All That’s Left in the World Paperback – May 16, 2023

This book was so intense and heartwarming at the same time. I fell in love with Andrew and Jamie and this book takes them on an adventure that I literally could not put down. My heart raced and ached, and it also skipped beats for them. It’s such a good story and I was so sad when I finished it (turns out there’s a sequel, which I just finished, too!). I absolutely love this story and that it’s a queer story for a queer audience. Do yourself a favor and read this book and it’s sequel, you won’t regret it!

One of the reasons I loved this book is that you get to know the protagonists at a very deep level. Their individual stories are revealed over the course of their harrowing, leap-of-faith trek. The author creates a detailed, believable post-apocalyptic world. Finished this in two days - it would have been one, but I had to work. Well done, Mr. Brown.

Man what can I say about this book? It has a interesting plot from beginning to end with characters that feel alive (depending on what your looking at but I will get to that). As well as very real dangers/situations that would happen in real life if the world were to abruptly end (I don't want to spoil anything, but its interesting). Now this book is not perfect by any means, but it was realistic setting that tried to portray the struggles of two boys in a world of uncertainty. That being said, I found some of the components of the books to be great at times and at others lack luster at best. Anyways, if this books looks interesting, I would definitely give it a read, the world feels alive and that it could happen given the circumstances. If you want a deeper look into why I think this, please read the section below, but be warned it has some spoilers to not only the plot, BUT THE ENDING AS WELL.BEYOND THIS POINT MAY LIE SPOILERS IF YOU PLAN TO READ PLEASE BE ADVISEDOne of my biggest gripes is the romance, like come on its one of the key features of the book how could I not talk about it? So there is hints of romance throughout the book between Andrew and Jamie, but it felt..... weird? I don't really know how to describe it, Jamie at some point after the Lion and foster house incidents just begins to grow closer to Andrew all of a sudden like???? I know that he had earlier in the book had stepped in from of a gun for Andrew, but like this is never really brought up on his feels on Andrew until this moment. Maybe there were hints to it sometimes, but if so it was few and far between. Andrew has some sense to him on this issue because he multiple times explains he finds Jamie to be handsome or has a flirty moment in his mind. I don't know I may be the only one, but the romance while sweet was a little forced in my opinion, especially for Jamie to just run away from his home for a boy he only knew for like 6 weeks.Another gripe I have is the ending, while I do not mind a open ended ending so that readers can believe what the characters would do, some of the choices the couple lay out in front of them are down right awful ideas. Okay so to explain this, in the book the characters were thinking about going back up north for Henri to tell her that her daughter was alive and well, this was before they discovered they could sail. Well, if you go back up that way, you risk meeting the giant settlement that wants to kill you??.... Also there is the idea of them going to live back in the cabin. First of all, why would Jamie want to live where his mother died and suffered from the bug? Better yet, what about the group of survivors that are still there and "taxed" them? What are they going to do about them if they won't leave? There is just so many questions here I got to ask because it just seems silly to me that its even a option.Overall I think the whole adventure is fun an witty, although I think the comedy characteristic of Andrew is played with to much and well as scenes of them looting places. I get it, they have to loot places to survive and stuff, but I feel like every chapter has a sentence like "we looted some abandoned houses, some empty, some not, and some stores", then the author names off big brand names. Now it may look like i'm giving a lot of negatives, but honestly the story it great if you can put some more imagination to the characters and the situations they are in. Also Cara is just kind of there, don't get me wrong she is a important character that helps the two boys many times, but like there really isn't much to her. We learn about her a bit when they talk about the Fort as well as the scene when she is talking about her father singing, but thats about it, her character is kind of flat. Nor is there any reason for her to trust the couple when escaping like when she steps in the middle of the road?????

