Parents' Guide to The Last Bookstore on Earth

This story's intriguing post-apocalyptic premise and queer representation ultimately fail to entertain and miss a lot of marks. Plot holes in The Last Bookstore on Earth that become hard to overlook include Liz's constant, easy access to resources; a quick and relatively easy recovery from a serious injury; and the use of regular plumbing for drinking water when acid rain has poisoned the land. Also, while the book's lesbian romance in a post-apocalyptic setting will be exciting for many readers, Liz and Maeve's relationship is problematic. They lie to each other; never ask for, give, or discuss consent; and communicate poorly throughout. Teen readers might not be able to identify or articulate these nuanced implications, but the characters' inadvertent normalization of misusing emotional vulnerability for romantic purposes is troubling. The characters also tease each other using reductive gender stereotypes ("I bring home the bacon, and you wait on me hand and foot like a good wife."). While this is technically a queer romance, there's no subversion of traditional gender or heterosexual "damsel in distress" tropes of the past.

Liz's self-doubt, defensiveness around discussions of privilege, and helplessness throughout also become grating, and she holds an exhausting amount of guilt for situations outside of her control. She repeatedly relies on others to "save" her, even when she's given ample warning to act for herself, deriving self-worth from these moments. In the end, Liz isn't a positive model for teen readers at any intersection of identity and shows little growth over time. All of that said, the pages do fly by, and fans of dystopian fiction who can overlook the book's significant issues may enjoy the read.