I picked this book because of the title not knowing what to expect at all. I had not idea this book fell into the following categories:

YA
Dystopian
LGBTQ+
Survival
Coming of Age

Would I have picked it to read? Probably not because I am not a fan of dystopian novels. Am I offended by the other categories related to this book? Oh my gosh, NO! Dystopian novels just freak me out because I start to worry, this could really happen, especially with the threat of increased destructive conditions because of global warming, and some people’s belief it is a hoax.

This books subject cataloging with LGBTQ+ might keep it from being purchased by some schools and public libraries which would be a travesty for fans of this genre. There are no scenes of sexual interaction except a few kisses which are not extreme. In my opinion, I would not really even classify the book as falling into this category necessarily. If two people were plunged into situation where they were alone together for an extended period of time not knowing if they would ever have contact with someone else, I think they would want to have the comfort of person. I will reinterate there is no sexual relationship between the two main characters or any characters in the book.

For this non-fan of dystopian novels, I enjoyed the story. I loved the fact Liz lived in a bookstore following the storm and took advantage of the time of the situation to read.

2⭐️

One of my many MOST ANTICIPATED reads of 2025. Oooh how I wish I enjoyed this so much more.

This started out as a promising 4.5 star read. I mean, who wouldn’t want to read a story about a girl surviving in a bookstore after her hometown suffers from “The Storm.” The minute that I finished Chapter 1, I knew that I was going to fall in love with the atmosphere of the bookstore. Being able to hear different authors’ names being dropped. Being able to read about how Elizabeth Flanney (FMC #1) got her job at said bookstore as well as how she has managed to survive so for sounded priceless. I couldn’t wait to read about her past, from her family to her time in high school. Was she an overachiever??? Was she a huge fan of reading or only got the job at the bookstore because it felt easy and she just wanted to be lazy??? I had so many questions running through my mind that I practically read Chapters 1-6 in one sitting. I then turned around and stayed up until 1:30 in the morning reading Chapters 7-14. And thing were going great. I was still loving Elizabeth and got even more excited when Maeve (FMC #2 and no last name was mentioned) entered the picture. Maeve being introduced into the story spiced thing up tremendously. She came off as mysterious, full of knowledge, and felt like she had her crap together A LOT more than Elizabeth. I just couldn’t wait to read more of about Maeve. I was even able to predict that these two would fall for each other and their relationship was just what I needed.

But…Oooh how things took a serious and unlikable turn from Chapters 15-39. The epilogue was okay.

It took 15 chapters before the annoyance of Elizabeth Flanney took place. It took 15 chapters before I found myself thanking God that I chose to read along with the audiobook. I quickly sped up the audio to 1.75x and I was able to read the last several chapters in three hours. Elizabeth had no character growth. She was weak, naive, and helpless. To make matters worse, SHE KNEW THIS and did ABSOLUTELY nothing to change it. And, to add insult to injury, she made the MOST dumbest mistakes. The amount of times Elizabeth talked about the “end of the world” books that she read as well as the amount of the movies and tv shows she watched and she still managed to make mistakes. This made no sense!!! She talked wwwaaayyy too much to strangers and everyone knows that Rule #1 to any “end of the world” situation is that: YOU DO NOT TELL PEOPLE WHAT YOU HAVE!!! Maeve even told her this and Elizabeth still failed to listen. I am sorry but, Elizabeth did not deserve Maeve, especially during and after their third act breakup. Every time Maeve did something wrong Elizabeth would get mad at her but then talk about how she was a hypocrite because she had done the same thing. It took 15 chapters for the eye rolling to begin and I couldn’t stop until I hit the end.

Nothing hurts a book more than when the last chapters of it are just there. When the reader finds themselves ready to get things over with. To feel this way from Chapters 15-39 was both bothersome and heartbreaking. I really wanted to love this book. It was a new piece of literature for me. I can watch post apocalyptic movies and tv shows but to read books about them always makes me feel uncomfortable and scared. But, The Last Bookstore on Earth was something different. Falling in love with the cover was what pushed me to read the synopsis, which then led to me requesting the ARC. As soon as I started reading this piece of literature, I found it both easy to get into and a helpful palette cleanser. One might also find themselves wanting to read this on a rainy day (feet kicked up and drinking coffee, hot cocoa, or hot tea). I don’t know but this book just felt relaxing. The audio is only 9 hours total and can be finished in one day.

