seemed so realistic. Some of what I thought were tweets could have been written by me because they just so fit in with the way we talk online now. The voice adjusted accordingly as time went on as well. It was reminiscent of The Loneliest Girl in the Universe as it was almost like Lowrie was receiving messages from someone in the past that helped inform their future.
I actually am in awe at how much I felt like I knew the character who we only learnt of through social updates, which got me to thinking, there are plenty of people in my life that I only know through social updates and I feel like I know them? WHAT A WEIRD WORLD WE LIVE IN.
I LOVED Lowrie and Shen so much. They were very nuanced and well developed characters. As I mentioned I loved seeing how they dealt with the imminent doom of the planet, and their actions were always believable of their character. I also really loved how they were so different, even though they pretty much brought up together. Shen’s calm patience was just… soothing to read.
I also adored Mitch, the mute robot, so so much! OW MY HEART. Why is it that furry animals and robots get to my heart? I’m looking at you, M-bot from Skyward!
I hope you enjoyed this review! Honestly I loved it so much. Have you read the Loneliest Girl? You should do!
The Quiet is out today (7/3/19) so make sure you check it out!
Follow Jenniely on WordPress.com
15 Comments
I reviewed this last week and loved it. I loved the balance of innocence with halcyon days of mudlarking and watching the wilds of Hyde Park against the coming of age and knowledge with the creeping realisation of doom.
Same! It was written beautifully too
This book sounds great!! I’ll have to read it sometime. Also I love the headings you used. Great review Jenn!
Thank you 💜 😘😘
This sounds amazing!
💜💜
Great review and I love how you split it up! I’m even more excited to read it now! 🙂
Thank you so much! Yay! You’re gonna love it
I haven’t read it yet but I’m excited to! Great review!
Thank you!! 💜
I’ve been waiting for a book that gets me really excited to read it and this sounds just like that. Great review!
Yay!! I hope you enjoy it if you read it 😘💜
Just decided to buy this book because of your review! Can’t wait to read it
Oh my gosh yay that makes me so happy! I hope you enjoy!
This sounds amazing. I loved The Loneliest Girl in the Universe so I’m looking forward to reading this one at some point. Lauren James is amazing!