I wasn't enthralled by this book like I hoped I would be. I do think the premise was very intriguing, I have never read a cli-fi book before this one! I think if you enjoyed The 100, you would probably like this one.

This took too long to get where it was going and missed the opportunity for some good conversations about nationalism.

A+ for the ending though.

For the audiobook the narrator was great.

The ending of this book left me wanting more. I have never been a fan of an open ending and that has not changed - and I don’t think this story will have a sequel and nor does it really need to, but that ending!
The apocalypse has arrived earlier than planned and Leigh with just over 50 other kids launch themselves into space in a rocket with no crew (no time to get them on board without getting themselves killed). The “Lord of the Flies” in space description is pretty accurate. Some of the older kids on board have designated themselves as a council and are trying to dole out tasks and ration food - as can be expected, not everyone agrees.
As more and more restrictions are set and the kids get hungrier, things start to get interesting. People are attacked and even killed. It took me a while to get into the story, but it was worth sticking with it. I enjoyed the mystery elements of the story and the direction the story takes in the last quarter of the book. Leigh’s character growth was very well done - she goes from a meek keeper of the peace to a bit of a rebel (for a good cause).
Having the book be narrated by the author was nice because you really get a feel for what the author wants, however, at times, the narration wasn’t captivating enough.
If you’re looking for a post-apocalyptic in space, then this is the book for you.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of the eBook.

This book follows Eli, along with other teenagers, Who are stuck aboard a spaceship that has to takeoff from planet earth before it’s ready. Earths existence is threatened, and evacuation is being planned. Eli and some others are touring the ship when a massive volcano eruption forces them to evacuate the planet. What will Eli and the others have to do in order to ensure the survival of earth’s human race? This audiobook was a great sci-fi adventure and the narrator did a nice job. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a good sci-fi read.

I really loved this audiobook! The author did an amazing job as narrator and her characters really came alive for me. This is a heartbreaking story that feels true on so many levels. Highly recommend!

This novel was marketed as a Lord of the Flies in space mixed with a reverse 100 - so naturally, I couldn't resist as I love both those novels! And I will never turn down a good young adult science fiction novel. Spacy is my jam. I don't want to spoil the ending, so I will just tell you that it is SO TWISTED! The whole story was intense and a pleasure to read; HOWEVER, the end was next level!

What I loved most: the tension and all the things that weren't prepared for the trip into space. All the little things that could go wrong, did go wrong. But it was reasonably realistic. I loved how realistically things fall apart as well. You could see some of the major conflicts and plot events coming, but you couldn't look away. I loved the diversity of all the characters and the way they interact.

Fast paced and spicy, this one had me racing to the end to find out who survives and where they wind up.

This may be one of my top five star reads of 2022!!!

This was promoted as Lord of the Flies in space and I think that summary is pretty accurate. I like sci-fi but I don't always find it easy to follow, so I was pleasantly surprised when I didn't find my mind wandering too much. This definitely speaks to how the book is heavier on character tension vs. space aspects, though, and readers who pick this up for a heavier sci-fi vibe might be disappointed by that. With that being said, I was a bit disappointed with how the characters lacked some depth and development. I didn't really feel fully connected to any of them, and I don't think I was rooting for the people that the writer wanted me to root for. Their lack of clarity in decisions and changed decisions made it a bit murky for me to understand what their purpose was, and I wanted them to be a bit more defined. The story itself was interesting, though, and I really like how it wrapped up, so I would definitely buy this for my library's teen collection (and did). Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC to review this early.

It has been almost 70 years since Lord of the Flies was published; we need a new retelling that this generation can appreciate. Alone Out Here meets that need. This time the story takes place in space instead of an island and includes a diverse list of characters. I started and finished it in one day and a week and several books later, I'm still thinking about it. While not all the tech aspects may be realistic, I was willing to suspend my disbelief over this space odyssey and found many of the technology dilemmas' solutions well thought out.

Thanks to NetGalley and Disney Audio for an advanced audio book in exchange for an honest review.

3.8 stars

Its 2072 and Earth is expecting a major volcanic eruption. 54 teens are touring a space ship when catastrophe hits and the space ship takes off in an emergency. There aren't any adults, no communication with Earth, and not enough food.

The major theme is what happens to people in power when there is a vacuum of leadership.