Do not shy away from from this book if you find yourself wanting to read it. Your experience, thoughts, and feelings could be different from mine. And I hope that turns out to be a good thing.

Thank you NetGalley and Delacorte Press for granting my request for an Advance Reader’s Copy of this book in exchange for my honest and personal opinion!!!

I really enjoyed this book! Despite it being an "end of the world" book, it was... cozy? I really liked how Liz was just... doing her thing. She was helping people and everyone was kind, and it wasn't a typical end of the world type deal.

I did not love it as much as I had hoped, which was a bummer, but I think the author has A LOT of potential and I can't wait to read more things by her!

I’ve read my fair share of post-apocalyptic stories featuring a teenage heroine. It was refreshing to read the perspective of an average teenager whose idea of survival is to simply stay put and see what happens. Liz is seventeen, and hunkered down in a bookstore after losing her family, friends, and most of society to a terrible storm. The Last Bookstore on Earth is a story of an ordinary person trying to live a somewhat normal life in a dangerous new world.

Liz has an unhealthy attachment to the bookstore.

With her family and friends gone, Liz is processing survivor’s guilt and abandonment issues. There were warnings of the big storm before it tore through the world. Many people (including her family) didn’t take the warnings seriously enough until it was too late. When another survivor warns Liz that another storm is expected, she doesn’t want to believe it, but she knows she has to somehow fortify the store.

It may be “easier” to give up and let the storm do its worst. Liz doesn’t believe she should have been spared in the first storm anyway; however, the will to survive is too strong. At times it seems like her stubbornness to stay inside the store is a weakness. Yet I began to recognize it as her desire to stand her ground. The store became her home when she wasn’t ready to live alone. It provided her a sense of comfort and normalcy from her life before the storm. In her desire to fight to keep the store secure, she’s standing up to the broken society outside, and the power of nature that took too much from her the first time.

Tying our characters’ survival to a bookstore was a unique twist on the post-apocalypse theme.
I recommend to readers interested in a young survival story without the overdone plot of “saving the world”.The bookstore was not only a safe haven for Liz and Maeve, but it served as a beacon of hope for others. The Last Bookstore on Earth is a story of finding purpose after tragedy.

This was a good book. I enjoyed it. I feel there were a lot of things that needed expanded on and I just didn’t feel a connection with the characters. I ended up skimming the last 25% because I just wasn’t as invested as I was at the beginning. I do think if I read this when I was younger I would’ve loved it a lot more than I did now. Overall, it was a good book with a nice premise. I just feel like it needs more.

Overall a good read. The relationship between the two characters worked well with how contrasting their personalities were. Little disappointed that it was more a book about characters self development which was well written in that aspect. However, you don’t see much of what happened with the outside world. It is mostly centered in the bookstore which would be the center focus as it is part of title but it just was very hard to care for the character when we’re only get glimpses of what sure experienced and sometimes it puts her in an unfavorable light.

I didn't care much for this book. It seemed quite a bit unrealistic to me. I was more so hoping for an apocalyptic read which was only touched on in the last 3-4 chapters. This book mainly focused on the main character Liz, who resides in a bookstore and refuses to leave. Although she is young and should be able to adapt, she is incredibly inept at absolutely everything. I'm honestly not sure how she survived up til when Maeve showed up. In addition, she is incredibly stubborn and refuses to leave the bookstore even when she knows the bookstore won't survive the incoming storm (which in some senses is slightly admirable to want to save the books, but it wasn't written very well, she kinda was written like a toddler stomping her feet and throwing a tantrum). She also over analyzes absolutely everything which I found to be incredibly annoying. Like after someone tries to kill you, you're first thought shouldn't be "Oh they didn't have a choice. I should tell her I understand why she did that to me."

Maeve is the saving grace in this story. She is at least reasonable. She is the only reason the bookstore has a chance of surviving the storm.

Finally, I hated that during one of the fight scenes when someone Liz cared about was hurt, everyone stopped fighting to watch her cry over her. Helloooo? That's not realistic at all!!

Lily Braun-Arnold’s The Last Bookstore on Earth is a love letter to books and the magic of storytelling. Set in a post-apocalyptic world where stories are a precious relic of the past, this heartwarming and imaginative tale celebrates the resilience of humanity and the power of literature to unite and inspire. With vivid world-building and unforgettable characters, this book is a must-read for bibliophiles and anyone who believes in the transformative power of stories

Liz Flannery has been living in an abandoned bookstore in New Jersey. She took refuge in it after a storm hit that decimated civilization and killed millions. She barters books for supplies with other survivors and rumor has it another storm is about to hit. How will she survive it? She isn't ready.

