It's 2072, and the world is going to end. Leigh Chen is part of a small group of the children of world leaders (her mom is POTUS) touring the Lazarus, a prototype of the ships being designed to transport humanity to a new planet, when the world ends early, sending Leigh and the other kids into an impossible situation: they have to survive. With no grownups. In space.

This. Book. Was. AMAZING. Leigh was a complex and sympathetic character -- she's spent her life in the public eye and has become the consummate politician even though she's only in her teens -- she modulates her emotions, doesn't over-commit, and is always seeking consensus, even if it means subverting her own interests and desires. The hardships and crises the survivors face are relentless and complicated, from technical and supply issues to interpersonal conflicts to emotional breakdowns. I could barely catch my breath waiting to see what would happen next thanks to the excellent pacing -- and that ending?!? PERFECTION. I loved this book SO MUCH. Riley Redgate is a new auto-read author for me, and I'm going back and hitting up her backlist, hard.

This is a story about the only ones left alive.

I was not prepared for the stress this book would cause me. It’s like someone read Lord of the Flies & saw The Village and also felt like space was the correct setting for these things. Don’t let the deceptively calm cover fool you, this book took off immediately and I didn’t spend a single page feeling relaxed. I’m looking forward to reading others by the author!

Thank you so much Disney Publishing Worldwide & Netgalley!

"Alone Out Here" entails a gripping science fiction journey through space that was hard to put down. As the journey progresses in the story, it becomes uncertain how the story will end, and who exactly was in the right between the various factions that form. In the end, I empathized the longing for home the characters all struggled with. If you need a journey into space that has twists and turns and portrays adventure, romance and mystery, this this is the perfect read for you!

A thought-provoking scifi and political thriller that encourages teens to consider important questions about leadership, who should be decision-makers, whose voice is important, and the value of a single life. Hand this to fans of The 100.

Imagine escaping world catastrophe via a space ship only to realize you and your fellow passengers, many of whom are kids, may be doomed anyway. That's what happens in Alone Out Here by Riley Redgate. Leah Chen, the daughter of the President of the United States, finds herself in a leadership group with the ship's captain. Together, they try to trouble shoot any and every little problems that comes up with the hastily put together ship, only to find out that they are surely low on food. When arguments rise up among the rest of the shipmates, Leah realizes that the pilot of the ship may not really have everyone's best interest at heart. The only question is, does she have the voice to stand up for what is right? And, does she really even know what is the right course of action? How can anyone know in this situation?

Redgate does a great job detailing the isolation and loneliness that must be present in a situation like this. The trouble is, some of the shipmates feel helpless while others become power hungry! This is a good book for any lovers of science fiction!

34% DNF. When you've read Stephen King, who knows how to take a cast of characters and build interpersonal tensions in a life-or-death survival scenario, this just ain't gonna cut it.

The premise is great, and some of the characters (Eli, especially) have promise, but most of them are underdrawn to this point in the narrative, and the ship science is ... underwhelming, to say the least. I'm a stickler for world building - the world can be ridiculous and fantastical, but it has to make sense for the story that's being told. So they're going for the Arcteus - and I don't even know where it is. At first I thought it had reached its planet landfall? But then the overall science of .4% light speed came up and...yeah. So the Lazarus ship was originally for an 1100 year journey? With capacity for 90K passengers? But what about population growth? And I GET that the teens here aren't supposed to have all the answers (it's kind of the point) but if your MC has read the entire report on how the Lazarus is supposed to work (NOT JUST THE SUMMARY, she points out, as it was so helpfully pointed out in the text) why aren't the big questions being talked about?

I mean, if they're calorie-strapped, why the hell are two characters RUNNING for an hour every night??

Through the reading, I thought about everyone who did it better, from King's Boulder Free Zone in The Stand or the people Under the Dome, to the geopolitical machinations in Clarke's Rama ship, to the cramped quarters on the moon in Gibb's Space Case. Books don't have to be sophisticated to feel like a complete and cohesive world. See: Ice Planet Barbarians.

Honestly, if I didn't have another million books to read, I would probably finish this one because I'm curious about where it goes, from a plot perspective, but I don't have high hopes for it becoming any more personally satisfying/less annoying to me. It feels like sci-fi lite for teen audiences, which will be satisfying to some, but not to the kids who came away wide-eyed from Scythe looking for more like it.

If you're looking for a better space survival scenario, read The Martian or Hail Mary. If you're looking for a better teen survival scenario, read a book about zombies - there are lots of those. If you want some teens in space, read the Binti Trilogy.

(Note: given the high first printing run for this title, I'll still probably purchase it for my library if the reviews are good, but I'll reserve recommending it to my teens who are just starting to explore sci-fi, rather than those who are hardcore fans)

In the year 2072 US First Daughter Leigh Chen is a part of a group of 52 teens touring a space fleet production facility. When disaster strikes months earlier than predicted this untrained group is humanity's last hope. Untrained, alone, and scared, they do their best to carry on with a mission none of them ever dreamed to be a part of.

This book was non-stop! I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. The combination of climate disaster, space travel, and Lord of the Flies retelling was perfection! Fans of The 100 will love this and I can also see it being adapted for the big screen.

A fascinating science fiction story with characters that made me laugh and cry, this is one I will definitely be recommending to my students.

A science fiction adaptation of Lord of the Flies! When Earth finally succumbs to global warming, some children of world leaders and scientists find themselves on a spaceship not quite ready for the journey. Without guidance except training videos, the young adults are forced to make decisions of life or death with regards to the maintenance of the ship...and chaos ensues because not everyone agrees on how dissenters should be handled. Will the group come to a consensus in order to survive or are they doomed to duplicate their parents failed attempts at saving the future of humanity?

Alone Out Here is a sci-fi/dystopian take on Lord of the Flies mixed with a dash of Nyxia. The character dialogue is believable and the action fast-paced without heavy duty description or exposition to bog down the flow of the story. We are sympathetic to Leigh, thrust into yet another role where her every word and action is scrutinized, and her search for autonomy is the real journey.

If anything, I felt maybe a bit too much had been cut or edited as I was unsure of the motivations of other characters or whether I was supposed to be sympathetic to them. But not knowing those things made me more sympathetic to Leigh as her character would not have known either in this situation.

The ending was appropriate, but I did see it coming from far, far away. (I'd reference the movie it reminded me of, but I feel it would spoil the ending of this book!) It was still a very enjoyable read.

Thank you NetGalley and Disney for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Alone Out Here is a haunting work of Cli-Fi. The story sticks with you long after you read the last page.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for my advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.