Last One at the Party by Bethany Clift

Last One at the Party by Bethany Clift
My Rating: ★★★★

I received a copy from Hodder and Stoughton through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

In 2023, a new deadly virus wreaks havoc on the world. It’s known as 6DM, or six days maximum, because you have up to six days from the point of contraction before the virus causes your internal organs to melt. There is no hope. 6DM has destroyed the world. As far as one woman knows, she’s the only survivor. She didn’t get 6DM and was forced to watch everyone she’s ever known or loved die from the virus, and now she’s determined to find another poor soul who is trying to survive in this new world.

I was drawn to this book because it’s a dystopian novel that is also adult fiction. I know that it might be an odd choice when we’re still living in a pandemic, but I love dystopian novels as well as novels told through a series of journal entries. When I first started the book, I wondered if picking it up might’ve been a mistake. The protagonist whose name we never learn isn’t the most likable, and her diary entries are pretty dry. However, the more I read, the more I liked the book. Bethany Clift got into a groove and the diary entries were no longer dry. I also found that I liked the protagonist as I continued to read.

I thought this was an interesting book. It reminded me of an old TV show that I watched years ago called Survivors, which follows a small group of people who survive a deadly virus that killed nearly all of the human population. While the premise is similar, this book follows a woman who is left completely alone. She’s scared, lonely, and both high and drunk while hoping to find fellow survivors. While there were some flaws, like there being electricity and easily available running water for too long and COVID details being shoehorned in, I found it to be a great read.

One of the things I like about the book is that the protagonist is forced to reflect on her life. Now that she’s alone, she has to get to know herself on a new level. On the flip side, she can finally be herself without trying to pretend she’s someone else for the people around her. Watching her struggle with the death of everyone she’s ever known was heartbreaking, but her struggles with surviving or wanting to end it all when she’s seemingly the last person on Earth is something I think anyone in that situation would find themselves struggling with.

All in all, I thought this was a great read. I also liked the ending, which gave me an idea of what happened to her and what the future holds. I highly recommend this book if you like to read dystopian novels. However, I do think you should avoid it if you are a recovering drug addict since the protagonist does begin to use drugs at some point and I think the details may be triggering.