Maeve breaks into the bookstore during the night seeking shelter and Liz catches her in the act. Both teens are wary of one another but they push thru and form a friendship. They decided to work together and prepare for the storm.

Things seem to be going well until Maeve's past comes back to haunt them and they are left to fight for their lives.

The Last Bookstore on Earth wasn't exactly what I was anticipating. I expected more about the storms rather than little glimpses. This left me feeling disappointed. I wanted to know and "see" the fall of society however survivors guilt and learning to live in a world which society has changed vastly plays an important role.

The characters are realistic and my favorite moments took place between Liz and customers who visited the bookstore. Braun-Arnold paints a perfect picture of the bookstore. I could easily imagine it and place myself inside it. Reading this book was a bit of a struggle but I'm glad I read it despite disagreeing with the ending.

** I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exhange for an honest review.

Starting the new year with a very competent first novel from a pretty young author!

This book scratched a number of itches for me—even in the worst timeline that we're living, and kind of especially in this worst timeline, I really enjoy stories about people surviving the end of the world. This one has the added bonus of girls falling in love, and a bookstore! Two of my favorite things. I was very charmed by the narrative voice of Liz, the POV character, who just wants to hunker down with all the books and make whatever kind of quiet, contained life she can make for herself. And I was equally charmed by Maeve, her tough guy attitude and her useful baby butch fix-it skills! The way these two clashed—until they didn't—was fun, and predictable in a pleasant way rather than an irritating way. And of course, the whole thing made me so nostalgic for my bookselling days!!

That said, I finished the book feeling like i hadn't gotten enough of anything. I wanted to be even more in love with their love, and even more devastated by their backstories and their pain. I wanted to feel even more tense about what would happen when the second world-ending Storm inevitably blew through, or how they would get out of the various scrapes and dangers they got into. As with so many things, this is a matter of taste! I'm the kind of reader who wants to wail and gnash my teeth, and I like being surprised by twists and outcomes and obstacles. thinking back to how I've sobbed over other apocalyptic books, this one didn't quite achieve those high highs and low lows that I look for, or the level of tension that makes those extremes work in a story like this. But I think for some folks that will make it more appealing than something devastating.

So it depends on what you're looking for, but either way, I'll be keeping an eye out for more by Braun-Arnold! I think the potential is there for her to write something that destroys me.

Another take on a dystopian world…..acid rain killing off the population……and leaving destruction in its path.
Liz refuses to leave the bookstore that she worked at before the Storm. Even though it’s falling apart and she doesn’t know how to fix it. Maeve shows up and they become reluctant roommates. But Maeve has a past that is trying to catch up to her and it becomes intertwined with Liz’s past.
This is a very slow book. I mean it literally takes place in a bookstore…..with 2 characters for the majority of the book. Not to mention a lot of it is internal monologue.
That being said, if I had to imagine being a 17 year old who lost my whole family……I would probably be a lot like Liz.
Overall a decent YA dystopian book.
I received an ARC of this title, all opinions are my own.

[arc review]
Thank you to Penguin Teen Canada for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
The Last Bookstore on Earth releases January 7, 2024

Elizabeth works at a bookstore and has decided to find refuge there, spending her time trading books for valuable goods and necessities, now that the world has turned apocalyptic. Aside from a frequent visitor in the form of a nameless man donning a peacoat, there’s maybe a few dozen other people lingering around or passing through the area.

With another catastrophic storm quickly approaching, a girl named Maeve seeks shelter at the bookstore, and soon becomes friends with Elizabeth after a rocky first impression as an intruder. But a storm with acidic rain might not be the worst thing they’ll have to face together.

Over the past several months, Elizabeth has made a utopia for herself in the bookstore, never having to leave its premises to defend herself or hunt for food, unlike Maeve, who has lived a vastly different experience in the outside world.
Though they’ve both lived a rather solitary life thus far, the two of them could not be more different. But then again, just like grief, survival looks different for everyone.

This debut had a lot of potential, but ultimately fell short of my expectations.
Elizabeth was too naive of a character and felt rather one-note; I wanted to see her achieve a much greater character arc.
Had this story been told exclusively from the pov of Maeve, the post-apocalyptic worldbuilding would’ve been more expansive, and there would’ve been more depth and grit overall.

