3.5 | “Our end will bring our beginning to light.”

I need to start of by saying that reading this book with this pandemic playing out in the meantime does make the whole prepping for the End Of The World As We Know It business a whole lot more reasonable. Maybe it always was.

That being said, I kinda really dug this non-dystopian dystopia story. Because of how ingrained the prepper lifestyle is for all three Juniper sisters, it really feels like you’re on this precipice the entire story - the apocalypse might really happen at any time. It’s a bit strange to say, but it was refreshing to read a story where the apocalypse is approached with as much calm, distance, and preparedness as in The Last Girls. It’s like this: it’s likely the shit’s gonna hit the fan sometime (especially with copious amounts of references to an unnamed POTUS who keeps starting wars and tweeting his bad decisions out to the world) and the Juniper sisters are ready. They know plan A, and B, all the way until Z. And then some, probably.

The setting for TLG is one of the things that makes the story so intriguing. The amount of detail and care that went into describing the compound, the way it works, the way Honey, Birdie and Blue’s brains work as a result of the way they’ve been trained, is really fascinating.

And we all know I’m a sucker for a strong sibling bond in any story, so I was pretty certain this book was up my alley in that respect, and I was right. It was the other strongest part of this novel. The idea of despite all that’s going on, we are each other’s first priority, is just super appealing to me. That combined with the literal found family trope we had going on… britneyyeah.gif. When there are two storylines you know are going to intersect at some point during the story that just makes for a really exciting prospect, and the chapters surrounding that moment in TLG definitely had me on the edge of the couch.

“You trained us to be soldiers, to protect what’s ours, and that’s exactly what we did.”

That also leads me, though, to some of the stuff I had issues with. Because despite enjoying a lot of the story, when I sat with it after finishing the book I also felt… unresolved. And I think one of the reasons for that was the pacing of the book, because despite really liking the idea of the two different storylines, I did feel like it took too long for them to intersect. It meant that I was left with the sense that the resolution of this pretty major plot point and event in the characters’ lives was rushed.

The other thing was, and I think this was pretty major in my final feelings about the book, that I felt like a lot of the characters could have been developed a lot more. It especially struck me when it came to Blue, who, while unambiguously beloved by her sisters, is just [says something prophetic][embroiders clothes][has cool pet bird] all the time. Even Honey isn’t able to say much more than “wow, what Blue just said is even weirder than all the stuff she’s said before.” Blue doesn’t seem to have any friends, or relationships besides her sisters/mother. And when she’s supposed to be one of the core people to this story, makes it just a bit harder to get into.
Also all the antagonists remained really flat. Their motivations remained really unclear, they were just bad, angry, mean people, without there being really more to it than that. That in combination with the amount of things that were supposedly going on in the second half of the book, the violence, the paranormal (???)... It was just a bit too much for me. It feels like a case of less would’ve been more. It would’ve given some more space and depth for plot/characters that I think really needed it.

Still, I think The Last Girls surprised me in a lot of ways, and made for a really interesting story with an original setting. I’d definitely recommend it to people looking for something really fresh and exciting.

A tale of doomsday preppers, secret compounds, and survival at the end of the world, Last Girls was such a unique and rather (unexpected) timely story. But at its heart, it’s a story of sisterhood, the importance of family, and sticking together no matter what.

Honey, Blue, and Birdie Juniper live in a secret compound in Washington state, along with the rest of their group of survivalists and doomsday preppers. The Juniper sisters attend public school but they’re certainly not like their peers, especially with their EDC’s (every day carries), their lack of technology (one shared cell phone), and their general attitude of always being on high alert in case the SHTF (shit hits the fan). They spend much of their time avoiding attention, as per their mother’s request, but an incident at school puts all three of them and their fellow compound members right in the spotlight.

Doomsday preppers are such an interesting and weird set of people, and these particular preppers were a perfect example. Much like real life, their lifestyle is driven by an almost obsession with the end of the world, be it from economic collapse, war, or viral pandemic. Oddly enough, the timing of this book was such an incredible coincidence since we are, in fact, smack dab in the middle of a viral pandemic and possibly facing an economic collapse. That bit of reality made this book so much more visceral and gave the whole story such an authentic feeling. And it made me wonder who around me, right now, is doing exactly what these preppers are doing (and if they have tinfoil hats).

My expectations were super high going in to this book and I’m so thrilled to say that it delivered. Each of the sisters had their own unique voice and experienced their own personal journey throughout the course of the story, and the bond they shared was my favorite part. Although the mystery and the unending feeling of doom both came in at a close second. All told, Demetra Brodsky is such an exciting new voice in the world of YA thrillers and Last Girls is a book I’ll recommend the heck out of, along with her debut, Dive Smack. Do yourself a favor and add both to your tbr, because they’re both books not to be missed.

