Review: The Loneliest Girl in the Universe by Lauren James

Title: The Loneliest Girl in the Universe

Author: Lauren James 

Publisher: HarperTeen

Publishing Date: July 3rd, 2018

Pages: 305
Audio Length: 7 Hours and 38 Minutes

Genre: YA Contemporary Sci-Fi
TW: N/A

Series: Standalone

Source: Audio

 

A surprising and gripping sci-fi thriller with a killer twist
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 theEternity, 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…

What made me pick this book up: 

The title definitely. The loneliest girl in the universe can go a million different ways. Is it a sappy contemporary romance? Is it a sci-fi? Is it a horror? 

Obviously I knew it was sci-fi, but it could have been more than just that. So I had to find out.

What did I like about the cover: 

I actually don't care much for this cover. 

Yeah it makes sense for the story. She's alone in the universe, blah blah. I love the font, and the colors. I love the concept. 

I don't like how it was executed. I can't say exactly what it is I don't like. 

What made me read this book: 

It sounded really fascinating. I went through a phase where I was loving outer space sci-fi books and this one sounded mind-blowing. 

What did I like the most: 

I seriously loved this book. There was so much I loved about it. 

I would rate this one more of a 4.5 almost a 5. Because that's how much I love this book.

The main character is adorable. I just want to hug her. She was born on this ship, so she knows nothing of the earth. She watches movies, tv shows, reads books, etc to learn about life here. 

She's very naive and just... doesn't understand. She thinks that people just fall into quicksand. Like this is a completely normal thing.

Not only that but she's lonely. It's sad, I just want to hug her. She has every chance to be a whiny baby about things, and for the most part she isn't.

The story is obviously pretty different. So I loved reading it. I loved reading all the things that she has on the ship.

I loved reading her messages back and forth. 

This book also had me so far on the edge of my seat I was going to fall off. I was holding my breath. I was staring off into space. The thriller part of it was amazing.   

What didn't I like: 

Ugh. I can't even say it because it's a spoiler. I feel so bad for her. That's about it.

Would I read the rest of the series/more from this author?
Yessss.

This book was amazing. SO much more than I thought it would be.

“I’ve got the half-real fear that creeps up on you in the middle of the night, making you think that there is a monster in your room.” 
― Lauren James, The Loneliest Girl in the Universe

Lauren James was born in 1992 and is the British Young Adult author of The Next Together series, The Loneliest Girl in the Universe and The Quiet at the End of the World. She graduated in 2014 from the University of Nottingham, UK, where she studied Chemistry and Physics.
She started writing during secondary school English classes, because she couldn’t stop thinking about a couple who kept falling in love throughout history. She sold the rights to the novel when she was 21, whilst she was still at university.
Her books have sold over fifty thousand copies in the UK alone, and been translated into five languages worldwide. She has been described as ‘Gripping romantic sci-fi’ by the Wall Street Journal and ‘A strange, witty, compulsively unpredictable read which blows most of its new YA-suspense brethren out of the water’ by Entertainment Weekly.
Her other novels include The Last Beginning, the epic conclusion to The Next Together which was named one of the best LGBT-inclusive works for kids and young adults by the Independent.

The Loneliest Girl in the Universe was inspired by a Physics calculation she was assigned at university. Lauren is a passionate advocate of STEM further education, and all of her books feature female scientists in prominent roles. The Quiet at the End of the World considers the legacy and evolution of the human race into the far future.

Lauren is published in the UK by Walker Books and in the US by HarperCollins. She lives in the West Midlands and is an Arts Council grant recipient. She has written articles for the Guardian, Buzzfeed and The Toast, and wrote an article for the Children’s Writers and Artist’s Yearbook 2019. She works with Writing West Midlands, providing creative writing courses to children through the Spark Young Writers programme.

Website: http://laurenejames.co.uk
Twitter: lauren_E_james
Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Science Fiction URL: https://www.goodreads.com/laurenejames