Narration was well done.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this advance reader copy and advance listener copy.


Description from NetGalley:
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.
How do kids make the hard decisions? I know so many adults that couldn’t have made the decisions that these kids faced in order to survive after their emergency take off. The story is interesting, and the moral choices are compelling. However, if you are in it for the science, this is not for you. Definitely more for the social approach to how a bunch of kids survive than science, which makes sense considering these are kids.
Overall: 3/5

Alone Out Here is a sci-fi mystery/thriller that sees a cohort of teens surviving on a space ark after a cataclysmic event portends doom on Earth. The teens are various world leaders’ kids and are ostensibly “touring” the ark together when they are suddenly compelled to launch the ship with only the captain’s daughter aboard (no adults). What ensues is very Lord of the Flies-like, albeit in space and with semi-advanced technology (such as wearable translators that allow them to communicate verbally without any issues, as long as the batteries are charged).

Right away our untrained teen crew grapples with the core spaceship issues: “Where are we going to get our extra food supply?”, “What about drinking water?”, “What about washing our clothes?”, “Where should we aim our ship?” They seem to (conveniently?) resolve these issues despite their complete lack of training and quickly adjust to life aboard their new home. Then, mysterious attacks start happening and factions form as mutiny ensues.

I found several elements of the story to be morally and ethically compelling– how would we manage such a crisis? What preparations are necessary/appropriate? How would a cohort of space-farer-citizens assemble/govern themselves? But ultimately, I found that the sci-fi subheading was used more for setting convenience as opposed to exploring proper sci-fi topics. I’ve read several memoirs of actual ISS astronauts and there were many issues with Alone Out Here’s treatment of the daily living routine aboard the ship. Novels like the Martian and Project Hail Mary are accessible and readable for teen audiences, they offer a much more satisfying science fiction approach to terraforming and space exploration. This novel, by contrast, uses space and technology for setting and plot convenience. Nonetheless, readers who are more interested in the sociological/political elements of a doomsday crisis, will find themselves intrigued by Alone Out Here. There are some good conversation starters that will likely lead readers further along the SFF shelves for deeper reading.

Audio Galley Review: First off I thought the narrator was great! The premise of the story really had me hook, but sadly I wasn't 100% thrilled with the story as a whole. I feel like the story got bogged down in the middle and made the book longer than necessary. Overall I will recommend this to my Teen patrons who enjoyed The 100 and similar titles, but this was not one of my favorites. The ending also left me very unsatisfied.

Name of Book: Alone Out Here
Author: Riley Redgate
Genre: Sci Fi ~ Ya/Teen
Publisher: Disney Audiobooks
Pub Date: April 5, 2022
My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5


The year is 2072 and First daughter Leigh Chen and other teens are touring the high-tech spaceship Lazarus when a volcano erupts and the kids are the only ones rescued from the disaster.

I am new to Riley Redgate so had to view her web site. https://www.rileyredgate.com/
She has several pictures; one is of her on a rock. She states, “I was raised on this rock in North Carolina by a pack of albino wolves.”

I knew I was going to enjoy this story!!
I typically don’t like when the author reads their book as it is usually that ~ a reading and not a performance. However, I enjoyed this. Ms. Redgate has a young sounding voice so was able to performing these young characters. Story is interesting and the writing is great!

Want to thank NetGalley and Disney Audiobooks for this audio eGalley. This file has been made available to me before publication in an early form for an honest professional review.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for April 5, 2022.

Tagged as Lord of the Flies in space, Alone Out Here follows Leigh, the president's daughter no less and a handful of other teens as they escape a volcanic eruption before the after-effects make Earth uninhabitable. Once in space, things start to go really wrong as the kids struggle to survive.

I think Riley Redgate had a great premise. Who doesn't love a space adventure where things go horribly wrong? Unfortunately, something was lost in the execution. Most of the story had me dragging through it. I found the characters boring, and the conflict reminiscent of a family drama. I didn't much care for Leigh and I thought the other characters weren't very fleshed out which led to me not enjoying the romance either. The character I liked best, and the one who had so much promise was Fatima. The ending (which I won't spoil here) was such a disappointment.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ALC. I think that, of course, Redgate knows best how to tell her story and thus made a fine narrator. Unfortunately, this was not for me.