ARC Review: The Loneliest Girl in the Universe

About The Book:

  Title: The Loneliest Girl in the Universe 

  Author: Lauren James 
  Pub. Date: July 3rd, 2018 
  Publisher: HarperTeen 
  Pages: 320 

  Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction 

  Rate: 5/5 stars 

Synopsis :

The daughter of two astronauts, Romy Silvers is no stranger to life in space. But she never knew how isolating the universe could be until her parents’ tragic deaths left her alone on theInfinity, a spaceship speeding away from Earth.

Romy tries to make the best of her lonely situation, but with only brief messages from her therapist on Earth to keep her company, she can’t help but feel like something is missing. It seems like a dream come true when NASA alerts her that another ship, the Eternity, will be joining the Infinity.

Romy begins exchanging messages with J, the captain of the Eternity, and their friendship breathes new life into her world. But as the Eternity gets closer, Romy learns there’s more to J’s mission than she could have imagined. And suddenly, there are worse things than being alone….

Review:

Ok - I'm being completely serious when I say this book is one of the best science fiction books that I've ever read. So basically, NASA located a planet that was indeed, inhabitable by humans. At an attempt to colonize the planet, NASA sends a ship armed with astronauts, seeds, and genetic banks into space. The only problem, it would take years upon years to get there. So, two astronauts would man the ship while the others remained in torpor sleep. NASA didn't account for one of the astronauts getting pregnant on the first leg of the trip. So, instead of going into torpor sleep, the first two astronauts had a baby and raised this baby on the Infinity. At the start of our novel, there is nobody on the ship except for Romy. A huge mishap caused everyone else to die, except her. She is running the ship all by herself. 

"Love takes so much energy, and it just leads to pain." 

Romy is an extremely emotionally strong girl to be given this role in space and be the only one on the ship. However, she suffers from debilitating anxiety, which makes her question herself and her decisions. One day, NASA tells her that a second fleet will be joining up with the Infinity. The commander of this fleet - 'J' is on constant contact with Romy from then on. However, some things just don't add up. And we begin to question just who J is and what his motives are. It is honestly SO CHILLING. This book is also fiercely feminist, and I just love it so much. It's hard to put my words into coherent sentences so please enjoy this neat-o list of things I liked:

Things I Liked:
1. The mental health aspect.
2. The slow-burn of learning the ship's back story.
3. How relatable Romy is.
4. The mystery surrounding J.
5. The writing - it is CRAZY addicting

Things I didn't like:
Nothing

"If a life of fear isn't worth living, then why should I carry on?" 

Science fiction and thriller all rolled in one - this book is so fast-paced you can definitely finish it in one sitting. I am 110% pre-ordering this gym as it is one of my favorite books of 2018! If you haven't read this book yet (because I think it's been published before), you need to PRE-ORDER it so we can discuss the amazingness that is The Loneliest Girl in the Universe.

Thank you to Harper Collins for providing
this book in exchange for my honest review

- Jocelyn