by Linell Jeppsen

3.5 stars for the story of how the world came to an end. It was a little bit of slow going to start but started to pick up by the time things started really going wrong. The narrative was a bit choppy because you had one individual supposed to be telling the story but what you get are multiple stories going at once, which could get a confusing sometimes. So the flow was a little off but you can still follow where they are going, particularly if you catch some of the hints they throw out. Some of the characters are more believable than others, Naomi and her idealisms are a little hard to swallow after everything that happens, but most I could see living down the street.

In the year 2045 people have come together to hear NaNa Nay tell the story of the survival of humankind after the destruction of Earth. In 2010 the planet started to tear itself apart with earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, everything the Earth can throw at us. Naomi was a 20-year-old college student who was just finishing up her teaching degree when her world fell apart. She is lucky enough to be in a relatively safe location with her brothers and does not suffer as so many others do as time goes by. It is six long years before they are able to start to rebuild. Humans can learn from their mistakes, even if it takes world annihilation to do it.

This is a story of hatred, love, redemption, loss, heroism, and the human spirit to survive. Along with the natural disasters you get some pretty bad aliens and some pretty good aliens. A lot for such a small package.