5 stars baby!!

What a knock-out! This apocalyptic YA is everything I could have wanted and more!! I truly had zero expectations other than my one bias that I love Zombieland (the movie), so I thought I would love this book.... boy was I right. WAS I FREAKING RIGHT!!

buzzwords and pop-culture reminders:
-Zombieland, The Walking Dead, The Fifth Wave (these are vibes, not necessarily what is causing the apocalypse in this book)
- survivalist, last one standing

I had such a good time with this from start to finish. Everything about it from the characters (loved the tall girl rep- like over 6 ft. tall), to the original plot, the ROMANCE!! UGH I SQUEALED. Also there is a pet companion that of course I loved and stressed over throughout (cat mom over here). Our MC is smart, talented, and so freaking relatable. Even the one character we hate... we end up loving in the end.

I cannot wait to continue this series! As soon as this book comes out, it's an auto-buy for me. Really enjoyed it, and highly recommend if you're into apocalypse books, but not super far from the current world we live in today.

xx
-Christine

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone novel. I got a copy of this book through NetGalley to review. Previous to this I read and really enjoyed Carson’s “Fire and Thorns” series and her “Gold Seer” trilogy.

Thoughts: This was a quick enough read and I finished it. I didn't really love it though. We start with Paige waking up in her bedroom with an IV in her hand, very weak and confused, and go from there. The majority of the beginning of the story is Paige on her own but we do have some other characters join as the book continues.

All of the characters felt a bit shallow to me and like they were fairly unaffected by all the death around them. The book itself also feels a bit unfinished since it was made pretty clear that the actions the characters take at the end will help the situation but not really solve it. Alsoc, the whole reason for humanity's situation is pretty unexplained and feels like it wasn't fleshed out well.

There are some very forced discussions around racism; these sections feel like they were almost developed separately and then plopped into the book. All of these discussions felt very out of place considering what our characters are dealing with. I just felt like maybe they had bigger issues to discuss? Like food, shelter and staying alive?

My Summary (3/5): Overall, in the end I finished this and it was a quick read so I didn't mind reading it. However, I doubt I will ever even so much as think about this book again after writing this review. It was just very forgettable and very mediocre. It wasn’t nearly as epic and amazing as Carson’s other series. I am not sure if there will be additional books in this series, but if there are I will most likely skip them.

I was given this ARC by the publisher in return for an honest review.

Paige Miller, budding basketball star, wakes up from sick a week after going to bed, with an IV in her hand, and all of humanity dead. She believes she’s the last girl alive in her town if not the world. The girl who doesn’t do dread, or defeat, but battle the elements, and herself to have the bravery to survive.

This book was awesome! I really loved it! I loved the 28 Days Later feel I got from it. The main character, Paige, was so good, and felt real. Loved her strength and the way the author portrayed the psychological aspect of the end of the world and having to fight through not just the physical elements of survival but also the mental aspect. I loved all the characters that were introduced and the aliens were cool AF. Seriously enjoyed it and can’t wait to see if more will come out!

An edgy look at a post-apocalyptic America, this is a page-turner I just couldn't put down. Carson's visual style fleshed out a world full of literal flesh-eating creatures in glorious detail. Carson also did a fine job straddling the line between evocative human emotion and letting her characters wallow in the misery of their situation. A fun (and oft gory) look at the young people who are quite literally going to save the world.

I picked up this title because I absolutely loved the Gold Seer trilogy.

This was easy and quick to read, the characters were likable, there was a cute dog, and I don't know what it says about me but I have a soft spot for apocalypse stories.

**Spoiler alert!**
My biggest hangups were a couple of the plot points. Maybe I am just cynical but I find it extremely unbelievable that a message sent from allies to SETI somehow only made it to the most benevolent and selfless group of US senators and friends who not only managed to keep it a secret for 7 years but organized multi billion dollar response. It would almost be more believable if it were some secret enclave of scientists or something. Also their plan for humanity's survival is bizarre. How does it make sense to give the vaccine to random people around the world without telling them? Like our heroes they will come out on the flip side with no f-ing clue what to do or what happened. They will be spread to the 4 winds thinking they are the last people on earth and their survival rates must be abysmal. I would envision maybe a few regional training centers. Maybe tap kids for some sort of special school and prepare them that way. Their plan has WAY too many variables and holes. What are the chances that these magical survivors are checking the radio at 3am during the only broadcast time? Ugh. I need to stop thinking about it it's making me crazy.

Conclusion: enjoyable but cleaning up the plot points could make this a really great read.

