The Last Bookstore on Earth by Lily Braun-Arnold is a refreshing take on post-apocalyptic YA. Set in a world ravaged by acid rains, it follows Liz Flannery, a young woman who takes refuge in an abandoned bookstore, trading books for supplies to survive. The setting—a quiet, almost nostalgic bookstore—adds a unique touch to the dystopian backdrop, making the novel feel more personal and intimate.

Liz is a compelling protagonist—witty, self-aware, and flawed in a way that makes her feel real. Her relationship with Maeve, a stranger who enters her life with her own secrets, builds slowly and naturally, making their bond feel genuine and grounded. It’s not your typical “love at first sight” story, but instead a beautiful, realistic connection that develops as they learn to trust each other.

The world-building could have used a bit more detail, especially around the acid rain—how it’s predicted and whether it’s affecting the whole world—but the focus here is really on the characters and their emotional journey. The story is heartwarming, immersive, and offers a nice break from the more extreme dystopian tales out there.

Overall, The Last Bookstore on Earth is a standout debut with a lot of heart. If you're a fan of character-driven dystopian fiction, this one’s definitely worth checking out. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

This book checked all the boxes of a premise that sucks me in - apocalyptic world, bookstore, the human and personal impact. Overall the author did a great job of setting up a unique plot. I would have enjoyed more about how the rest of the world was getting on and more about the people coming in and out of the store - it felt pretty solitary (which is probably intentional) but I think I would have enjoyed even more.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

This is a post-apocalyptic YA novel set within Jersey after the world was devastated by acid rain. The story follows Liz, a young woman taking refuge in the bookstore where she once worked. She survives by trading books for necessities, as well as becoming a post office of sorts. The setting is largely confined to the bookstore with glimpses into Liz’s past but is almost totally devoid of details and world building.
As the threat of another acid storm surfaces, Liz meets Maeve, another teen who at first wants to steal from Liz and move on. They end up forming a bond that evolves into subtle sapphic romance.
While the book is sort of engaging, and the characters are developed, it doesn’t dive into the cases of the acid rain and what happened to the rest of the plant. We are left to assume that most people were caught outside, unaware, and died from burns caused by the rain. The focus is more on the emotional aspects and interpersonal relationships.
The chapters are short, helping to make it a quick read, but some may find it lacking in the excitement typically found in post-apocalyptic fiction. The romantic sub-plot may feel more drive by proximity than an actual connection. This book would be suited for those looking to explore loneliness, survival and love, in a quiet, gentle way or for those looking for a lighter take on dystopian themes.

Thank you to Random House Children’s and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book early.

The Last Bookstore on Earth follows Liz, a seventeen year old working and living alone in a bookstore after the end of the world.

I really enjoyed Liz and her dedication to the store and some semblance of a normal life. The characters that we found out more and more about as the store went on like Eva and Thea were also really interesting and helped bring more perspective to the story. I thought Liz and Maeve had a really fun dynamic and that their eventual closeness and bond made sense despite the secrets both held.

It was also really cool to see Liz’s notes about other characters and their experiences when the First Storm hit. This helped make the world feel more real. My only issue was that the book felt a little slow with all most of the action taking place in two chapters near the end of the book however I enjoyed the story enough to keep reading and I really enjoyed it.

Thank you Random House Children’s and NetGalley again for the chance to read this early.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

The Last Bookstore On Earth
By: Lily Braun-Arnold

4 Stars

The title had me from the start, but reading this book was a wild adventure I was worried about missing. Liz is alone in her bookstore, during the end of the world, after The Storm. Survival is all she has to look forward to as another storm looms. With the help of a friend, maybe they can make it out alive.

This book was fast-paced and full of action. It was a book that makes you think, what if? That just added to the palpable feel of energy and fear that comes from the pages. Liz was an awesome character that was easy to relate to. She was a character with determination and some grit. I enjoyed the visuals and descriptions in this story as well. They really helped with the overall thrill and feel of this book.


*I want to thank Netgalley and the author for this book in return for my honest review*

Stormi Ellis
Boundless Book Review

This was such a unique and beautifully tragic story. I mean the end of the world is dark but there is such beauty in getting to know Liz and her backstory. You get to experience these relationships that occur in this last bookstore on earth. I adored this.

DNF @25%. The book flowed well, the prose was fine -- I was just frustrated the MC didn't do anything. I liked the idea that she ran the last bookstore in the US, but I wanted her to venture out and show me some of the landscape instead of having all the stories come to her. I wasn't engaging with her, this is not a comment on the author's ability to write or the book itself.

I absolutely LOVED this book! The writing was wonderful and well written! I loved the story line and Maeve was my favorite character. The descriptions were great and really helped me envision what Lily was projecting as she was writing. Definitely a 5 star read for me! If you enjoy post apocalyptic reading I'd definitely recommend this book!

The Last Bookstore on Earth by Lily Braun-Arnold offers a story that’s haunting, heartwarming, and irresistibly immersive. The premise alone—two girls taking shelter in a dusty, abandoned bookstore while facing the brink of a second apocalypse—captivates from the start, especially if you’ve ever loved the quiet refuge of a library or bookstore.

Liz Flannery, the main character, resonates with readers who understand the solace of books and the security they bring in times of uncertainty. As she hides out, trading books for essentials, the once-familiar bookstore becomes a lifeline, a reminder of the world that once was. But it’s when Maeve, a stranger with survival skills and secrets, enters her life that the story blossoms into a tale of trust, hope, and unexpected love. Their cautious connection—layered with tension and warmth—feels real and personal, making the stakes of their survival that much higher.