I had high hopes for this, but I just didn't find it enjoyable. I didn't connect with the writing style, which read like the main character was having a wall-breaking discussion with the reader. I didn't connect with any of the characters, who felt very one dimensional and didn't grow in any way throughout.. The tone was always on-edge, no matter the severity of the situation which became desensitizing over the course of the book. I felt like the story couldn't make up its mind about what it wanted to be, part thriller, part romance, part high school angst, and ended up not having enough pages to wrap it all up. I was really looking for a story of how doomsday prepper teens would utilize their skills for an apocalypse, but it really didn't go in that direction at all.

Last Girls is sort of bonkers, but in the best possible way. From the description, I expected it to be a story of a girl living in a prepper community who starts to question the group's lifestyle, but it ended up being so much more. I don't want to say much about the plot, because it goes to a lot of unexpected places, and that's big part of the fun.

Honey Juniper is the eldest of three sisters. Their single mother is obsessed with the end of the world, and she has raised the girls to be ready for anything. The family were just solo preppers until they joined a larger group who has their own compound. All the women live in one compound, the Nest, and the men live in another, the Burrow. It's a hardcore prepper group, and the kids in the group are highly trained and ready for anything. When we first meet Honey at her high school, there's an event that sounds like shots fired. While everyone else in her class in terrified and sheltering in place, Honey grabs her everyday carry bag (her school backpack, which is filled with all kinds of survival gear), pushes herself through a ceiling panel into an air vent, and goes to meet up with her sisters in their designated meeting spot. Sounds extreme, but this is just standard operating procedure for the Juniper sisters.

Honey is such a distinctive character, full of contradictions. She's a complete badass, but she's also got the soul of a sensitive artist. (She loves painting, but her mother doesn't approve of developing any skills that won't be useful after the apocalypse.) She's suspicious and closed off to outsiders, but she finds herself opening up to a classmate. She's a dedicated prepper, but she also questions the policies of the group.

This book is a really interesting look at the prepper lifestyle, and I learned a lot (mostly that if the apocalypse comes, I'm totally unprepared). It's a fascinating insight into this subculture, and it's a great setting for the book. This is an action-packed book, with a fast-moving plot. I found it hard to put down.

I was expecting to love this one, but it ended up falling a little short for me. I liked the concept of the prepper girls the compound, and the three sisters. I never really connected to the characters themselves or felt their connection to each other. They never felt truly genuine. They felt more like a collection of quirks and idiosyncrasies; manic preppper dream girls. The plot had a lot going on, but I still felt the pacing was a little slow in the beginning. I was thrown by the paranormal/psychic element. It was a little too over the top for me. Overall this was a quick, easy, okay read, with a plot that's definitely different than anything I've read before.

This book wasn't exactly what I expected.  Yes, the girls live in a doomsday prepper compound, but there are several other plot lines that aren't even hinted at in the description.

These sisters stick together no matter what - it's like their mantra - and share an extraordinarily strong bond.  Each also has a distinct personality - Honey, the protector, Birdie, occasionally headstrong to a fault, and Blue, proud to be the weirdest one (and my favorite).  They're creative in different ways with art, drawing, and sewing.  In their world, they're taught to trust no one outside the compound, and forbidden to make friends at school, play sports, or join clubs.  Their whole lives revolve around being prepared for doomsday.

The chapters alternate between Honey's POV and Toby's, whose identity remains a mystery for the first part of the book.  When all is revealed, that plot line is intriguing and strong enough to be a book on its own, although the reason why it occurs was a little on the weak side for me.

Remy is a sweetheart who is determined to learn more about Honey and hopefully move out of the friend zone - if he's even allowed to be her friend.  She's revealed little about herself and maintained her distance from him, as she's been taught by the preppers nearly her whole life, so their sudden romance and her level of trust in him seemed out of character.

A lot is going on in this book - possible domestic terrorism, murders, undercover feds - along with what I've already mentioned, but it takes several pages before the action really starts.  Once it does, the plot moves along at a good pace.  If you're a fan of YA thrillers and characters with strong survival instincts, this is a book you may enjoy.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Last Girls was hard to put down and even after it ended I was still thinking about the Juniper sisters. A great read!!

Praise for this literary master piece written by Brodsky's. This novel will take you through a variety of emotions that houses jaw dropping events that's the absolute epitome of an amazing YA thriller!! The novel is full of suspense layered with so many twist and turns that unwraps itself through strong character development and intrigue. This is a great addition to add to your literary library for an amazing read!!!

