I enjoyed this book!!! I though this book was wild ride and i loved the twist and turns this book was the defination of unlikable characters but the plot kept me reading and so many twists and turns. I enjoyed the lgbt rep in this book,i struggled a little bit with the ending but def a quick read!! ( )

I enjoyed this book!!! I though this book was wild ride and i loved the twist and turns this book was the defination of unlikable characters but the plot kept me reading and so many twists and turns. I enjoyed the lgbt rep in this book,i struggled a little bit with the ending but def a quick read!! ( )

Jennifer Dugan has written a homage to 80s slasher films but with LGBTQ+ rep. Sloan and Cherry meet at Camp Money Springs where they are preparing to work as counselors after their senior year. A fledgling romance between them develops but days later, a ritual massacre occurs leaving them as the only survivors. The story is set months later. The two are dating and bound in a codependent relationship by the trauma they experienced. Sloan's memory of the night of the killings is blocked. As more information is revealed about the murders, Sloan starts to suspect that Cherry is more than just a survivor.
The final twist is clever and unexpected. I have mixed feelings about the ending and am still processing it. There were some problems with the pacing of the story, but overall, I enjoyed this YA thriller. The toxic relationship between the girls was written well. I feel like an epilogue was needed because the ending was so abrupt. ( )

My feelings on this book are rather mixed. I needed some time to process this one after finishing it. I wasn’t exactly sure what I really thought about the book as a whole. On one hand, I was really curious to learn what really happened that night that Sloan and Cherry were the only survivors after a massacre at the summer camp they both were working at. Unfortunately on the other hand, the story took a turn that I didn’t expect and I honestly didn’t care for. The ending turned out to be a huge disappointment.

Sloan and Cherry both survived a terrible tragedy at the camp that they were working at and ended up being the only two survivors. Sloan doesn’t remember what happened and wants to get her memories back so that she can move on. Cherry and Sloan met at camp just prior to the tragedy and are now the most important people to one another. Sloan’s mother does not like Cherry at all but their bond remains strong.

Sloan starts to question what really happened that night and starts to doubt those she cares and trusts most of all. She sees connections that may not be there and becomes desperate to find answers. It was hard to see Sloan spiraling out of control but I did want to see her find those answers that she needed. Cherry and Sloan’s relationship felt rather toxic at times and I wondered if maybe Sloan’s mother was right after all.

I listened to the audiobook and thought that Mia Hutchinson-Shaw did a wonderful job with the story. I honestly don’t know if I would have liked the book as much as I did without her narration. She did a wonderful job of bringing this group of characters to life. I would not hesitate to listen to more of her narration work in the future.

I think that some readers will like this one a bit more than I did. I do think that the book had some really positive traits but the ending just didn’t work for me at all. I would definitely give this author’s work a try again in the future.

I received a review copy of this book from G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers and Penguin Random House Audio. ( )

Wow, what a gripping story! The book centers around Sloan, who along with her girlfriend Cherry, survives a horrific mass murder. This traumatic event strengthens their bond, leading to a toxic co-dependent relationship as they both feel that nobody else can truly understand what they went through.

“Sloan liked the way Cherry said ‘us.’ The way she always combined them into one now. Nothing happened to Cherry or to Sloan; it only happened to both of them, as if what happened that day at camp had fused them somehow.”

Sloan is trying to move on with her life, as she deals with deep-seated trauma, severe anxiety, the weight of survivor's guilt, and a persistent feeling of not belonging stemming from her not knowing anything about her birth parents. The complexities of Sloan's troubled mind are skillfully portrayed by the author, who constantly molds the storyline around them. Sloan finds herself trapped in a state of constant fear as the fragmented memories of that night make it difficult to piece together the truth. She starts to believe that even Cherry – her soulmate, the only person that’s keeping her grounded, is keeping secrets about what truly happened to them.

“’I just want the truth. I want to know what happened.’ Sloan bit her lip. This wasn’t supposed to be so hard, so confusing. What was right and wrong. What was real and not real. Where was the line, and why did it keep moving?”

This book is an absolute thrill ride, and kept me engaged and second-guessing everything until the end! The story is packed with twists and turns, constantly reshaping itself as Sloan's mental health takes a turn for the worse. What happens when the line between what is real and what is not starts to blur? I thoroughly enjoyed unraveling each layer of the story, from Sloan's deteriorating mental health to her codependent relationship with Cherry and her gradual detachment from reality. The story gets pretty dark toward the end, and while that didn't bother me, it felt a bit abrupt. I think it would've been better if the pacing was more consistent throughout the book, especially toward the end. Nevertheless, it was clever, thought-provoking, and it left me guessing until the very last page! I highly recommend this intense YA psychological thriller, and cannot wait to read more of Jennifer Dugan's works in the future!

The cover design is pure perfection – it’s dark, mysterious, and fits the story perfectly! It grabbed my attention immediately! The black and white colors in the background perfectly capture Sloan’s struggle to properly put together the fragmented memories of that haunting night.

Thank you, BookishFirst, the publisher G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers, and author Jennifer Dugan for the ARC copy in exchange for an honest review! My review is based on an uncorrected text. The Last Girls Standing by Jennifer Dugan is due to be released on August 15, 2023. ( )