Book Review: Lemurs vs. Humanity

The Last Place on Earth by Carol Snow
(review contains spoilers)

Isn't the cover of this book a beauty? I thought so too. The description on the back was all mysterious, the inside flap sounded really interesting-I thought it would make a pretty good read! (The stars on the cover had no influence in my decision to buy this book none at all). 

The narration was very basic. Daisy was a simple character, very predictable. The writing while not spectacularly unique, was good enough to keep me turning the pages. Everything was going great, I was starting to really like the book actually. But picture me sitting in a silent class, when I come across the page where it finally reveals why Daisy's best friend Henry and his family are secluded in the woods of California. Very dramatically, I came to understand that this was not about an alien invasion, or a zombie apocalypse, but rather, this was much worse. The dreaded Lemurs, who were infested with the Madagascar Plague, were about to be the cause of the end of the world as they know it. And Henry and all of the other characters were absolutely mortified. They had been prepping for it for years. NOWHERE IN THE DESCRIPTION OF THIS NOVEL DID I IMAGINE TO READ THAT! I gotta give props to Carol Snow for her originality, but like, I busted out laughing in a class that was dead silent. And suddenly, I was a little bit embarrassed to have the book in my possession. I laughed for a good half an hour and I didn't turn the page until the next day. 

The book kept going, and it was nice enough, but every time I remembered the reason that all of the characters were in this situation I couldn't take it seriously. There was a very typical love triangle, and the characters were not very unique. It was like Carol had run out of ideas for this novel and she just really wanted it to end. The narration was so child-like.

But, the worst part had to have been when I found out the cure for this dreaded disease that had killed so many people back home while this group of characters were hiding in the woods of California. Aspirin. ASPIRIN! Aspirin was enough to stop the dreaded Lemurs from killing everyone on the planet. Then, all of the characters returned to their lives after a week or so in the woods. It was like a twisted summer camp, and now life would go on the same as before. Have I spoiled too much for you? Sorry, I normally wouldn't. But I promise you won't be picking up this book anytime soon unless you want to read it for the sheer humor. 

 It was also really weird because the novel took place right where I live here in Southern California, all of the places mentioned in the novel were ones that I knew well. I couldn't seriously imagine everyone here where I live suddenly dying off or running to hide up north in the "dangerous backwoods" of California. 

This book was a disaster. I'm glad I read it just so I can laugh about it now. So yeah, lesson learned. A mysterious description and stars on the cover won't always mean a philosophically deep piece of fiction literature. Sometimes it just means that an author couldn't make up their mind.