Andrew and Jamie are both alone in a world that's been mostly wiped out by a flu like virus called "the bug". After being wounded in the woods, Andrew stumbles upon Jamie's cabin. Jamie helps heal his wound, and eventually they find themselves on the road together. They have a destination in mind, but the world outside Jamie's cabin is far from safe. They will have to trust each other in order to survive against both the inhuman and human monster out in the world.I don't even know where to start with this one. I was invested in the characters and story right from the start. The story is so well paced, the story moves along by weeks without getting weighted down by filler material or dragging. It was more than a little eerie the similarities between the recent pandemic and this fictional bug, but I feel like that added a whole other layer to the story. This bug takes place in a fictional world that went through COVID, and somehow we still weren't prepared for it. The entire setting gave me walking dead vibes minus the zombies of course lol but the theory that catastrophic events will change people drastically for better or worse and in a lot of instances it's going to bring out the worst. Yet among all the heavy of this post apocalyptic setting we have our main characters Andrew and Jamie. Who bring hope and love to the rough journey. Andrew is always quick with a sarcastic joke, pun or innuendo and Jamie has managed to retain his innocence in the new hardened world. While both are forced to do things in order to survive, they retain the goodness inside them even when they themselves believe otherwise. Two young strangers who learn to trust and lean on each other, who form a friendship that blossoms to more. Their romance was sweet and innocent but still EVERYTHING !All That's Left in the World is a page turning post apocalyptic Queer YA that will bring you through a range of emotion. A strangers to friends to lovers, romance between two young men while recounting movies scene by scene and surviving in an unforgiving world

For the very first time in my life I picked up a book and read it cover to cover in one day. I was physically unable to put it down. The careful detail was such immersion into the storyline. The plot was incredibly interesting and the characters are not only loveable but very relatable as well. 100% I would recommend to any of the gays who are interested in a post apocalyptic romance.

THIS BOOK IS SO GOOD. Anytime there was anxiety you could feel it, the love, you could feel it, the anger, you could feel it. I just finished reading this and it's by far one of my favorite books I've read, the only part that freaks me out is that Jamison is from Philly which I live near Philly but lemme tell you something right now if a superflu is necessary to have my dream queer romance then bring. it. on. GET THIS BOOK NOWWWW

I tried to drag out my reading of this book for as long as possible, in order to prolong my enjoyment to the maximum, but reluctantly came to the end of it after a fortnight or so! I found it extremely touching, and look forward to the upcoming publication of its sequel. My one stipulation: Andrew and Jamie absolutely must overcome their new problems and remain together. Thank you so much for writing this novel, Erik J. Brown.

Mas que sabor! Gente! Olha! Realmente speechless...Uma escrita tão boa, mas tão boa... é o livro de estreia do cara!! Como isso?!É um ambiente extremamente imersivo. Não é forçado. Uma história pós-apocalíptica que simplesmente acontece. Sem muitas explicações, sem muitos pormenores. O mundo está ali, posto desse jeito, e as pessoas que lutem. Lembra um pouco a pegada de The Last of Us nesse sentido. Não na história, que não tem nada a ver, mas no cenário pós-apocalíptico.Os personagens são muito carismáticos, muito interessantes! Os dois protagonistas são...nossa! Vc entra na cabeça, na personalidade deles, de um jeito...vc sente o que eles sentem? Saca isso? É muito difícil um escritor conseguir essa magia, de te colocar na mente de outra pessoa. Quem lê muito sabe que é isso. Tem muitas histórias interessantes por aí, mas o dom de fazer o seu pensamento ser o pensamento do personagem? Olha, isso é pra poucos.Você torce o tempo todo pelos protagonistas. As situações retratadas, nesse mundo caótico, são muito verossímeis. Tipo, acho que aconteceria exatamente daquele jeito se um dia uma situação parecida se desse aqui na Terra. Tem gente boa, que ajudam os protagonistas com todo o bom coração, tem gente que não ajuda nem atrapalha, só quer viver a sua vida, tem gente que vive de forma egoísta, pensando apenas na própria sobrevivência, e tem as comunidades formadas, cada uma com princípios diferentes.Ler esse livro foi uma montanha-russa de emoções! Mas no melhor sentido de todos. Os momentos de emoção não são jogados de forma forçada. Não, é tudo muito bem construído, tudo muito bem amarrado. E como vc se apega muuuuito aos protagonistas, esses momentos são todos muito bem sentidos.Há momentos de perigo real pra eles, que vc só consegue pensar que vai dar muito ruim, e muitas vezes dá mesmo. Sabe, não existe a sensação de segurança, em nenhum instante.E claro, um dos plots do livro é o romance entre os dois protagonistas, que acontece da maneira mais natural possível, principalmente por parte do Jamie. É que o Andrew já sabe que é gay e tal. E o Jamie se vê pego por esse sentimento por esse menino fofo que é o Andrew, sendo até então alguém que só teve relacionamentos com meninas.Mas olha, essa parte do romance tá longe de ser um fio condutor da história, o que é excelente! AMO histórias que trazem romance gay, mas que isso não é o plot principal da história. Porque aí não fica aquela coisa melosa a história toda, o que até é bom, quando bem contado. Mas eu prefiro histórias assim, em que há o romance, ele não acontece só lá na última página da história, mas que não é o principal.E isso que torna esse livro tão único, tão incrível! Porque o autor fez o que outros autores já fizeram em outros livros. Jogos Vorazes, por exemplo. É um romance? Não, é distopia. Mas rola um romance ali no meio. É disso que a representação LGBT precisa. Histórias com personagens LGBTs, com romance LGBT, mas que não seja uma história de romance. Por que que o gay só tem que pensar em romance ou sexo? rsrsrs.E claro, até tem alguns plots de livros que trazem LGBTs como protagonistas, que eles falam que a história é sobre, sei lá, ficção científica, fantasia, com personagens LGBTs. Mas quando vc vê, ficção científica, fantasia, é só o pano de fundo da história, pq na vdd é um romancezão mesmo!Enfim, acho que essa é a resenha mais longa que já fiz, e olha que falaria muito mais sobre. Amei o livro! Talvez será o favoritado n° 01 do ano, e espero ver mais livros nessa vibe, especialmente desse autor.

