LAST THINGS By Jacqueline West

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Last Things by Jacqueline West
Published by Greenwillow Books on 5/7/19
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Young Adult
Pages: 416
Source: Publisher
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High school senior Anders Thorson is unusually gifted. His band, Last Things, is legendary in their northern Minnesota hometown. With guitar skills that would amaze even if he weren’t only eighteen, Anders is the focus of head-turning admiration. And Thea Malcom, a newcomer to the insular town, is one of his admirers. Thea seems to turn up everywhere Anders goes: gigs at the local coffeehouse, guitar lessons, even in the woods near Anders’s home.

When strange things start happening to Anders, blame immediately falls on Thea. But is she trying to hurt him? Or save him? Can he trust a girl who doesn’t seem to know the difference between dreams and reality? And how much are they both willing to sacrifice to get what they want?

Short and Sweet

Anders is a gifted musician, his ability to play the guitar and write songs are what make his band Last Things pretty well known in their town in Minnesota. Thea Malcolm is new in town and she isn’t exactly popular she’s an outsider and when things start to happen to Anders the blame falls on Thea. But is Thea really to blame or is she trying to protect Anders?

Characters

Anders: One of our main characters. So Anders went into the woods one day and it made him a better musician and a talented songwriter, but now the woods are coming to collect  and they want Anders and if they can’t him they’ll start by taking everything he loves. So Anders has this gloomy rocker vibe going on, and he’s kind of selfish he doesn’t think about anyone else but himself and I think it may be an effect of the deal he made he just wants more and more.

Thea: Thea’s new in town and she lives with her aunt Mae. Mae has a reputation in town for being crazy but Mae has premonitions about things that are going to happen and I think Thea may have the same abilities. I do know for sure that Thea can feel the woods and the danger that is coming for Anders. Thea likes to stay on the edges and doesn’t make her presence known but she’s usually following Anders to protect him but to others it makes her seem like a stalker. Honestly she was pretty sketchy she found his cat and kept it a few days before giving it back just to see what it was like to be with Anders cat.

Romance

Anders and Frankie: Frankie is a popular girl and in Anders mind she only likes him because he’s a musician and is gaining more popularity with his band. I mean theres really not much we know about Frankie except that she’s popular and she’s always with her friends, but I do think she genuinely wanted to get to know Anders and not just because of his band.

My Thoughts

~ There’s not really a name for what’s coming for Anders, Thea usually just says she feels the woods closing in and that they want him, and I guess its time for Anders to pay up for the talents they gave him.

~ Anders can feel that theres something wrong but he’s not really sure if its because of what happened in the woods a few years back or if it’s just a coincidence. But he starts to get more wary when things around him start to disappear like his cat, Frankie, and some of his talent.

~ I feel like there’s not much character development with either character. It’s honestly hard to like either of them because you don’t really get to know them. We know Anders basically made a deal with something in the woods like a dark force but what is Thea? After reading the book I still have no clue about what she is and I’d really like to know because it wasn’t really explained.

~ I didn’t like that these two didn’t interact until 60% through the book when Thea actually had to tell Anders to watch out and that she was actually there to protect him, but obviously he still thinks she’s a stalker. I thought these two would have more interactions throughout the book but I was wrong, they only start talking to each other towards the end of the book.

~ The Plot! The climax doesn’t take place until the second half of the book and I feel like I’m being generous when I say that because from what I remember I was 70% through the book when the dark things in the forest were really coming for Anders.

Overall

Well this book is really something. I don’t know exactly how to feel about it, its not great but its not bad either it was just okay, its not a book I would read again its kind of a one and done deal. The characters aren’t memorable, I had a vague idea of what was going on because things weren’t fully explained and the ending came and went and it wasn’t satisfying in the slightest.