Last One At The Party

I’m just going to come out and say that this is by far one of the best books that I have ever read in my entire life. It was EXTREMELY hard for me to put down, and now that it’s over I have a serious book hangover and all I want to do is re read it, not pick up a new book. This book made me laugh, cry, hope, and cringe in terror, and yet I craved more. I could have easily & happily read another 100-500 pages of this story, and I hope with all of my heart that there is a sequel someday. I seriously have a physical & emotional need to know more about our protagonist and her life once the story ends. And you better believe that I will be buying a copy of my own once it’s available.
Some might say that reading about the effects of a global pandemic whilst in the middle of one is eerie, but it didn’t hinder my reading process. I actually found it quite interesting to see how another pandemic is handled after Covid-19. I’ve also read so many books and seen so many movies where the protagonist is resourceful and has had some background with weapons/survival tactics. This is one of the few books that bucks this trend and shows us a real, oft bumbling person who is “figuring it out as it goes”, and I loved the book even more for this realism. I’ll be honest, I’m a woman who has little to no knowledge of survival skills, and it was refreshing to read about how someone like me figured things out through trial and error. Although, unlike the protagonist I would be raiding more bookstores than high end closets!
The author deserves much praise for her debut novel. Not only because of the story, but her writing style as well. It’s utterly captivating. I can’t wait to see what she writes next!
I could write a novella about my love for this book, so before this gets any longer I will say that you absolutely MUST check out this book!

In 2023, a new deadly virus wreaks havoc on the world. It’s known as 6DM, or six days maximum, because you have up to six days from the point of contraction before the virus causes your internal organs to melt. There is no hope. 6DM has destroyed the world. As far as one woman knows, she’s the only survivor. She didn’t get 6DM and was forced to watch everyone she’s ever known or loved die from the virus, and now she’s determined to find another poor soul who is trying to survive in this new world.

I was drawn to this book because it’s a dystopian novel that is also adult fiction. I know that it might be an odd choice when we’re still living in a pandemic, but I love dystopian novels as well as novels told through a series of journal entries. When I first started the book, I wondered if picking it up might’ve been a mistake. The protagonist whose name we never learn isn’t the most likable, and her diary entries are pretty dry. However, the more I read, the more I liked the book. Bethany Clift got into a groove and the diary entries were no longer dry. I also found that I liked the protagonist as I continued to read.

I thought this was an interesting book. It reminded me of an old TV show that I watched years ago called Survivors, which follows a small group of people who survive a deadly virus that killed nearly all of the human population. While the premise is similar, this book follows a woman who is left completely alone. She’s scared, lonely, and both high and drunk while hoping to find fellow survivors. While there were some flaws, like there being electricity and easily available running water for too long and COVID details being shoehorned in, I found it to be a great read.

One of the things I like about the book is that the protagonist is forced to reflect on her life. Now that she’s alone, she has to get to know herself on a new level. On the flip side, she can finally be herself without trying to pretend she’s someone else for the people around her. Watching her struggle with the death of everyone she’s ever known was heartbreaking, but her struggles with surviving or wanting to end it all when she’s seemingly the last person on Earth is something I think anyone in that situation would find themselves struggling with.

All in all, I thought this was a great read. I also liked the ending, which gave me an idea of what happened to her and what the future holds. I highly recommend this book if you like to read dystopian novels. However, I do think you should avoid it if you are a recovering drug addict since the protagonist does begin to use drugs at some point and I think the details may be triggering.

Name ten horrible things that could happen to one person and I guarantee about eight of them happened to the protagonist in Last One at the Party. Holy crap! One thing they teach in thriller or horror writing is to "make it worse." That sure is the story of our poor heroine.

But first, the story started with the rundown of the virus spreading throughout the world. I thought, "I don't want to hear this. It's too close to our real pandemic." It wasn't long though until I started thinking that maybe I should stock up on food and water. The book felt that real. I even thought about getting chickens because of this book!

I don't get scared by horror novels, but Last One at the Party eventually had me white-knuckled. The descriptions of the massive die-offs, the sickness, lack of water and food, animals ravaging bodies, was too much like something that could really happen in a major pandemic. I want to make it clear, though, this is ultimately a story of hope and survival. I don't want anyone to pass this by because they think it is doom and gloom. Things do get pretty nasty though. It will make you want to hug your family, your dog, you cat, and even your chickens if you have 'em. Oh, you might want to fill your pantry up.

There were a couple of things I quibbled with. The electricity certainly stayed on a long time after everybody who could run the power plants was dead. For weeks there was air conditioning and hot water. Geez, I was out of power and hot water because it freakin' snowed one night last winter. Eventually the power shut off in the book and things seemed more realistic. It wasn't enough to detract from a good story. No buzzards, though. You'd think buzzards would be the last ones at the party. They fly over my house sometimes. I shake my fist at them and yell, "Not yet!"

If you like horror that is scary because it could happen, Last One at the Party will disturb your dreams.