The Last Beginning by Lauren James

Pages: 352
Publish date: October 6th, 2016
Publisher: Walker Books
ISBN: 1406358061
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – Dymocks 

The Last Beginning:

I received a review copy of The Last Beginning by Lauren James from Walker Books in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

There will be spoilers from The Next Together

I was intrigued when I read The Next Together and the start of the year. The world was fascinating, and I was allured by the characters, how everything came to be. I loved all the characters from The Next Together so I was excited to meet some new ones in The Last Beginning.  With the ending of the first book, I was begging for me and I had no idea what to expect from this one. 

The Last Beginning follows Clove Sutcliffe as she learns the life isn’t as simple as she thinks, and when it turns on its head Clove needs to learn to stand on her own two feet. She needs to learn that things you do sometimes have consequences and one little thing can change your own entire life.

Clove was a hard character to ‘get along’ with. She is demanding and a brat at times. I really wanted to like her as much as Katherine and Matthew, but that wasn’t going to happen. I did love how much Clove cared about her family. There were times when she herself though she ‘hated’ them, but the reader is able to tell how much she cares. The relationship between her and her father especially was sweet. Family dynamics are something that I always look for in YA novels and I think I found it here. 

One of the main reasons that I loved about The Last Beginning was that Clove was gay. It’s quite rare that you see a gay female protagonist in a young adult book, but it was so enjoyable. I loved seeing Clove’s ups and downs relationship wise and the fact that she rarely second-guessed who she was. What worked well and didn’t take over was the small ‘coming-out’ story. It was nice to see a novel that did include coming out, but that not be what the novel is about. 

Ella was mysterious and overall enjoyable. There may be some ethical issues into how things went down, but otherwise, I liked her inclusion into the story. I enjoyed Ella more than I did Clove simply because of how childlike Clove came across at times. If Ella was a protagonist, I am not sure if I would have liked her the same. 

I do wish there was more relationship wise from Ella and Clove. I wanted to see more connection. It lacked a bit, one minute they were friends and then the next, they were a couple. There was something missing. 

Katherine and Matthew disappeared sixteen years ago and the world is not the same. They have been made heroes, and there are movies about them, books. And Clove is trying to figure out where she fits into all of this.

I enjoyed the plot of The Last Beginning, however, at times I felt that there was a little too much going on and it made me feel scatterbrain. Clove is an integral part of the plot, but so is everyone else. I loved how all the questions we had at the end of The Next Together, were answered. Everything seemed to fit.

The Last Beginning is set out much like the first book. It’s not just one continuous story. There are different forwards interview and extracts from books. There were times where I felt that I needed a ‘normal’ storyline, nevertheless, I loved that it’s different from other books out there. 

Overall, I loved reading The Last Beginning. It’s different, intriguing and enjoyable. The protagonist isn’t enjoyable at times, but I saw things as a learning curve for her. The Last Beginning tells a story of family, love and overcoming. It takes you on a journey through time.

Have you read The Last Beginning? What did you think of it? Are you planning on reading it? Have you read The Next Together? What did you think of it? Let’s Chat!