This felt like several different books stitched into one. The whole "discovering racism" bit with her love interest made me cringe. I finished it to say that I finished it, but I'm not sure who I would recommend this to. At least the dog lived.

Alright, This book put me in my feels. It brought out so many emotions, and I couldn't put this damn book down.

I received an ARC of this title from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and were not affected by the free copy.

Paige wakes up from a coma to discover that the world has ended and everyone is dead. But she pushes through the fear and tries to survive. Piece by piece, she finds a few survivors, and together, they have a chance.

I loved this book. I'm a huge fan of post-apocalyptic, dystopian books, so my expectations were high. I was not disappointed. Our main characters are fierce survivors (even Tanq-come on, most people would shut down with fear too; she comes into her own). I loved the found family aspect, and Emmaline is obviously the best doggo.

The plot was well paced. I did not want to put the book down, ever. Literally, I read on my phone while cooking dinner. If there is not a book 2, I'm going to be so very mad. Seriously. I need book 2 now.

A girl, named Paige, wakes up after being in a 6-day coma to find that everyone around her is dead- killed by a disease that is unknown to her. She quickly has to cope with being alone and has to search for other survivors, if there are any. She finds a boy named Trey and they stick together, trying to stay alive. But surviving got harder than just finding food and water. Something is outside, searching for something or someone. Alien-like spaceships roam the skies and have used huge beams of light to destroy things, even people.

This is a book you should not read at night if you get scared easily, or even if it takes a bit for you to be frightened. This book is fantastically written, in my opinion, filled with descriptions of everything- emotions, places, people, everything. I felt like I could see everything and feel everything. I was a little angry and disappointed at the end of the book because the survivors accomplished one of their goals, but there were many things left unanswered, and the story of the survivors must continue. I really hope there will be a second book or a series. If you enjoyed this book, you might like “Alone” by Meghan Freeman- it is a little less descriptive and maybe aimed toward a younger audience, but it is about surviving alone. There are almost no points in this book that are not filled with some sort of distress or fear, and while I don’t feel this was over-packed with drama and fear, there are very few truly happy moments in this book. This book will leave you on the edge of your seat, and when one bad moment stops, another begins on the next page. Even though this book dealt with aliens, it seemed very realistic and everything made sense. I would definitely reread this book, and I really am hoping for a second. It would be good for a book club, or an individual reader.

Read and reviewed by a member of the Teen Advisory Group. Annie - Age 13

I am more inclined to read Fantasy than Science Fiction and I am not a fan of reading about pandemics right now, so it is tribute to my respect for Rae Carson as a storyteller that I decided to read her latest tale of an alien induced pandemic. Although I still prefer her fantasy offerings, this has all the hallmarks of her storytelling style: high adventure accompanied by intelligent strategy, complicated relationships and deep friendships characterized by loyalty. I was particularly admiring of how the young protagonists must puzzle out how they arrived in their current situation and how they reason how they must move forward to survive. It is smartly done. You are never frustrated by their actions or fruitless acts of ridiculous bravado. There is a real sense of the bravery of the characters balanced by a genuine sense of loss, but also saved from a grim sadness by the hopefulness of their youth.

Engaging and fun to read. I enjoyed the premise and it was incredibly readable. I found myself wanting to turn the pages. Enjoyed! Really sweet ending.

Any Sign of Life is a brilliant and vibrant tale of survival. Rae Carson's characters are so vividly drawn that I felt that I was the one trying to survive alone in a world decimated by a devastating virus. This is a fantastic, fast-paced read that reflects what people are most concerned about now.

really liked this book, it was fun and easy to get through. the mc is a great character she isn’t the usually annoying i liked the side characters even more the main relationship was the best thing. the pacing and the setting of this novel was so good and just made the book even better.

I'm always down for an apocalyptic, teen survival plot line, and this book did not disappoint in that aspect. Creative take on the "disease wipes everyone out" story idea, but I wish the author had delved a little deeper into the back story of the disease. The majority of the book was spent with the characters running from place to place, gathering supplies and encountering dead people, and while the mystery of the illness kept the book interesting, once they figure out the origins of the pandemic the book sort of unravels. This definitely felt like the first book in a series - setting up the characters and the conflict, small resolution at the end that could either lead into another book or two, or just end quietly.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

~Special thanks to Netgalley and Greenwillow Books for the ARC in exchange for an
honest review!~

Someone, somewhere, is probably getting fired over how crappy they've been controlling my decision-making panel of bad choices (yes, there is only one kind of panel). Why? Maybe, perhaps, most likely, because I've been meaning to write this review since the 1800s and still, I have not come across the 'want' to actually do so.

𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 💀💀💀💀 𝟒.𝟎

Yes, that was a semi apology from me to me. I needed it. Pfft.
(If you're wondering which you probably aren't. I forced myself to write this. Oh, the joys of not writing a review after finishing a book)

Okay, okay, it's not because I didn't find the book 'good' or 'great'. It's that upon further investigation, the strong feelings that this produced, were severely and utterly based on the fact that I adored one of the author's other series (I bet it's serieses, dang it) and basically, had a blindfold on, obscuring any sense of wrong-ship and all of the things I would disagree on, if I had my sight uncovered. (gosh, I really exceeded every vocabulary word I had in my arsenal, dang) So, this is my new rendition of an attempt at actually seeming like I'm doing this because I want to. Because I do. Yep. (there was a review before this one, that I hadn't published and it sounded something like this)

I loved this, I loved the characters. Everything.
Love, love, looooveeeee. LoVE iTTTTTTTTT. LuuuRRRRvvEEEE.

(so maybe this is a better employment of my time than watching TikToks I find hilarious, even though they actually aren't)

I would've adored the 𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐭 if it had stayed in its original course. Something that resembles what was currently sent from Hades to infect humanity. Sound familiar? Yeah, I don't recognize it either. I found it
maybe a little unnecessary and frankly, even though I enjoyed the crap out of the last plot... drama, I would've adored it to bits if it had stayed virus like. Still, I can't deny the absolute appeal of what further happened, because let's be honest, I was plenty addicted to trash on it. Trash on it? That doesn't even make sense- Okay, forget that phrase, I'm trying to seem smarter than I am, and I'm obviously failing. Can you tell I'm slowly unraveling? Nahhh.
I enjoyed the fast pace of the story, I found some details wonderful, whilst others were just the tiniest bit cumbersome. (cuuuu-cumber. Bahahahaha, cumbercumber. I need to stop). I liked the fact that it didn't drag, yet sometimes, noticed the really REALLY jumped over moments. Like, grief, for example.

Right! 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐝. What was the thing I disliked... GRIEF! (emphasis makes the dramatics work, I guess) Everyone moved on too darn quickly. I'm sorry, but okay. Everyone has different ways to handle loss, pain, and suffering. However, if my whole family were to die, I would literally be in a comatose-heartbroken state. Make sense? I wouldn't be thinking quite as clearly as I would love to say and maybe, just maybe, I would sob my soul out every time I moved and remembered that my family wasn't there. I clearly am talking about my bookshelf, of course. How a virus would affect it, I have no idea. I think the characters were amazingly strong, which I'll forever fangirl over, but come on. A little more emotion would convince me the robot era didn't infiltrate their brains. That's all I asked for.

The 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 was gorgeous, and I appreciated it to heaven and back, because if I were to visit Heaven. I would, sadly, be back. (yo, every time I try to seem like I know what I'm doing, it backfires on me) I enjoyed every detail said and the familiarity of the words and phrases. Something like coming to terms with a long-lost memory of a previous book from the same author. Beautiful and a warm, perhaps a burning hug from your subconscious. I still have the red-hot tracks surrounding my heart, by the way. I slurped on every paragraph, though I got a little annoyed to continue when my mental space was too... bored's not the word I'm looking for. Info-dumped. Yes, there we go, Booksy! Using your words. Nice. (I can honestly tell you that I attack myself more than I love myself and perhaps that's an indicator of how coo coo I may be going. Pfff, too much. Too much) I would give the writing a 6 or 7 out of ten. Good, maybe more than good. Not exceeding Donut-Like level though.

Simple, yet entertaining.

Now, unto the 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬. Beings that have viciously attacked me in terms of when the heck I would write about them and how I would do it. Because every day, I feel like my vocabulary keeps shortening. And I don't like the feel of it.

The 𝐌𝐂 was one of the strongest, smartest, not-going-to-kill-me-because-of-how-stupid-their-decisions-are- beings I've ever read about and that ignited this feeling of pure love for her that was used against me in the following chapters as my amazement slowly melted off to a sort of 'okay, this is good enough to finish, maybe good enough to binge, but good enough to love? Not exactly'. Her thought process wowed me when placed in the situation of your whole entire family being dead.

Again, why was she so calm? Nevermind- I need to see the positivity in lifeth.
I adored how she didn't let anything stop her, how amazing at remaining sane she appeared to be. And frankly, she was one of the best female characters I've ever read about- albeit I would've wished that her personality would've been explored further, apart from how she used to play basketball and that she was apparently humongous (compared to me, everyone is the size of skyscrapers). So yeah, the teeniest bit away from IWOULDIEFORYOUANDIWOULDKILLFORYOU territory, that I so crave to hold close to my soul.

