I have mixed feelings about this book. There is potential, but it is never fulfilled. It is an entertaining read, but a forgettable one.

'The Last 8' features an aromantic lead, and subsequently a complete lack of love triangles. I am not aromantic but was able to sympathize. Honestly, though,  I think anyone who had anything that marked them as 'different' while a teen can appreciate Clover's feelings. Clover is Latina, which is a rare thing to find in a mass market book, so that's another point in it's favor.

Laura Pohl also doesn't shy away from addressing issues such as depression and suicidal ideation. She handles things in a frank manner which is completely believable. I'm of the mind that we try to shy away from talking of serious things to teens too much, so I'm always happy to see realistic portrayals in fiction.

I also liked how the author handled the situation that the kids find themselves in in the 'The Last 8', after they've met up. It starts very expected, but as she peels back some of the layers, you start to see it as the sad, desperate thing that it is.

Her action is on point as well.

So, as you can see, 'The Last 8' has a lot of positives going for it. Why then, would I give it a middling rating? Because, unfortunately, the plot of the story felt like a mishmash of basically every invasion movie, ever. This includes a key portion of a plan that was taken from Independence Day. (The original, not the sequel that should be forgotten.) Now, some of this can be seen as an ode to those movies. Also, I think the author played it right in acknowledging the movies existence. The fact that we would draw our ideas from stuff that we've seen or read is kind of inevitable. So I don't think she did anything wrong in how she played it. However, at this point, pretty much all plots have been done and done again. It can be extremely difficult to take these elements and make them feel fresh and exciting. I think this being Pohl's first novel really works against her here.

The positive elements outweigh the negatives in 'The Last 8', though. Even though I'm only rating it a 3 of 5, I'm still interested in reading the next book in the series.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from Netgalley for review consideration.

I’m giving the Last 8 a 3.5/5 stars.

I was very excited to have a chance to read this book early. I guess I’m really into books about a future apocalypse involving aliens of some kind. This book reminds me a lot of the 5th Wave. If you liked that book, you’ll probably also like this one. I actually really liked this book, and i thought that it brought a lot of new aspects to the table. It was really different from other books in a lot of ways, and I could really appreciate that. This book also showcases plenty of beautiful diversity, which is something that other books like this don’t really have. The only real problem I had with this book is how the teenagers acted. Clover became friends with them a little too quickly in my opinion, and no teenager would completely follow the orders of another teenager. Alongside all of the aliens, that was the one thing that was just too unbelievable for me. I will say, Clover acted like what I expect a teen to act after the world ends. But then she has this completely character change without any real explanation. There is also a lot of weird interactions between the teens, which aren’t super realistic either. Teens just don’t talk or act like that. If you don’t really care about these things, then you will probably love this book. Other than that, it really is a stellar read.

Thank you NetGalley for providing an early copy of this for me to read. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

*Review will go public on Wednesday 2/27/2019*:

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Will submit to Amazon 3/5

Unfortunately, there are other times in the book when the same issue is not handled with due reverence reflected with Clover’s character. Instead, these it is utilized to motivate others into making certain decisions to further the plot. There should have been other ways in which characters were motivated into making those choices.

Pohl fully realizes an encompassing cultural and sexual diverse set of characters throughout the book that openly deal with tangible issues such as developing feelings for someone who is asexual. There wasn’t a need to force any romantic relationship between the rest of the characters throughout the book, which is also a refreshing change of pace.

Although I do not identify as asexual, I can identify with unrequited love. No matter how you identify in your sexuality Pohl makes that hurt is undeniably painful to any that experience it. And it hurts a lot. It is common ground upon which we can all stand.