Brodsky definitely does not disappoint!
I got the feels of Wilder Girls and The Fifth Wave, only much more!

Blue, Honey, and Birdie are preppers. Survivors. Weird sisters. The end of the world as they know it might not be the nuclear blast they expect, but it will change their lives.

Every now and then you come across a book that just resonates with you. This was one of those. This books is so beautifully written, structured and paced. The characters felt so real, as did their worlds, to the point where I felt like I was right along-side them whether in the trees, out with the goats, or roaming highschool.

The relationships were as tricky and confusing and intense and passionate as the ones we all experience. Happy endings didn't come without a price. Everything was earned.

This is definitely worth reading and rereading whenever you get the chance. I highly recommend everyone add it to their reading list for 2020.

Last Girls by Demetra Brodsky was mindblowing. It was glorious. It was spectacular. I want to add the Lady Gaga talented-brilliant-incredible-amazing-showstopping gif but I can't find it on Giphy and I don't know how to add gifs from anywhere else.

Last Girls is about three sisters who live in a commune of doomsday preppers. The three sisters Honey, Birdie and Blue Juniper are struggling with the commune dynamics. The three sisters are inseparable and fiercely protective of each other.  Their life off the grid is about more than staying under the government radar for their prepper lifestyle. There are secrets within the group that will change their lives forever and not in a way they've trained for.

Overall this book is amazing. Demetra Brodsky has crafted a thoroughly enjoyable and suspenseful read that will have you entranced. The doomsday aspect gives the book a dystopian feel but it is very much contemporary.

Friends! If you've read and loved Rory Power's Wilder Girls and have been looking for another like it since (I mean, who wouldn't want a book about fierce girls who can take care of themselves???), Demetra Brodsky's Last Girls is the book you've got to give a go!

In this book, we have Honey, Birdie and Blue who are sisters and together with their mom, they are part of a cult-like community of doomsday preppers. Outside of the community, they are to blend in with the rest of society, though they're viewed by the 'outsiders' a.k.a. non-preppers as outsiders. Within the community, they train every day and prepare for the end of the world which can arrive at any time. We also have an alternate story line which features Toby and his mother, both who are artists and have lost people precious to them.

There are other plots and a multitude of subjects touched upon within this story as well—romance, friendships, familial relationships, dubious prepper bordering on terrorist activities, kidnappings and some psychic stuff (am I the only one who was like, are we gonna get some Weapon X feels?). It can get a lot, particularly since some of them don't seem to be related to the main plot, but I think there's a good enough balance between the plots and subjects touched upon. In a way, Last Girls having so much going on at the same time reflects how we have a lot happening simultaneously in the real world.

However, I have to admit that the romance between Honey and Remy got hot too fast. Considering how cold she's been with him since the beginning, her warming up to his advances at the latter part of the book felt too sudden. It was a little disconcerting, even.

Other than that, all the important characters need to be fleshed out better. I'm not saying that they aren't fleshed out at all, but it's like...70% there. Honey has it better since we're reading her part of the story from her point of view, but even with the limitation of first person point of views, there are still ways for characters like Blue and Birdie to be portrayed that they'd become more three-dimensional. I think once they have more depth to them, the impact that this story has will be increased as well.

All in all, Last Girls is a strong book that needs a little fine tuning to become greater. If there's a sequel for this, I'd definitely pick it up cause I'd love to read more on the sisters and get answers to some of the questions left hanging here.

DNF-ing this one at 55%. I had such high expectations for this. Preppers! Secrets! Sisters! Unfortunately, this story seemed to give up one of its big secrets very early on and between that and the lackluster, boiled-chicken-bland romance... I just can't. I'm so glad so many others have enjoyed this story, but it just wasn't for me. I think if the characters had been just a little more fleshed out, I could have finished the book but all of them felt like a single quirk instead of a fleshed out character.

“Our end will bring our beginning to light.”

** Trigger warning for child abuse. **

“When I reminisce about the pieces of art I’ve left behind over the years, I get pensive. I could have taken them, but I chose to leave them behind, in places we lived, in art rooms at different schools. Never signed, but as an artistic Honey Was Here trail.”

“If we were living in a different time, she’d be the first of us weirds to be tried as a witch. Birdie would be next, for failure to cooperate with the magistrates. And then me, because with my sisters persecuted I would straight up lose my mind.”

Sixteen-year-old Honey Juniper and her two younger sisters – Birdie and Blue, collectively known at Elkwood High as “the weird sisters” – are preppers. Along with a handful of other families, they live on a secret compound in the backwoods of Washington State. Dieter Ackerman’s acolytes hide in plain sight: bartering and selling homemade goods in the small town of Elkwood, attending nearby Elkwood High School, pretending to live in the mobile home park they use for extra storage.

