Erik J. Brown

Heads-up that I am spoiling, in a general way, this book throughout my whole review.

CA: global pandemic, homophobic language, violent homophobia

This post-apocalyptic YA novel features two queer teens as its heroes, it has a happy-for-now ending, and love pretty much wins. I don't think I can overstate how important those last two bits are. The boys are in love, and THEY MAKE IT. They do have to go through a lot to get there, and I overestimated my readiness to read a book about a show more post-pandemic world. (The pandemic here is not Covid. It's a flu. Close enough for nightmares.) I read most of this through my fingers and only carried on because I was so very hoping it was going to be okay in the end. And it is, pretty much. So this was both very not for me and kind of really for me. If you like post-apocalyptic fiction and are ready for a fictional world that's been devastated by a global pandemic, recommended. I'm both glad I read it and deeply relieved that it's over. show less

Well-written YA queer dystopian fiction and a strong debut. Plot was fairly predictable but still impactful. Hits a lot of dark notes but not without humor, mostly from the wisecracking MC. Romance is a very slow burn, with one MC self-identifying as straight for most of the story. Besides, they are trying to stay alive in a dangerous situation, so there's not a lot of time for pining for each other. YMMV if the premise of 98% of the population being wiped out by a lethal pandemic hits too show more close to home. show less

I am so, so happy that this book didn't end with Tommy and Gabe getting together. I've mentioned in previous reviews of other books that cheating and infidelity are huge non-starters for me, and so I was immediately put off by Gabe, since no amount of sweetness, kindness, or whatever is going excuse the fact that he was pursuing Tommy while he was still with his boyfriend. Even if that relationship was toxic and needed to end, it hadn't yet, which puts Gabe clearly in the wrong--as well as show more Tommy, for that matter, though at least he finally grew some sense about it and withdrew.

So instead, we were given a book about teenage guys being teenage guys: fallible, full of errors in judgment, undeveloped prefrontal cortexes (cortices?) and all. There are so many ways this story could have ended that would have left a horrible taste in my mouth, which would have been ironic in a book focused on food and cooking. The author found, instead, a resolution that was both satisfying and realistic, warm fuzzies without stretching credulity. Love that. And I loved, too, the plot line in which Tommy is forced to confront his hopes for his (non-romantic) future, exploring what he truly wants versus what he had grown accustomed to claiming he wanted. That's a big lesson for a lot of young people, and this book handled it very well. show less

I am a sucker for a good apocalyptic end of civilization story, and I’ve been known to enjoy a YA book or two even if I am very far outside their target demographic. That is why I picked up Erik J. Brown’s ALL THAT’S LEFT IN THE WORLD. The story is set in an America ravaged by a super flu virus that has wiped out most of the population. This is a pretty standard dystopian trope, probably best executed by Stephen King in his legendary epic horror novel, THE STAND, which, incidentally, show more is one of my favorite books of all time. ALL THAT’S LEFT IN THE WORLD is pretty PG-13 compared to that classic, no surprise since it is a YA novel, and I did not expect the grim and gritty horror of King’s work, or that of Justin Cronin’s THE PASSAGE. But one thing Brown’s book and those others have in common is that they center the story on the survivors and their attempt to navigate in a world where everything has changed, and where they must struggle to stay alive after life has lost much of its value.

Brown’s protagonists are Andrew and Jamie, two teenage boys who have somehow survived an apocalyptic pandemic and have been thrown together. The book starts out in New England and then follows them on a journey south in search of other survivors and safety. Andrew and Jamie are basically good kids who have lost everyone closest to them, and have had to do what was necessary to survive, especially Andrew, who feels particular guilt over some actions he had to take to defend himself from other survivors. Andrew is gay, and immediately feels an attraction to Jamie, who is a little slower to come around to his feelings for Andrew. Theirs is a very slow burn romance at the start, even though there is no longer a society or authority to disapprove of their mutual feelings. That is until the two boys encounter a community of survivors in the Carolinas that have some very definite ideas on how civilization should be rebuilt. A desperate situation forces the truth to be spoken out loud at last.

Romances, gay or otherwise, are usually not my thing, but I enjoyed this book a lot. I thought Brown’s take on an apocalyptic pandemic rang pretty true, stating that it took many months for the super flu to completely decimate America. In his notes, Brown states that he wrote most of the book before covid, and only slightly touched up the story before publication after the worst of the pandemic had passed. But some things, like a character commenting that the government didn’t take the virus seriously early enough at first and insisted that life go on as normal even as the infection rates and deaths increased, sound very similar to some bad history we all lived through. The book is told through the POVs of the two main characters, with each chapter alternating between Andrew and Jamie. It’s a good device for the reader to get to know, and to come to like the both of them, they prove to be good company for the duration. I give Brown credit for knowing the I-95 corridor of the east coast very well, and gets a lot of details and locations right. He knows how to raise the stakes appropriately, and get us invested in the fates of his protagonists. And he does know the tropes of this genre well. As any long time fan of THE WALKING DEAD knows, beware of any community of survivors that appear too good to be true, and in this book that is the people of Fort Caroline, who do appear to be heavy with MAGA types, though Brown wisely doesn’t get too deep into contemporary politics. One of the things I would fault Brown for is that he simply lets his antagonists lose interest at one point, and just give up and go home after pursuing Andrew and Jamie nearly to Florida. Did Brown not have a more compelling way to resolve a tense plot development? Stephen King would have settled for nothing less than a bloodbath, and for that reason I’m calling this book THE STAND LITE.

But that is fine for a YA novel, I didn’t expect anything otherwise. Andrew and Jamie’s romance remains pretty chaste for the most part. No doubt Moms for Liberty would hate this book, but no one is making them read it anyway. ALL THAT’S LEFT IN THE WORLD satisfied my expectations, exceeding them in a lot of ways, and there is a sequel titled, THE ONLY LIGHT LEFT BURNING, which I will definitely check out to see what happens next to Andrew and Jamie. show less