There are many poignant moments between these characters that give the characters room to grow and a chance to build their personalities throughout the story. Their personalities, their voices and how they’ve changed from before, and now in this new world is a solid foundation for the first book of this series.</p>

My issues with The Last 8 are the plot holes and mishmash of so many pieces of alien invasion books/shows/movies before it. I am a lover of end of the world, dystopia, apocalypse books, tv shows, and movies. I will overlook many faults for the sake of knowing that if you don’t, you might as well not watch it. However, certain things are just over done or are too convenient for me to go along with in this plot.</p>

For instance, after six months of wandering around she happens to accidentally find a radio signal when the car radio accidentally comes on just when a message happens to broadcast from the remaining survivors telling others where to come for safety. Additionally, during those six months of wandering around she stumbles upon a house with a working shower.

Why didn’t anyone ever even try to fight back against the aliens? The adults? The government? Anyone? Anyone at all? There wasn’t any hint of an air attack or a rumbling of at least a tank before being dusted?</p>
I know Clover was a pilot, but she was training to be a pilot. Even in the beginning of the book she makes the joke that she can’t get to Mars yet. She’s still trying to get into MIT. Yet there she is at one point flying a spaceship and nailing all these amazing stunts like she's Hans Solo.

My last big question is what happening in the rest of the world? Now some of that question is tied into spoilers I don’t want to give up. Quite possibly, the answer could be tied up in the second book. However, I couldn’t help but wonder if the invasion had spread past America.

In the end there were some plot twists that I didn’t see coming and action that was well played out, but it wasn’t enough to save the book for me. I applaud the issues it takes on and hope that more authors do the same. However, overall the plot just wasn’t an original enough spin on the alien invasion story to keep it believable or engaging.
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The story goes with the protagonist Latin teenager, Clover who loves flying aircraft things like her grandpa. As Clover and her family heard a new about alien invasion, his grandpa didn’t think twice to go to the port where he worked before and look for more info. As the day passed and never heard from his grandpa, Clover wants to see him and also, learn more about it. But the invasion already got the city, and Clover witnessed how the people race gone so quickly that she can’t believe it in her eyes. As Clover thought no one is alive, she travels everywhere (with a dog – which got more exciting!) hoping to find someone alive until she heard a young girl voice while tuning in her radio, looking for more survivors.

I really don’t know what I will write because I don’t want to spoil everything in this book! The very first thing caught me more into reading is the intensity of the story itself but there is also minimal downs in the story. The first few chapters is really straight at the point where the people are starting to be like vanished that quickly and also that Clover witnessed the first encounter and rival encounter from the aliens. It’s getting intense but when she got the Area 51 with other survivors, things just got little slows down the story a little bit but that didn’t last long.

What I really love in this story is that even though Clover is the newbie in the group, she knows what to do and she’s really the badass in the story. She never stop pushing her plans to fight back and encouraging her team to be with her side. Even some of the characters I think hated her because of her stubbornness, but they all appreciate her and her plan. And the dog, Sputnik, I can’t forget that wonderful dog. I’m glad the author put the dog as a company with Clover while she travels.

I’m soooo inlove with this book! I know it’s just an alien invasion but I think the author nailed every character and fast paced plot of the story! I just really liked the story and everything what’s happening in this book! I can’t wait for the sequel.

A SciFi adventure with characters that are flawed. Clover is a loner, she does not like to rely on others, thinks she knows the answers, is pushy at times, but she grows. She lets us know that she has thought about committing suicide more than once in the book, and how could you not contemplate this yourself with the situation at hand? And it comes out that others have thought about it, too. The story is strong in the relationships/friendships/learning to trust others. The cadence of the book could have been better. It started out strong, sucked you right in, but once she got to Area51, it slowed way down to then to end with tons of action.

The Last 8 reads like The Fifth Wave meets War of the Worlds meets Gone. The novel opens and it seems like a normal day. That is until millions of what look like shooting stars plummet to earth. When they realise these shooting stars are actually space ships, the aliens inside take it upon themselves to wipe out the human race. As soon as they see you, they shoot to kill, turning every human being to dust. Within days, everyone is gone. But they can't see Clover and, for a long time, it seems like she is the only person on the planet left alive.

