16 year old Ann thinks she may be the last person on Earth after a nuclear bomb destroys all the surrounding areas around her self-sustaining valley. But then, Mr. Loomis shows up in his anti-radiation suit with his anti-radiation gear and Ann starts to realize there may be worse things than being alone.
“Most of the time I didn’t write, because one day was just like the day before, and sometimes I thought – what’s the use of writing anyway, when nobody is ever going to read it? Then I would remind myself: sometime, years from now, you’re going to read it.” (p 5)
At first, Ann is hopeful that Mr. Loomis will turn out to be a good partner – someone she can repopulate the planet with. But then he does something stupid that puts his life in danger, and something crazy that puts Ann’s in danger, and suddenly the stakes are raised.
Despite the diary format, the simple story is a nail-biter and seriously psychologically twisted. However, I could never fully immerse myself in the proceedings because I was trying to wrap my brain around the unlikelihood of such a self-sustaining valley existing. I mean, seriously…does this valley have its own personal clouds that were not affected by radiation? Do these clouds only suck up moisture from the safe part of the creek and not from the poisoned part of the creek? It never actually rains in the 2 ½ months we read about, and yet all the plants and trees are growing nicely. Am I the only one bothered by this?
Also, and I realize this was the 70s, but Ann is remarkably passive when it comes to Mr. Loomis. For all of her considerable survival skills, this passivity was rather infuriating, especially considering the ending (which I won’t spoil).
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