I enjoyed the author Austin Aslan's first book in this series, The Islands at the End of the World. For his second effort, he outdid himself. I thought The Girl at the Center of the World was excellent, better then the first.

Aslan does a good job tying up some loose ends from the first book. We learn more about the mysterious Emerald Orchid and its connection with the main character, Leilani Milton. But, for me, what I really appreciated was the focus on the relationships. I felt that this second book allowed even more character development. In fact, the story was driven much less by the Orchid and more by how the different characters were interacting. For this reason, it did not seem like your typical teen novel.

I would highly encourage people to check out Aslan's second book, The Girl at the Center of the World. ( )

As feared, the sequel lost some of its Hawaiian and scientific originality, spending too much time on YA personal relationships. Most his first book was action-packed, and this book was best when there were threats to Leilani and the celestial anomalies (mother and child) from outside forces, with different agendas. Finally back on her home island, with her family, Leilani and they are working hard to survive in the post-apocalyptic world, with the celestial beings keeping the world in a primitive, but stable stasis. I liked the ending and the settlement negotiated by Leilani. ( )

I thought that this book was just as interesting as the 1st. ( )

I really do think this is a wonderful series that's deeply embedded in the culture of its setting and never really appropriates it. The extra sci-fi elements only add to this. I picked up the first book last Christmas when I was in Hawaii myself (so it was realy cool, knowing where half the things were) and I was delighted to find that it wasn't just a regional book, so I read it here in cold Canada.

All the characters are solid and this is a very realistic imagining of what would happen had the power went off. I adore this series. Really. ( )

Aslan's second book in his Hawaii-set apocalyptic duology is a fast, tense read. It's not quite as frenetic as the first book, which is fine by me, as that book almost excruciating because of the high stakes faced by Leilani and her father as they struggled to journey from Oahu back to the Big Island after alien anomalies in the atmosphere send humanity amok. The Girl is deeper into the sci-fi genre (in contrast to the strong survival eco-thriller vibe of the previous book) as Leilani learns more about her connection to the Emerald Orchid as her family faces danger from deficits in medical care and by conflicts among rival gangs that have sprung up around the islands. Even though the aliens may seem fanciful to some, the ecological and environmental dilemmas posed by Aslan are fantastic and very real. He knows Hilo and the local environs very well, and it shows. Reading these books (I skimmed the first book again just a few weeks ago as a refresher) is also unnerving as I prepare for a research trip to Hawaii. I'm inclined to carry these books with me as survival guides in case someone happens to kick off the apocalypse. ( )