Six months after the end of the world Clover, along with her adopted Bernese Mountain Dog Sputnik, are in the car when the radio accidentally turns on. Clover expects nothing but static, but is instead greeted with a message telling anyone left out there to "come to the okay where the used to be." Clover heads to Area 51 and there she finds the 7 teenagers, the last humans left alive.

I really enjoyed the plot of this novel and I was definitely pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed the novel. The premise seems really good, but the plot is generally quite basic. The first few chapters move quickly, but once Clover gets to Area 51 everything seems to slow down a little bit. I think there were about 10 chapters where there was no progress in the plot. However, while I felt that the plot didn't move very quickly, overall it didn't take anything away from the novel as a whole.

I quite like Clover as a main character. She's not my favourite protagonist ever, but she's easy to like and she's not annoying like a lot of headstrong protagonists can be. However, what's strange about her is that I feel like she's the most 2-dimensional character and she doesn't let across many emotions. I feel like we know more about the secondary characters and we can connect to them a lot more easily. Brooklyn is definitely my favourite character, and I even warmed to Violet by the end of the novel. Apart from them, and Adam, though, I feel like the other four characters were kind of interchangeable and I had to keep reminding myself who was who.

Overall a solid read and I am definitely glad that I had the opportunity to read this novel. If you are a fan of sci-fi, aliens and/or post-apocalyptic dystopias, this is a must read.

Taking a cue from everyone's favorite alien invasion movies, 8 teens find themselves as the lone survivors of Earth. Plus a dog.
Clover Martinez is a realistic protagonist who longs to fly (in planes) just as her family has for generations. She dreams of joining NASA and traveling to Mars. Her plans come crashing down when aliens invade the planet and eradicate nearly all humans.
Eventually Clover finds herself teamed up with 7 other teenagers who have somehow survived the purge. What makes these teens different from the rest of Earth's population? Will they be able to take back the planet? You'll have to read to find out.
I enjoyed 80% of this book! The last quarter seemed rushed and too neatly tied up.

A solid 4 stars that I really enjoyed while I was reading it, but it did have some issues. Except for Clover, the narrator of the story, none of the other surviving kids characters were well developed. I often forgot their names and their backstories. Plus, all of the survivors were geniuses?? Well, that is explained, but the explanation was a tad flimsy, and it was something I had been expecting. At times it felt like the whole plot was one big mash up of every alien invasion movie/book/tv show ever made. Which I actually didn’t mind too much, it was fun to see all of those references, especially the ones I love too. (Anyone have a towel I can wave?)

There were some exceptional things about this book too. It had a lot of diversity in the characters, and the aliens were pretty unique in their looks and their motives. There were some seriously funny parts that had me laughing out loud. I loved Sputnik, Clover’s dog, who at times seemed to understand everything that was going on. The ending kind of blew me away, it was not at all what I expected, but could acknowledge that it was what the characters would have done. Having the kids living in Area 51 was perfect.

The plot was fast moving, and at times it was hard for me to put this book down. The overall story was typical of the genre, but there were a couple of twists that made it interesting. The biggest one being that the other kids didn’t want to fight, Clover has to convince them. But once they do decide to fight, they are all in with gusto.