Their reckless fumble with the generator stuck out like a sore thumb and its unrealistic depiction left an unfavourable lasting impression of the plot and character conflicts that followed.

Another thing I found hard to believe was the fact that Eva was in walking distance from Elizabeth the entire time yet never once thought to come back out of curiosity… surely she would’ve heard about the postal service exchange point that was set up through word of mouth?

I would like to suggest a new sub-genre: cozy dystopian scifi.

I mean, I don't know of any others. Just this one.

But that's what this is.

The story is bleak but hopeful. The setting is apocalyptic, but in a cozy bookstore. And there's still time for a romance (romcom? Can I call this a romcom?)

Delightfully genre bending, at once both tender and angry, with a main character who feels more real than some real people I know in real life.

And what better spot to find yourself at the end of the world than a bookshop!

"I couldn't understand what value a book had in this new world. I mean, I understood what it meant to me, but to the rest of the world? It soon became clear that I severely underestimated the power of distraction."

If you're looking for a safe place to hide, with a good distracting story, this book might be it. Put on an Alanis Morissette track and curl up with it. In the end, it's still dystopia - but there are flowers and spring.

The Last Bookstore on Earth by Lily Braun-Arnold sounded good to me at first, but this book just wasn't for me. I liked the story itself, minus the post-apocalyptic part! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance reader copy of this title in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this eARC.

The Last Bookstore on Earth is set in an immediate post-apocalyptic New Jersey and follows teens Liz and Maeve as they must work together to survive another climate disaster.

This wasn't necessarily the YA dystopian I was hoping for, but it was a nice little book that I did ultimately enjoy reading. The world the characters exist in felt realistic, but the world at large was not the focus of the story. Instead, the book concerned itself predominantly with character, and with the impact that surviving such a wide-scale disaster has on an individual person. There was also, of course, romance, which was sweet and heartfelt. I did struggle to believe some of the stakes -- often there were moments where it seemed Liz and Maeve should be staring down the barrel of immediate doom, but that intensity is never reflected in the text -- but I do, in retrospect, appreciate the way that this choice contributed to the overall soft tone of the book. This is definitely one of those reads that I think most readers could enjoy, but only if they're willing/able to leave their expectations at the door.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Children's Delacorte Press, and Lily Braun-Arnold for the opportunity to read The Last Bookstore on Earth in exchange for an honest review.

In a nutshell: severe storms including burning acid rain destroys the East Coast (and perhaps the world, but who knows?). Once girl takes refuge in a book store where she used to work. Encounters another girl who she starts to like.

A more thorough explanation: due to climate change, sever storms have demolished much of the east coast. Since the novel is from the perspective of eighteen-year-old Liz, not much is known about the devastation of the world beyond her hometown. She takes refuge in a bookstore that becomes this this little place of passing for people coming through. They exchange goods for books or offer good for Liz's services to help deliver messages from those looking for loved ones who may also pass through. Liz's family is gone, and her co-worker, Eva, left her all alone, so she finds solace in her continued work in the supposedly last bookstore on Earth.

Enter a girl named Maeve. She's fierce. Her gung-ho attitude helps break Liz out of her shell. She hasn't left the bookshop in a year, since the first storm, and a second skin-melting storm is predicted to be coming through soon. Maeve helps Liz repair the shop and use the generator (after a bit of a dumb incident), and the two girls grow ever closer, but Maeve isn't ready to add her story to Liz's collection that she gains from travelers. Not yet, anyway. Trust is a challenge in a world such as this.

Liz will learn that people are not what they once were. The post-apocalyptic world has changed humanity. It's all about survival now, and most don't have what Liz does. Some will do anything to take it.

I loved this book. It is an interesting concept that resonates with a near-future vibe when we consider acid rain and climate change in our world today. The author, through Liz, describes the rain as "blistering...clothing barely clings to her figure. Her pale skin hangs off like it's been melted by a blowtorch" (location 3712). Can you imagine acid rain that devastating?

I enjoyed the LGBTQ aspect being delivered her, but also the fact that it wasn't necessarily the main focus of the novel. Liz has something good going in this post-apocalyptic world and it demonstrates the good that humanity once was and can still be capable of, despite the circumstances. This novel also explores human nature when it comes to survival, and when food and shelter isn't readily available, a person's constitution and self will change.