Then we have the 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬. See, that's all they were. I could've found them on almost every rom com out there, and I still somewhat enjoyed the predictability included within their personas.

We have the 𝐠𝐨𝐭𝐡 with daddy-family-people issues who wants everyone to die. Or doesn't care enough to mourn their deaths.
Then we can appreciate the beauty of the 𝐣𝐨𝐜𝐤 turned semi idiot guy with shining hair and a smart complex.
The beautiful 𝐋𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐨 man that stole the smallest part of me because I so felt represented.
And then the love interest.

There.
That's basically it.

I didn't really feel for anyone, I was like 'oh. how sad. aw' every single time they shared stories and I know that I could've tried harder. But like, is that my job? I wanted to love them so deeply, their connected tides would rush through me and pull me into the waves for a warm embrace. I craved to be swept apart by microorganisms chasing a wholly carving of my existence. I did not cry for their pain. I did not feel for their heartache. It just was.

My heart was beating really quickly in some parts.
Other parts it felt slow enough to burn me alive.
So yeah, a decade later, and I'm trying to make up for the half that I completely forgot because why not do what needs to be done now, later on? It will still be accomplished.
*make education smart again*

All that was to explain that I was let down. Dear author, you who holds a single cell of my being. If this turns out to be a series, maybe make the characters feel like characters? That's all I can really say.

That, and leave the pandemic/other theme still attacking the world (fictional) please. No conflict gets resolved in 300 pages.
I think.

𝐎𝐧 𝐚 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞, this review has been killing me for a while now. Netgalley keeps kindly reminding me of my imminent demise if I do not complete my duty as a dutiful book fangirler (see noun in the Book of Great Bookish Terms in the following 67 years). The plot was vivid and close enough to actually come through as something more than mildly satisfying. The characters needed the slightest bit of more depth, romance was rushed through and basically out of nowhere, but the pace was really pleasant.

See? I can be nice. Now, if an alien comes knocking on my door, it better be because the end of the world is coming, I need food- Netgalley, we did it!

I.
I did it. You just threatened me with the weekly newsletters.

Well, me with the help of powerful substance- Doritos.

I struggled a bit with the plot development in regards to the "planned" apocalypse, but I really did enjoy this book overall. Carson did a wonderful job of world-building while maintaining a sense of realism, in that this-could-really-happen sort of way. The thing I enjoyed most about the book was Paige's development as she was confronted with a stark, new reality, the loss of her family, her relationship with the other surviving teens and her dog companion. She showed true resilience in the face of adversity, and I'm always here for strong girls like that.

This was a fast-paced read that I thoroughly enjoyed! I didn't know going into it that ::spoiler?:: there were aliens involved, but I didn't find it cheesy or unbelievable. There's good action and the romance was well done- not over the top. I love that Carson included a character who identified as ace. Wil definitely give to my teens, guys and girls.

I really liked this book but some parts were dragged out way to long.
Pretty good alien invasion book.

A stark, post-apocalyptic sci-fi. with an out of this world twist. Fans of The Walking Dead, Bird Box and The 5th Wave will love this YA.

A virus has wiped out nearly the entire population on the planet in just weeks. Paige wakes up from a coma to find everyone dead. Forced to leave her home to survive she sets out to search for food and other people. She can't possibly be the only survivor can she? Joined by a neighbor's dog, she now faces a new danger. Surviving nature, hunger, thirst and the elements. When she discovers not just one person, but two, she discovers the real cause of the disease and realizes the virus was only the beginning of the fight for survival, not just for herself and her new friends but for the rest of humanity. Well, what's ;left of it that is.

This book had a good degree of horror elements that some may love, but also could be a little too gruesome for some YA readers. The found family Paige discovers is a fantastic element but there were a few points that felt too deliberately political. I get making a point about racial injustice and value that in today's society but they felt out of place where they were written into the story arc. The beginning seemed a little rushed, especially with what the MC had just been through and I would have loved to see some of the emotional trauma fleshed out a little more with the deaths of everyone these characters knew and loved. Tanq and Trey, I liked the contrast of Tanq coming off all rough and tumble but really showing how afraid she really was inside and that it was a lot of false bravado. I can understand that, especially in an apocalypse.

The ending sets up for a sequel. This one was a good read that may or may not be a good fit for some teens depending on their taste. If they love dark survival thrillers, aliens, and viruses, this is for them!

I almost passed this book by as it is a YA/teen book, but I'm surely glad that I didn't. The characters and the storyline pulled you right in and I found myself cheering the survivors on.