Will I continue to gush about this book if asked? Yes! It is a great story and an interesting addition to the alien invasion genre. I can’t wait to see what happens to these kids in the next installment.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and The Last 8 gets 4.5 stars from me.
Clover Martinez dreams of going to MIT and then joining NASA. Living with her grandparents in Montana, Clover's world is literally destroyed when aliens invade. The invasion begins in the second chapter which demonstrates Laura Pohl's quick pacing. Indeed, I only put the book down when I was beginning to fall asleep around 1am.
Clover somehow survives the aliens, and Pohl compassionately explores her protagonist's PTSD and depression.
Traveling alone with her loyal Bernese Mountain Dog Sputnik, Clover finds out that she is not the only living human.
She finds the other remaining 7 (hence the title of The Last 8) and Clover inspires them to not passively exist for the rest of their lifetimes. She is defiant in refusing to allow the aliens to force her underground and to be afraid.
There are several major twists that I did not see coming and overall, The Last 8 is really engaging. Pohl's characters are diverse (Clover is Latinx, bisexual/aromantic) and they all bring their own skills to their mission. I also really appreciated that Pohl has the characters talk about their trauma and that it is ok to grieve and struggle with their feelings. I will definitely read the sequel!

3.5 "Diverse Teen Independence Day” Stars

ARC via NetGalley

Thank you, Sourcebooks Fire

Trigger warning: suicide.

I wanted to rate this book higher, and I would’ve had it not been for the last few pages and how suicide was portrayed near the end.

First of all, this author is Brazilian, so HECK YEEESSS!

I’m going to be the first to admit I’m not a huge sci-fi fan. I know nothing about Star Wars, Star Trek or other TV shows/movies referenced in the book aside from Will Smith’s Independence Day. That one I’ve watched a hundred times—it’s a great movie.

Having said that, I love stories about the end of the world and alien invasions, especially when the characters are so diverse, so I was really excited about this one. Besides, it’s written by a Brazilian author, so, again, YEEESS!!!

It took me some time to get into The Last 8 because I kept expecting more details that would make me feel truly immersed in the world and what was happening. Like the blurb says, aliens invade, everyone is dying and shit is happening, but I didn’t really feel much while I was reading. This is partially because Clover, the main character, is a more practical and less emotional person, but it’s also because the writing didn’t dive deep enough into the setting and the world.

Things really got interesting for me when Clover met the group of teens called The Last Teenagers on Earth and they decided to do something about the aliens. The action scenes were great, especially the ones with Clover doing amazing things while piloting a plane. There were also some really good moments as Clover spent time alone with some of the other teens and opened up to them, or let them open up and listened.

I also enjoyed the big twist that came into play a little after the halfway mark. I could see some of it coming, but not all of it, so I ended up being surprised! Yay!

Now, I have to say that while I LOVE and LIVE for a diverse group of characters (and the diversity here was AMAZING!!!!!!!), they weren’t distinctive enough as individuals. The story was told from Clover’s perspective, so we didn’t get a chance to really get to know the other teens (the last survivors), and while the author tried to give them different jobs/activities, in the end they pretty much sounded the same to me. I kept trying and failing to remember who they were and what they did. The one I liked the most ended up not having the best ending, so…*sad face*

Now, none of the things above would’ve kept me from rating this 4 stars or more, but the thing that bothered me the most was how suicide was portrayed in the end.

*************************SPOILER ALERT*** I hated how Violet’s suicide was used as a plot device to get Andy to do what needed to be done. It felt manipulative and as if it was the act of a hero, which is a message that bothers me a lot. I thought Clover’s struggle with wanting to end her life throughout the book was handled with care and made sense given all that had happened. And for her to have come so far, decided to fight for her life and for the friends she made, and then simply encourage Violet to use suicide to force Andy to do what needed to be done…that felt wrong and out of character. I wish the author had picked a better way to handle that situation—Violet could’ve easily been hurt/killed by one of the aliens and Andy would’ve reacted the same. What Andy needed in order to access her power was to lose Violet, and given the fact that they were surrounded by aliens that wanted all of them dead, she didn’t really need to kill herself. ***END SPOILER************************************

With that said, there were some great moments in this book, especially with the action scenes, that reminded me of Independence Day. After all, who doesn’t like to see a group of diverse teenagers and an adorable dog (OMG, MY HEART!) fighting to save the planet from creepy aliens?

I was definitely intrigued by the beginning and then even more curious as the book went on. I thought it was incredibly imaginative and at times, downright shocking and/or a bit gut-wrenching.