What a thoroughly enjoyable debut! Teen readers will devour this novel, and fans of post-apocalyptic fiction will enjoy a different approach to the end of the world.

A fun and fast read. I did feel like some of the problems were solved too easily. Though overall it was a good story I would recommend. If you like sapphic, grief, and a little body horror give this one a try.

An acid rainstorm devastates a Jersey suburb where 17-year-old Liz lives, and she takes refuge in her workplace: the last bookstore on Earth, at least as far as she knows or cares. I loved the first few chapters of this book. The post-apocalyptic setting features a girl living in a bookstore where people trade books and leave letters for their friends and family—that's the story I was excited to read. I wish we could have kept it in the bookstore, met interesting people, and heard their stories. However, the main character ends up being frustratingly naïve, and the story is boring. The post-apocalyptic narrative feels underdeveloped and shallow. Conflicts resolve too quickly and easily, failing to create real tension or concern for the characters. I tried to excuse Liz's naivety, but her refusal to leave the bookstore despite her friends' warnings about certain death is exasperating.

Absolutely adore this author and will read anything they have written or will write. New favorite! Will purchase for libraries.

YA dystopian tale with a twist!

The Last Bookstore on Earth is a new YA dystopian/speculative fiction novel from Lily Braun-Arnold, and it offers a fresh twist on the plethora of end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it tales. While Liz, the main character, has suffered the loss of her family, friends, and the life she knew (like everyone else in the story), she retreats to the only place of safety she knows left standing (the local bookstore where she had an afterschool part-time job). She creates a little beacon of “normal” for others as she continues to open the store daily, offering book recommendations and a place to leave messages. However, as a repeat of The Storm looms on the horizon, the bookstore faces a much more imminent threat. A small group of organized survivors are out for revenge against her new partner, and they’ve tracked their prey to the bookstore’s doorstep.

Liz Flannery is the unusual protagonist of the story. She and her twin, Thea, were only a few weeks away from heading off for their first year of college when The Storm arrived, changing everything. Liz was the only one in her small family to live through it and suffered the burden of survivor’s guilt and more. When circumstances allowed, she fled to the familiar safety of her workplace and the comfort and companionship of another coworker who apparently had the same idea.

Liz, escaping her grief and guilt, is content with the setup and begins to feel a responsibility to maintain the facsimile of normal operations for the occasional survivor who happens upon the open store. Eva, though, chafes to escape the claustrophobia of the routine and her feelings of responsibility for Liz, and she abruptly abandons her. Locals and transients alike express their gratitude and appreciation for the continued existence of the story and their ability to leave messages there for friends and loved ones and trade supplies for what they need, which keeps Liz from ever having to forage through the rubble and death of her New Jersey hometown. Their generous offerings, though, isolate her further and keep her from understanding just how much the world outside the bookstore has changed for the desperate.

The plot just gets established when rumors that another storm is headed their way. Customers leave messages for those coming behind them and urge Liz to evacuate; the store was greatly damaged in the first storm and is unlikely to withstand another. But Liz sees a solution to leaving her safe place in the appearance of Maeve, a drifter about her age, who breaks in one night looking for shelter and salvage and claiming to be able to make the necessary repairs to the building. Maeve, having started her journey in New York City, knows how much life has devolved and has had her run-ins with some of the more organized survivors. She’s tougher and more aggressive than the passive, polite Liz, but they eventually form an attachment and help each other work through the past year of trauma and scramble to prepare for the coming storm.

The author can certainly tell a mesmerizing tale! I read this in one enjoyable evening with no regrets after staying up way past what was prudent in order to reach the finish. The story’s pacing kept me engaged, and I needed to see what happened next. The vivid descriptions of the settings created strong visuals, placing me in the scenes firsthand. Characters are well-developed, and I felt sympathy for even those I didn’t particularly care for or agreed with their actions. I was delighted by the premise, a bookstore all to oneself, but in a Twilight Zone-style twist, staying open for business as usual as the society around it collapses, creating a little island of “normal” and a haven of familiarity, comfort, and even, safety for those left behind. Liz’s collecting the stories of the survivors willing to share them with her was an absolute bonus.

I recommend THE LAST BOOKSTORE ON EARTH to readers of young adult post-apocalyptic and dystopian fiction, especially those who enjoy a positive LGBT, however low-key, representation.