La historia es excelente. La portada tenía unos detalles, y unas páginas al final del libro estaban arrugadas de las esquinas.

…ich bin begeistert von dieser Geschichte. Post-Apokalypse und Gay-Love-Romance sind perfekt und sehr feinfühlig miteinander vereint. Diese Kombination ist unverbraucht und wirklich erfrischend. Für Fans von beidem ist das ein Buch, das ich hier wärmstens empfehlen kann.Dass die Romanze etwas länger auf sich warten lässt, macht die Erzählung im Grunde umso besser, denn dadurch ist viel Platz und Raum geschaffen für all die Ängste, Zweifel und Sorgen der beiden Protagonisten und deren Unsicherheiten gegenüber dem jeweils anderen.Jamie und Andrew sind zwei sehr, sehr sympathische und nachvollziehbare Hauptcharaktere und vor allem Andrew, mit seinem gewieften und schamlosen Sinn für Humor, sorgt für herrlich gute Unterhaltung. Die Welt und die Zivilisation sind zwar im Arsch, aber er hat trotzdem immer wieder einen blöden Spruch auf den Lippen. Sarkasmus und Zynismus sind hier reichlich vorhanden, ebenso wie einige gut platzierte Referenzen zu Büchern, Filmen und Berühmtheiten.Auf ihrem Road-Trip ins Ungewisse stolpern die beiden Jugendlichen von einer Gefahr in die nächste und wachsen dadurch immer mehr zusammen und über sich selbst hinaus.Die Zustände und Szenerien im Post-Apokalyptischen Amerika sind hier gut veranschaulicht dargestellt und auch die Begegnungen mit einerseits Wohlgesinnten, wie auch mit feindlich gesinnten Menschen vermittelt ein authentisches und plausibles Bild von einer Dystopie.Ich hab das Buch zügig durchgelesen, weil es so spannend und gut geschrieben ist. Ein Glück, dass es eine Fortsetzung gibt.

Where do even start here?This book had me hooked from page one. The writing style is perfect and I loved and cared about Jamison and Andrew right away.Both main characters are so well rounded and beautifully written. Their journey is perfectly paced (both literally and figuratively).Besides the growing feelings between Andrew and Jamie throughout their journey, the author does an amazing job of world building and evoking the loneliness, quietness and wildness of the post apocalyptic world.I think it was a bold choice to have no paranormal or sci-fi themes. They tend to be the route that most apocalypse stories are based on. In my opinion that rosy more than paid off!I’m off to download the sequel immediately.