You have a group of kids who are dealing with an alien invasion. I enjoyed it. I admired Clover and the love she shares for space. I absolutely related to her in every way. I thought the sci-fi elements were great and I loved getting to experience a book with different sexual representation. I'm definitely ready to continue reading more books with more diversity, especially books that rep cultures and identities different from my own.

There was just...something about this book that made it not a great read for me, but simply a good one. Not a bad way to spend a few afternoons--and I am definitely curious about this authors writing and most certainly plan to more from her. All-in-all this was a fun and inspiring YA romp that employs a few familiar tropes in a way that still feels imaginative.

Nota: 3.5

Eu não estava esperando muita coisa desse livro, porque não gosto de aliens, muito menos de The 5th Wave, mas como o livro é de uma conterrânea, então por que não.
Sim, fui muito supreendido com esse livro, com os personagens e com o desenrolar da história, as explicações para cada coisinha, tudo. A Laura preenche todas as lacunas vazias que existem no livro pouco a pouco, sem acelerar ou pular etapas da histórias. Parecia que eu estava assistindo Independence Day(pode parecer exagero, mas ok), porque eu conseguia visualizar as cenas como estivesse assistindo um filme e comendo pipoca.
Apesar do foco do livro ser os aliens o livro tem muita representatividade, a personagem principal, Clover, é bi-aro, e eu fiquei AAAAAAAAAAAAAA quando li ela explicando o que como ela se sentia para x personagem. Além de personagens LGBTQIA+, tem personagens negros. Ah, a Clover é latina. Representatividade nesse livro é o que não falta.
Em algumas cenas, fiquei :0, porque eu não esperava por aquilo. Sério, tem muitas surpresas nesse livro que você não espera. Muitas das revelações são bastante importantes para o decorrer e o final do livro.
As explicações sobre os aliens estarem invadindo a Terra; o que eles querem; quem comanda eles; como eles são, são todas bem coerentes. Dá pra entender tudo muito direitinho, não é nada que vai dar uma enrolação no seu cérebro.
Apesar do final não ter sido tão espetacular como eu queria - ou esperava -, eu achei ok. E agora tô doido pra saber o que vai acontecer no segundo livro, porque o final de The Last 8 poderia muito bem ter ficado pro segundo livro. Acho que isso é o meu único contra no livro. Na minha opinião, foi corrido demais.
No mais, gostei bastante de The Last 8.

I received this ARC from NetGalley, in return an honest review.

I. Loved. This. Book. I am so glad I had the chance to read it now vs. later because it was in the midst of my astronomy collections research.

Last 8 features a lovely pilot Latinx lady protagonist who I loved. She was unlike a lot of other main characters I’ve read in the recent past so that was refreshing. Also there was a lot of LGBT+ rep here. The MC is Ace/Aro, which brought a lot of joy to my heart.

Anyhow, the narrative follows Clover as she deals with her PTSD post alien invasion only to learn she is one of 8 survivors. Only. Not everything is as it seems. While that’s typical of any plot, I had fun joining Clover through the twists and turns of learning who these survivors are as she chooses to fight back against the alien invasion.

Because. Why not? They’re not safe anyway and are going to die anyway. So why not kill some of the aliens that destroyed their planet.

This is the type of book we need, this is the type of the book that is the future as it presents teenagers in STEM while dealing with very real (and fictional) issues.

Aro and Latina? Yes!

It's a love letter to sci-fi fans. It's the old school science fiction plus the hope that came in "Pacific Rim." PS I adore any time sci-fi novels remember "Pacific Rim."

I was really excited to pick this one up because, yes for sure we've seen dozens of alien invasion novels -- but I couldn't wait to read one that featured diverse characters for once! And this definitely came through on that aspect, featuring an asexual/aromantic Mexican-American protagonist, and a motley crew of genius misfit teens of all nationalities and sexualities. It's definitely want I crave to read more if in YA.

