All That’s Left in the World

Erik J. Brown’s debut novel All That's Left in the World is a touching, earnest story of young, queer love in a post-apocalyptic world.

One of the reviews for Brown’s book called it infectious. That reviewer must’ve raced to publish it to claim that on-the-nose description of a book set in a post-pandemic apocalypse. But it’s important to note that there is much discussion of a deadly pandemic that ravaged the world’s population. Readers looking to avoid COVID triggers would probably want to avoid this one.

All That's Left in the World tells the story of Andrew and Jamie, two queer teens who find each other and a common goal before setting out on a life-saving quest that puts them squarely in the path of their world’s big bad. Brown switches between both boys’ first-person POVs throughout, giving us a thorough look at each character’s motivations for survival–and love. While their relationship begins as a matter of convenience, their earnest and authentic chemistry push Andrew and Jamie’s friendship into something more.

Brown has given the world a very Walking Dead vibe–without the titular zombies, of course. But the boys face groups of marauders large and small on their long journey, along with the expected physical trials and violence. The good vs. evil vibes had a very comic book feel to them. The villains lack nuance and are simply bad.

The story includes many real-world pop culture references to help define the character’s personality differences. You know, one likes rom-coms, the other likes the Avengers. I’m not a fan of that trope, but your mileage may vary.

This book contains mentions of the loss of family members, illness and a pandemic, acts of physical and mental abuse, addiction, homophobia, and detailed descriptions of violence and death. ( )

teen fiction - post-apocalyptic adventure with queer romance and snark.

hard to believe this is a debut novel but not surprising that the author has already won some acclaim; Erik Brown's pacing is screenplay-perfect. I never wanted to stop reading this book and finished it in a day. More, please! ( )

I was good to see the two different views expressed by these two young men that have suddenly found themselves in a difficult and unforgiving world. I thought some of the things that they had that prepared them for their journey was a bit improbable. An example was the book that Jamie's doctor mother wrote and left for him before she died. On their journey south the story became a bit rushed. I wondered if the last two years that the world has lived through was maybe a little too soon to present a "pandemic" themed book although the author says it was not intended to represent COVID. So ...if you're looking for a good character driven post-apocalyptic novel, this one will probably fit the bill. Be aware that it is a YA book. ( )

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 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. ( )