One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston
“But, you know, that feeling? When you wake up in the morning and you have somebody to think about? Somewhere for hope to go? It’s good. Even when it’s bad, it’s good.”
A beautiful and heartwarming story about unexpected love and friendships
This book is so beautiful. Both the cover and the story itself. McQuiston’s writing style is extremely addictive and the world-building was great. The characters also seem to have been plucked from everyday life, they come across as honest and sincere. The story could have been a little faster at times, but One Last Stop is definitely worth reading!
Synopsis
For cynical twenty-three-year-old August, moving to New York City is supposed to prove her right: that things like magic and cinematic love stories don’t exist, and the only smart way to go through life is alone. She can’t imagine how waiting tables at a 24-hour pancake diner and moving in with too many weird roommates could possibly change that. And there’s certainly no chance of her subway commute being anything more than a daily trudge through boredom and electrical failures.
But then, there’s this gorgeous girl on the train.
Jane. Dazzling, charming, mysterious, impossible Jane. Jane with her rough edges and swoopy hair and soft smile, showing up in a leather jacket to save August’s day when she needed it most. August’s subway crush becomes the best part of her day, but pretty soon, she discovers there’s one big problem: Jane doesn’t just look like an old school punk rocker. She’s literally displaced in time from the 1970s, and August is going to have to use everything she tried to leave in her own past to help her. Maybe it’s time to start believing in some things, after all.
Casey McQuiston’s One Last Stop is a magical, sexy, big-hearted romance where the impossible becomes possible as August does everything in her power to save the girl lost in time.
Review
I love this cover! This color combination is very beautiful. It kind of reminds me of a mix of the bisexual flag and lesbian flag.
I found the storyline very special because there is a lot of time travel in it. I was a little worried that it wouldn’t work and that I wouldn’t understand One Last Stop, but surprisingly it worked! There is one main storyline and some minor storylines that all come to a nice close at the end.
The book is very character driven, luckily all the characters are super interesting. One Last Stop is a very good representation of today’s society. The cast is diverse and that’s great to see. I think all books should look like this. For example, there are characters in One Last Stop with different sexualities, genders and ethnic backgrounds. The dynamics between the different characters was fun to watch. Not only the relationship between August and Jane was beautiful, but also the friendships found between August, Niko, Myla, Wes and Isaiah.
The world construction was perfect just like in McQuiston’s first book, Red, White & Royal Blue. There are three locations where the characters often visit: the apartment, the pancake restaurant and the metro. McQuiston succeeds in keeping these locations interesting.
The only downside for me was the speed of the story. In the first half of One Last Stop we get to know all the characters and so the story went quite slowly. I kept waiting for something that just wouldn’t come. This isn’t to say the first part is bad, because I’m glad McQuiston took her time to let all the characters have a wide range of options.
I am very happy that this is a standalone book. The ending of One Last Stop was perfect, McQuiston couldn’t have ended it better!
Would I recommend it?
Yes for sure! One Last Stop is definitely worth a read.
Details
Trigger warnings
On-page: Drinking, light drug use (weed), semi-public sex, exploration of depression and anxiety, memory loss and cognitive issues, familial estrangement, familial death, grief, missing persons, implied PTSD
Off-page, past, and alluded to: Homophobic violence and hate speech, police violence, the AIDS crisis, racism, childhood neglect, arson, historic hate crime resulting in loss of life
Representation
- Main F/F relationship
- Bisexual main character with anxiety
- Chinese-American love interest
- Black sapphic side character
- Puerto Rican-American trans side character
- Gay Jewish side character
- Gay black side character
- Pansexual black side character
- Czech side character
Genre
Romance, time travel (new adult)
Pages
422
Publication date
1 June 2021
Publisher
St. Martin’s Griffin
About the author
Casey McQuiston is the New York Times bestselling author of Red, White & Royal Blue, as well as a pie enthusiast. She writes books about smart people with bad manners falling in love. Born and raised in southern Louisiana, she now lives in New York City with her poodle mix and personal assistant, Pepper.
She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Hamilton College in 2008 with a degree in Creative Writing and a minor in Religious Studies.
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