Welcome to my tour stop for ALONE OUT HERE by Riley Redgate! Check out my review below and be sure to enter the giveaway to win a copy of your own!
Riley Redgate majored in Economics at Kenyon College and is now based in Chicago, where she was an apprentice with the Onion. She is the author of the critically acclaimed Seven Ways We Lie; Noteworthy, a Kirkus Reviews Best Teen Book and NYPL Best Book; and Final Draft, a Bank Street Book of the Year.
Title: ALONE OUT HERE
Author: Riley Redgate
Pub. Date: April 5, 2022
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Formats: Hardcover, eBook, Audiobook
Pages: 400
What do you stand for, when you’re one of the last left standing?
The year is 2072. Soon a volcanic eruption will trigger catastrophic devastation, and the only way out is up.
While the world’s leaders, scientists, and engineers oversee the frantic production of a space fleet meant to save humankind, their children are brought in for a weekend of touring the Lazarus, a high-tech prototype spaceship. But when the apocalypse arrives months ahead of schedule, First Daughter Leigh Chen and a handful of teens from the tour are the only ones to escape the planet.
This is the new world: a starship loaded with a catalog of human artifacts, a frozen menagerie of animal DNA, and fifty-three terrified survivors. From the panic arises a coalition of leaders, spearheaded by the pilot’s enigmatic daughter, Eli, who takes the wheel in their hunt for a habitable planet. But as isolation presses in, their uneasy peace begins to fracture. The struggle for control will mean the difference between survival and oblivion, and Leigh must decide whether to stand on the side of the mission or of her own humanity.
With aching poignancy and tense, heart-in-your-mouth action, this enthralling saga will stay with readers long after the final page.
Reviews:
“Redgate explores what makes us human and what makes us teens with excruciating precision, revealing the best―and worst―of both. A fast-paced, beautifully put together story of a girl getting it done.”―E. K. Johnston, New York Times #1 best-selling author of Star Wars: Ahsoka
“With its diverse cast of characters and near-future plot line, this book would make a good addition to collections with established audiences for science fiction stories and titles featuring strong examples of female empowerment.”―School Library Connection
“An enthralling adventure that’s at once intimate and cinematic, with heart-pounding twists and vividly drawn characters. Redgate’s gorgeous prose poses fascinating questions about the future.”―Romina Russell, author of the New York Times best-selling Zodiac series
“Stunning, visceral, and utterly gripping, Alone Out Here is a vivid look at human determination when forced to survive the impossible. Leigh Chen is a leader unlike any other as she navigates dwindling resources, betrayal, and the ultimate question of what it means to be human.”―C.B. Lee, author of the Sidekick Squad series
“Utterly absorbing, and packed with heart, action, and questions that lingered long past the final page. I read it in a single day.”―Amie Kaufman, author of the Aurora Cycle and the Elementals trilogy
Reasons to read: Lord of the Flies in space. Full stop.
I DEVOURED this book and I'm not saying that lightly. Sci-Fi books are a tread-lightly genre for me because so many of them are alike and are just not original. But it's one of my favorite genre's because of gems like this.
What about you do if you knew devasting volcano eruption was going to destroy Earth as you knew it? That's the question the world asked when such a thing was predicted. In response, several countries scrambled to organize lotteries, build ships and map out the exact route to a new world. The Lazarus, a prototype spaceship is one of those preparing to house thousands of people, but almost a year early-while the world's leader's children are touring the ship and its base-chaos erupts, forcing fifty-three teens to board the ship and launch from Earth. Helmed by the pilot's daughter, Eli, Leigh (our MC) at the others set up a loose system of government all while charting their course to a new home despite the supplies on The Lazarus dwindling.
But supplies are not the only thing, the teens are missing.
Leigh and the others are thrust into leadership roles ahead of their time. While she has experience (her mother is the president) the others take a little bit of training. Things fall apart rather quickly. Without rules or laws, or proper supervision etc the mental state of the teens begins to deteriorate. This is one of the things I loved about the book; it doesn't skim over the emotional turmoil one would endure when you believe your home has just been destroyed and everyone you ever loved, dead. Leigh may seem cold and emotionless at the beginning, but there was a reason for it, as I learned. But like everyone on board, she's learning whether or not she's the First Daughter or the person she's growing to be.
This reminded me a lot of Jericho (a tv show that regrettably was canceled before it got a proper ending). In the show, a town must come together when the country is attacked by bombs and most of its leaders killed. This book touches upon a group of people unraveling, just like the show, where they have to figure out how to keep everyone in line all while not becoming the monsters people can become.
I loved the cast of characters and the slow-burn romance (M-F) as well as Leigh's flashbacks to her old life and her love of her two best friends. The tone of this book is one of dread and fear (think Event Horizon but without the aliens). The moments of reflection came in the form of Leigh running the track onboard the ship and it made for a quiet break from the tension. I loved every moment of it.
But that ending...I kind of thought things would go that way BUT I didn't expect the cliffhanger. I am desperate for book two (please let there be one!)
Trigger warnings here: https://batmansymbol.tumblr.com/post/655638839164010496/content-warnings
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Giveaway Details:
1 winner will receive a finished copy of ALONE OUT HERE, US Only.
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