Though the Juniper sisters have moved five times in ten years, it’s starting to look like the Nest might be their final home…at least, until Dieter’s increasingly risky and erratic behavior, coupled with Alice Juniper’s social climbing, proves to be their undoing.

I expected to enjoy Last Girls so much more than I did. I mean, doomsday preppers! Badass sisters with pouty lips and wild hairdos! Forbidden love/lust! Sick presidential burns! Cultish stuff galore! A freaking peregrine falcon! Alas, it was not meant to be.

I think my main gripe is that there’s just too much going on here. A story about three sisters caught in a doomed doomsday prepper group (lol, see what I did there?) is interesting enough on its own. The culture of paranoia would make for a rather gripping psychological thriller; throw in some teenage hormones a la Remy and Honey, and you’ve got yourself one rousing tale. But on top of a prepper cult engaged in some sketchy terrorist activities and maybe under investigation by the authorities, we also have a triple kidnapping and some random psychic shit thrown in to make things extra weird, I guess.

To be fair, Blue’s prophecies are obvious throwbacks to Shakespeare’s witches – as are the sisters, collectively – as well as Cassandra of Greek mythology. Even so, it’s all just too much.

I also felt like many of the characters, including Honey and her sisters, could have been fleshed out more. The Juniper sisters feel more like a collection of quirks and eccentricities than honest-to-goodness people. And the secondary characters? Ugh. Caricatures, mostly: Magda is the jealous scorned wife; Annalise, the power-hungry second child; Dieter, the erratic messiah. Even Alice Juniper is elusive at best, and it’s her actions that set this whole story in motion.

There’s an exhilarating seed of a story here that sadly never fully blooms. I’m sure Blue would have something especially prescient to say here.

Review below, will post to goodreads once I get the OK (email said 2 weeks prior to publication):

This book contains just about all my favourite things – Fierce girls, doomsday preppers, and kids killing kids (Hunger Games style). It starts off introducing us to the Juniper Sisters and their mum– a family who have constantly moved around until finally settling into a cult-like community formed by doomsday preppers who are determined to keep their community secret from the rest of the town. The sisters spend their days going to school like normal (although are ostracised for being ‘weird’) and then return home to practice for the end of the world (which they believe will come sooner rather than later). A separate storyline shows us into the life of Bucky, a street artist who is a bit lost after experiencing a tragedy 11 years earlier. These two storylines soon interlock in a way that will give you shivers. This is a great YA novel that I absolutely loved. You won't want to put it down.

Last Girls had a great pace and it was so hard to put down.  I figured out the mystery very early on, but I had no idea how it was going to play out.  




Most of the chapters are in Honey's point of view.  She's the oldest of the Juniper sisters.  The three girls live with their mom in Washington.  They're preppers and they live in a compound type area.  The girls drive to school, but they aren't supposed to get close to any outsiders.  Their lives have been full of rules they must follow to be safe if things go wrong.  One of Honey's rules is that they always stay together.  Honey, Birdie, and Blue are very close and very different.  Honey is smart and loyal, but she also questions things.  Birdie is more impulsive and is in love with a boy at The Nest and Burrow.  Blue is odd.  But in a good way.  She has these weird sentences that come to her and she says them out loud.  They rarely make sense, but it's more like psychic premonitions.  I loved Blue so much.  All three girls are artists.  Blue embroiders, Birdie draws comics of their old imaginary friend, Bucky, and Honey paints.  




Things go wrong at school one day and it draws attention to the prepper kids.  A boy, Remy, has always paid attention to Honey, but now he really starts talking to her.  He tries to get her to open up and that's the one thing she isn't supposed to do.  She even becomes friends with Shawna and Brian.  It's the first time Honey has had any bonds to anyone outside her group.  They moved around a lot when she was younger and then they ended up a part of The Nest.  After that, everything was a secret.  Honey also started trusting one of her teachers.  




There are chapters from another POV.  It's a boy in San Diego and you find out more about him later on.  I loved his chapters though.  And not just because he talked about my favorite place.  I really liked him and his friend.




There is a lot about preppers in the book that I didn't know about.  The focus really is on the Juniper sisters and family though.  I loved the bond these girls had.  Even when they fought about things, they still showed so much love.  Remy was a standout to me and I would seriously love a book about him.  




I gave this  book 4  1/2 stars rounded up to 5.  Thank you to the author for getting me an earc through Netgalley.  