LGBTQ+ rep: sapphic relationship

Summary: After the world ends with a Storm, Liz Flannery is running a bookstore via trade - people come in and leave letters for loved ones or take books in exchange for food and goods. One night, Liz wakes up to a a girl breaking in, and they become tentative allies. Liz and the girl, Maeve, work on shoring up the bookstore in preparation for the next Storm, becoming maybe more than friends all while dealing with outside threats and inside secrets...

Pros:
- I loved the apocalypse building - I thought the acid rain Storm was very plausible and also very likely
- I liked the hope of the set up, that people would be kind enough that a trade system of books for goods would be enough for Liz (and Maeve) to be able to survive

Cons:
- I found Liz to be a little too self-pitying for my tastes at times - she never wanted anything except to stay right where she was at, both before and after the apocalypse happened. She was also slightly past the point of being understandably naive: things were dangerous cuz she said so not because of any sort of logic, to the point where I was getting frustrated with her insistence that the bookstore was the only safe place on the entire planet.

Overall I thought this was an apocalypse book that managed the feat of being realistic about the tragedy that is inherent in the end of the world without totally losing hope!

This book is very unusual. It deals with First Storm. It was a acid rain storm that killed everyone that was outside. Liz survived the First Storm because she went inside just as it started. Her family did not survive. Liz worked at a bookstore before the storm and it is there where she spends all of time because it feels safe. One night she hears noise at the bookstore and goes to find out what it is. It is a woman who she does not know looking to steal. That woman is Maeve. Liz convinces her to stay and help her repair the roof and other things. All is going well until they know another Storm is coming and those who are looking for shelter.
I would recommend.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was an interesting book for me as I am not usually into the post-apocalyptic world (I lie, I do love Fallout, SO MUCH) and truly thinking about it more there are some others that I liked too. So maybe I should take it back, but too late! Train is rolling. This was an interesting book for me, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect, but that was good. You want to be surprised. You want to not entirely know what you are heading into. The main characters were fantastic. And I would love to read more of Lily's work. Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read the ARC of this book. I highly recommend it!

I loved this book. A heartfelt and engaging post-apocalyptic love story that I couldn’t put down. Following Liz’s journey in her refuge of the bookstore and finding out what happens to her and Maeve made the entire book a joy to read. It had a structure almost like a one-room play with characters coming in and out of the bookstore and I appreciated the depth the author was able to achieve with her material even giving nods to other post-apocalyptic books and movies with a subtle wink. A first novel that hits it out of the park!

This book takes places in a bookstore in a post-apocalyptic Earth. Love the premise straight away! The characters were well defined and I loved the LGBTQ+ romance. I’m a big fan of YA, but this book felt really YA and I felt a little too old to read it.

Short chapters made for a quick read. It was pretty good for a debut novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's for providing me with an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

As someone who doesn’t typically read post apocalyptic books, this definitely made me more interested in this genre. I enjoyed it. I was never bored during the book, it was well written and it certainly made me want to check out more books from this author!

I absolutely loved this story!
In a world where 99% of the population has been destroyed in a weather event. Liz finds her whole fault fine, but the local bookstore where she worked prior makes her feel safest. Until Maeve shows up and changes everything she found as her safe haven.
The writing was beautiful and I was completely engulfed into the story and in there journey together trying to survive in a world where there not enough water, food or resources.

There is so much to unpack!
Loss - how do you grieve when you must survive? Will you ever rebuild? Move on?
The complexity of building community while surviving - people who take vs those who share and support.
Liz has built an amazing source of support and community after The Storm - her family didn't make it, so add in some survivor's guilt to the day to day isolation, stress, and any form of recovery. Her bookstore provides a place for people to leave messages for their loved ones, desperately hoping they survived and can be reunited. Trade for her books - hope, any sense of normalcy.
But Liz cannot leave - even when Peacoat tells her of a new, potentially worse Storm.
Mauve, another young girl, breaks in desperate for safety and shelter. And together they begin to plan - and heal.

This was a pretty run-of-the-mill YA dystopian novel but it definitely had its moments of glory. It did a good job of world-building and had a few new, interesting angles. I really liked that it was interspersed with personal stories from her customers, that was definitely a nice touch.

This is like if Ellie never met Joel, and if she wasn't The One. It's more of a What-If scenario with Ellie attempting to settle down and find normalcy with her girlfriend.

This is definitely an apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic story for the younger set. It's not very technical on the hows and whys, so don't come in expecting in-depth worldbuilding. There's a couple of horror/thriller scenes to whet your appetite, but this novel leans more heavily on the interpersonal relationships between the characters, and the FMC reminiscing about her past life.

Maybe I'm too old for this, or I was expecting a little too much out of it, but I didn't find this novel all too exciting. It was a little too cozy than what I like in this type of setting. I liked the concept of the acid rain, and the bookstore/postal service of sorts, but I wasn't really a huge fan of how the setting was 99% isolated to the bookstore.

The bookstore was a main character of sorts, but I didn't find it all too compelling to stand on its own. Liz didn't work there long enough for me to feel like there was some kind of deep-seated history intertwined between them. She just happened to be a former employee who ended up squatting there for the apocalypse.

Liz and Maeve's relationship was cute, but at the end of the day, it felt like they fell in love with each other due to proximity and convenience.

This was a quick read, and I'd recommend it for preteens who might want to read something that's a lot less gruesome than The Last of Us.

Thank you to Delacorte Press and NetGalley for this arc.

There are too many times that authors create a dystopian world that is hard to see actually taking place. That is one of the reasons I really like The Last Bookstore on Earth. This is a world you can actually see taking place. We have actually heard of Acid Rain, it has actually been a problem - not to this level, but it has been something we have faced. As such, it a makes the story more believable. I think the characters are the highlight of this book. I am always looking for more LGBTQ novels for my students who identify as such. For those students, and any others, looking for a post apocalyptic setting that does not feature flesh eaters, this is a fine book.