The Last Bookstore on Earth

Gr 9 Up–Liz Flannery was on the cusp of adulthood when the Storm hit, a devastating result of human-created climate change that wiped out a huge portion of civilization. Liz holed up in her local bookstore for months, only vaguely aware of what was happening beyond its doors. Her sole connection to the outside world came in the form of infrequent visitors to the bookstore, where she acts as a de facto post office, barters for supplies, and spends the rest of her time reading. Suddenly, her world is upended by the arrival of Maeve, whose approach to life in this new dystopia is very different from Liz’s. Maeve rubs against Liz’s carefully cultivated ignorance by being brash, sharp, smart, and talented, and the two team up against what they think is simply the impending devastation of another Storm but turns out to be much more. In her debut, Braun-Arnold has approached the postapocalyptic genre from a unique lens of a young person who grew up with the climate crisis looming large. The challenges that Liz and Maeve face feel eerily possible, and the use of flashbacks and epistolary storytelling aid in building the tension surrounding Liz’s past and the uncertainty of her future. While Liz lacks depth, her trauma is well-defined and explains her inability to act; plus, enough is happening around her that the story does not drag. Avid readers will appreciate the bookstore setting and the references to popular titles and authors.