Warnings for suicide, death, killing of animals for food, drugs (not taken intentionally), loss of family, and blood/stitches.

With in a compelling mystery, Brodsky employs a meticulous composed plot with poetic language to beautifully and subtly address the anxiety of living in our current society and political landscape. She is able to make the book feel immediate, but also timeless. Her protagonist, Honey, is creative, brave, and loyal. Brodsky is a masterful storyteller drawing us into a world that both tempts with a promise of safety and repels with fear of its power and secrecy. While veering towards reality fiction, this is a book that I would recommend to students who like the intrigue and pacing of fantasy books and could also appeal to readers of adventure stories.

3.75/5 stars

Pretty good, but not my absolute favorite. I'm rounding up though because there's so much that I really like, and the negatives don't weigh so much on me. I like the characters, even though there are times I get slightly annoyed. However, it's very far and between, so it doesn't bother me. I do wish that I couldn't felt more for them, as I wasn't connecting to them on an emotional level. The story I thought was great! There were many times that things I was genuinely surprised, and the books went on paths I wasn't expecting. While it does slightly remind me of other books, it's not enough for me to directly compare them. It holds strongly on its own, and I think it's worth checking out if you want to try out something new!

From the description of this book it’s not quite clear what to expect as a reader. In the first few chapters I noticed the writingstyle was very interesting, nice to read and compliant. The story is written in the first person point of view and only a few changes of perspective are used. Most of the story is told from Honey’s perspective, the oldest of three sisters. She’s the one that keeps the group together, but doesn’t always seem to understand or fathom her sisters. This causes some confusion for us as readers, because she’s lived with them in the same house for years and years and they even go to the same school. While the story continues, every sister gets her own voice, her own quality. The elements of the life as a doomsday prepper are a little vague sometimes. But this might be because not all of us know how these people live and how they are raised. The author uses quite a lot of abbreviations. The chapters are not numbered, but every chapter holds one of those abbrevations including their meaning. It’s nice to be prepared for every new abbrevation and it’s meaning, because not all of them are quite obvious, especially not when English is not your first language. In the back of the book there’s also a list of all these abbrevations and this comes in quite handy sometimes, especially because the Juniper sisters use these abbrevations in their conversations. You only have to check the list if you forgot one and you’re good to go.

The story development are quite unique and the storyline takes some peculiar turns. If you’re not acquinted to the habits or rules of doomsday preppers, it’s not hard to lose yourself in this story. It’s only a little difficult to understand the way Honey and her sisters react to or think about specific incidents. This makes it a little more difficult to place yourself in their shoes. It feels more like watching a movie from a distance than being a part of it. It’s also hard to predict what will happen in the story or what to expect. While you continu reading, you might feel how the story will continu and you’re just waiting for ‘the shit to hit the fence’ (as is used in the story quite a lot). You might expect some great outbreak of something dangerous, which will force the girls into hiding. But the three sisters go through something entirly else. They discover something very important about themselves. This turning point surprised me the most because I thought the story would be more about the end of the world.

It takes a while before the real action begins. So the story isn’t always exciting and didn’t have a little cliffhanger at the end of every chapter. But due to the nice writingstyle you don’t get the feeling you want to put the book down all of the time. The author knows how to keep your attention to the story and how to make you curious to find out about the ending. The ending might surprise you but it’s also a little predictable due to the changes of perspective. Nevertheless, the author kept a few surprises for us at the end. And that’s why you still keep wondering about all the details until the end of the story, until you finished the whole book.

A gripping and mysterious story about three sisters who are raised to survive the end of the world. But they didn’t know they had to use their training and skills fort his one particular purpose.

I will be posting my entire review on goodreads, amazon and my own blog on the date of publication.

I wasn't expecting to love this book as much as I did. I was intrigued with the world of preppers and Brodsky didn't disappoint with the amount of knowledge she wove into the story. The summary is vague and doesn't prepare the reader for what the book is actually about; the reader discovers this fairly early since the chapters alternate between two characters. I was confused for two chapters with the new character since I had no clue how they related to the story, but after a few chapters from this character's point of view I began to connect the dots.

Honey, Birdie, and Blue were amazing. Blue was adorable and I loved every scene she was in. I especially loved her Blueisms and old soul intellect. Honey was the second favorite and Birdie was the least favorite due to her obsession with her boyfriend. As the story progressed, Birdie grew as a character due to several factors and I liked how she wasn't afraid to hold her tongue and protect her sisters.

The only negative I have about the novel is the political ranting. At first it was hilarious to read the digs on Trump, but then the digs kept happening every other chapter and it got old. Especially since the rants had nothing to do with the story in general since the point was made during the very first rant.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC.