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The Only Ones

Aaron Starmer

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Oct 24, 2012 Nick rated it liked it

Shelves: juvenile-fantasy

I liked most of this book until I realized what a mind-bender the resolution was turning out to be, at which point I began to be annoyed. Like with certain time-travel stories, the resolution hinges on a cause-and-effect loop. That's dangerous, and in this case it didn't feel like the author had figured out the implications consistently. Among other things, the initial community of survivors has too limited a skill set to actually survive, as described, and by the end it is getting better, but n I liked most of this book until I realized what a mind-bender the resolution was turning out to be, at which point I began to be annoyed. Like with certain time-travel stories, the resolution hinges on a cause-and-effect loop. That's dangerous, and in this case it didn't feel like the author had figured out the implications consistently. Among other things, the initial community of survivors has too limited a skill set to actually survive, as described, and by the end it is getting better, but not in a way that sounds like it will work.
The basic premise is that almost everyone in the world disappears one day, leaving behind a very small number of kids, all roughly middle-school-aged, 11-14. At no point is that narrow age range explained, and it matters a lot, later. Martin, the central character, had been raised on an isolated island by a crackpot father. Others had their own back stories, equally odd. Each of these kids is good at something, but not necessarily something that will help them survive. Also, a couple of them are...um...insane?
Okay, so let's set aside the practical parts. Does it work as fantasy? Sort of. I was engrossed enough to read straight through, but found the results to be good, rather than great. The final explanation given of why certain kids ended up surviving the disappearance just didn't work, and some of the elements have to be accepted as "because the author said so," which is not a good thing.
The Machine, which is a key plot element, began to annoy me, as did the main character's attitudes about it. As the story progresses, there's also an element of guilt, because someone CAUSED the disappearance. The author glosses over this, but that pretty much wrecked the world, maybe permanently. By the end, you realize that the causal loop is even loopier than most
I liked the characters much more than the story. They were distinctive and quirky and fun to read about. They just wouldn't have survived, as a group. It felt like I was reading a middle school remake of Gilligan's Island, but with a more serious goal.
So, I liked it the writing and the characters, but not the overall result, if that makes sense. The main character, Martin, was hard to care about, because he had been raised so much in isolation that he didn't even react in ways that the reader could view as human, in many cases. It felt like he was mimicking human behavior, rather than living it. The side characters were great, though, and I found myself identifying with them far more than with Martin. ...more

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Sep 29, 2012 Michele rated it really liked it

Interesting book that has me still thinking about the premise. Not entirely sure that I buy the final explanation and I see many holes, but it was a good sci if read.

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Sep 18, 2012 Jen marked it as to-read

Aug 26, 2012 Alyson (Kid Lit Frenzy) marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Sep 19, 2012 Sigrid Bishop marked it as to-read

Jan 26, 2013 Kelli rated it really liked it

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