Alone Out Here by author Riley Redgate is a thoughtful novel premised on an enthralling concept. It challenges readers to consider the question: What do you stand for when you're one of the last left standing?
Set in the year 2072, the world’s leaders oversee the time sensitive production of a space fleet meant to save (some of) humankind. Despite months of planning and preparation, an unforeseen volcanic eruption triggers catastrophic devastation, and the only way out is up and into space significantly ahead of schedule.
The leaders’ children are the only ones who make it out alive. On the weekend of the eruption, First Daughter Leigh Chen, accompanied by a group of other teenagers from different countries and different parts of the world, was touring the Lazarus, a high-tech prototype spaceship. When disaster hit, they were forced to launch the Lazarus on their own.
This is now the new world: a starship loaded with a catalog of human artifacts, a frozen menagerie of animal DNA, and 53 terrified young survivors. From the panic arises a coalition of leaders, spearheaded by the pilot’s enigmatic daughter, Eli, who takes the wheel in their hunt for a habitable planet. But as isolation presses in, their uneasy peace begins to fracture. The struggle for control will mean the difference between survival and oblivion, and Leigh must decide whether to stand on the side of the mission or of her own humanity.
This book has been pegged as “Lord of the Flies in space.” Devastating attempts of a stranded group of young people to govern themselves does indeed sum up both stories. While the concept, themes and story of Alone Out Here are dynamite at a high level and do follow a Lord-of-the-Flies-inspired formula, some slower moments in the middle and at the end of the book were lackluster and dragged on a little too long, dimming its shine. I was excited to see what happened when the crew landed on the target planet and their plans for settlement, but the story does not make it so far. It is solely about the struggle onboard the Lazarus and the tough decisions the crew must face. This does not make the story bad or boring per se, it was just not what I expected. Ultimately, the explosive start to the book tapers out too quickly. However, there is still much to applaud about Alone Out Here.
The story is propelled by diverse and extraordinary international characters with an Asian protagonist – Leigh Chen – at the fore. (The characters use translation devices to communicate with one another which I also thought was a very cool way of preserving their own languages as part of the story.) It was refreshing to have so many important characters from different parts of the world in one book, in one room, often speaking their minds. Such character choices enriches the relationships and conflicts throughout as the reader learns more about personalities and motivations as the journey unfolds.
What do you stand for? What do we owe ourselves? What do we owe each other? How do we choose what is most important and what to prioritize? These questions and more simmer beneath the surface of every page. They are a worthy assault on the reader’s own moral compass as they grapple with the choices and decisions explored by several characters at different points. Author Riley Redgate does an artful job of shifting perspective and getting inside the heads of other characters at times, despite the reader primarily being along for the ride with Leigh. This shift contributes to the intensity upon which readers will reflect on the above questions as things are not always what they seem.
Feelings of nostalgia and reminiscing about days of old also add a great deal of gravitas to the story. When Leigh reflects on these moments in detail, it even triggers feelings of personal contemplation and appreciation. “You don’t know what you’ve got ‘till it’s gone” is a key theme and one that Leigh explores in sufficient depth which keeps the reader engaged in her quest.
Alone Out Here is a good addition to YA sci fi novels and a solid starting point or launchpad for newcomers to the genre. While the drama and tragedy endured on the Lazarus kept the story relatively interesting, I could not help but feel that I wanted more overall. I wanted more reflection from the characters on where they had come from; their origins on Earth and who they were as people before being thrust into space vs who they felt they were becoming. I especially wanted more from characters other than just the protagonist. I also wanted more from the adventure side of the story – food shortages and riots over use of the virtual reality room were not enough. At times, it may feel like the reader is also stuck aboard the ship with nowhere to go. However, the important themes and critical questions are the book’s saving grace. They contribute significantly to keeping the story afloat and the reader engaged until the very end.
Alone Out Here was released on April 5, 2022.