However the plot left a lot to be desired. At first I got goosebumps and I was seriously engaged as Clover is just living a normal life with her grandparents and then the aliens come and turn people to dust. The moment when she's running and the person she's with gets shot?! CHILLING. But then reality sort of warped out of shape. I mean, yes, there are aliens which are unbelievable. That's why it's sci-fi! But you need to have the little details make sense in order to accept the bigger impossibilities.

For instance:
- At one point Clover has been on this empty earth for 6 months and she finds a working shower with running water. Um.
- There are houses everywhere full of unused tinned food, which Clover tells us, but yet she still has to eat peanuts (she's allergic)?
- Every single kid of the last 8 are all tech geniuses and whizzes. They function as 30+ year old adults who have several university degrees! It was just ridiculous.
- The entire plot rested on the rest of humanity being too incredibly dense and stupid to ever fight back against the aliens. (The plans the kids whirled into action weren't *that* sophisticated. Surely the government would've tried this stuff?!)
- They're all in this Area 51 secret government bunker place...and I realise some of the kids had parents working there previously. But wouldn't stuff have been shut down? Locked up? how do all these kids have the passwords, not to mention the knowledge to run things like DNA machines, bombs, and cryovac chambers?

I also struggled with Clover's character. I wanted to love her. As an ace-identifying person myself, I was SO excited to think that here is a sci-fi with an ace protagonist. But Clover was awful. She was mean, she didn't care, and she had no feelings...like sure she was open about not having *romantic* feelings, but she had NO OTHER FEELINGS. It's a dangerous stereotype to play in when you case the ace/aro characters as unfeeling coldhearted jerks. Please don't. (Like she literally didn't care that Noah was murdered, because...she didn't "Love" him. Ok you can NOT LOVE someone, but that doesn't mean you want them to be murdered????)

All in all: I wanted to like this one a lot. With an #ownvoices POC representation, a fully queer character cast, and epic guns and aliens swarming over the page, it had the makings of such a good novel. And I do think it's a fun soap-opera sort of romp. It just needs a lot of suspension of disbelief.

Edge of my seat through the whole book! Read this! Thank you netgalley for the free arc in exchange for an honest review!

What a stunning debut! This was an absolute thrill ride of an alien apocalypse novel that had the sci-fi nerd in me grinning wildly. Clover is such a wonderful MC and her story is powerful and riveting. Can I have a sequel now?!?

The Last 8 builds and builds and gets better with each page you read.

It took a little while for me to get completely hooked as my last DNF only a couple of days ago was about a pilot and our protagonist is also a natural pilot and lover of the sky so sadly I was skeptical initially.

The writing is very accessible and straightforward. It's to the point and not magical or flowery which I grew to appreciate as it better matches the overall vibes if the book.

The plot is basically alien invasion sparks the end of earth, with a twist. I'm not usually a big alien story person but this book pleasantly surprised me.

The aliens get more realistic the more you read about them and different back stories make for an engaging and fun read.

This feels like its more on the younger side of YA than what I usually read but it is still very enjoyable. The characters are diverse and not generalized stereotypes which is great and the author isn't afraid to kill off people (traumatic but great for the story I guess)

Overall a solid 3.5 stars. Rounding up because the twist and ending make it deserving of an above average rating.

My review will be available on my bookstagram @booksandyass on Jan 24th 2019.

Good premise and interesting characters. An okay read, just wished the characters didn't feel so forced into their tropes.

This was a solid read, it drew me in and was a page turner but I don’t really see it sitting with me, nor will I probably read the other ones. It reminds me of many apocalyptic books to come before, all left on the wayside: interesting while read but unmemorable. The main character is interesting but the side characters just kind of mesh together. And it really isn’t as twisty as advertised, in my opinion. Still, for readers who love books about the apocalypse, add this to the list.