Book Review: The Last One by Alexandra Oliva

Book Review: The Last One by Alexandra Oliva

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine

This was a well done, wonderful debut novel. I can only hope that when I finish my book that people will think it’s half as good.

This book is Survivor meets the end of the world. Twelve contestants are sent out into the wilderness with no idea about they game they are about to play other than they will be tested on their survival skills. There are team challenges, solo challenges, and rewards. There is no tribe voting off contestants in this game. The only way to win is to be the last person to quit.

Story telling is told by a contestant that the producers have nicknamed “Zoo”. Zoo is a woman who is bent and determined to never give up. She wants to win. The book weaves between the past and present so you can get a feel of how the game is played before you get the dramatic events of the present.

A pandemic has hit the rest of the world unbeknownst to the contestants and the production crew. One day Zoo wakes up and notices her cameraman has disappeared. She knows that there are hidden cameras and drones supposedly watching her every move so she isn’t that concerned and continues to play the game. She is positive that the “clues” that she finds have been left for her by producers.

She runs into a young man named Brennan and despite the fact that he tells her what has happened she believes he is a trick to get her to quit. She merely tolerates his prescience and at times is a little cruel. It made me want to smack her but the fact that it evoked that response means the writing was good.

I’m not going to spoil anything on how Zoo’s journey continues. I will say that there were times I was cheering her, times I wanted to shake her to wake her up from the delusion that she was still playing a game, and times I wanted to yell at her for her poor treatment of Brennan. I also felt that at times her treatment of Brennan was needed because it kept him moving and kept him from giving up. She was one of the most stubborn characters I have read in a long time.

The emotional ups and downs in this book are well written. This book made me question myself about what if this happened for real? What if a show like Survivor was filming and a pandemic or something worse happened and the whole lot of contestants and production crew knew nothing of what happened? How would they react?

Zoo is complex but relatable. The supporting characters were an interesting backdrop. While I wish there was more time with them I enjoyed the fact that the story flowed quickly. This story is also unpredictable which is often rare. Just when you think that the story is going to turn left the author turns right. It was a delightful thing that I was proven wrong a few times while reading.

The ending was not what I expected at all and for that I am pleased. It was brought to a good conclusion that left me wondering and picturing what happens next. If this author decides to do a sequel I am all for it. On the other hand the end to this book was satisfying enough that it can safely stand on its own.

Ms. Oliva should be proud of such a wonderfully written debut novel. I am honored to have been chosen to review this book. It was a pleasure and I recommend this to anyone who reads this review. I am thoroughly impressed.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in return for an honest review.