Review: The Last Bookstore on Earth
3/5 stars
The Last Bookstore on Earth, by Lily Braun-Arnold (2025)
Liz Flannery, 17 years old, is the only one in her family who survived "the Storm" - a catastrophic, apocalyptic, world-wide weather event that brought extreme flooding and (skin-melting) acid rain. She has survived by living in the NJ bookstore where she used to work, trading books for food and other goods with passers-by. Unlike many others, she has lived a relatively safe existence since "the end of the world" a year ago. That is, until she hears rumors of another storm coming, and begins to realize how vulnerable she is in the deteriorating bookstore, which has a massive hole in the roof.
One evening a young woman named Maeve breaks into the store to raid it and to find shelter. Maeve is prickly and rude, but has been living out in the world and has the survival skills needed to prepare for the coming storm. The two are at odds with each other at first, but Liz quickly realizes that she needs Maeve's help, and Maeve needs a place to stay. They become tentative friends, which slowly develops into something more. And, as it turns out, the next storm is not the only thing they have to fear, with a group of marauders living in the nearby forest who seem to be after Maeve in particular.
The Last Bookstore is very light on world-building, focusing more on character studies of the two girls. We don't get much explanation of what happened during and in the lead-up to the first Storm, or why it happened in the first place, which I would have liked more of. There's also no real discussion of the after-effects of the Storm... like, there was acid rain that literally melted humans who were caught in it. Did that not affect the drinking water? And the ground water where crops might grow? Why is all the vegetation totally fine?
This definitely strikes me as a very YA book. But if you suspend belief and don't think too hard about the unbelievable situations, I think it can be enjoyable. I enjoyed it! I was just also bothered by a number of things. (One of those things - There are two major injuries that people just survive somehow, and it makes no sense. There's basically no way those people would survive without medical attention, which they don't receive. If nothing else, those injuries would become infected, and probably would result in sepsis. But anyway... nothing to see here, pretend anyone would survive a grisly wound in a world with no medical supplies and very little clean water.)
UP NEXT: The Lost Bookshop, by Evie Woods
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