One Last Stop

Good GOD, I am offended at myself for TAKING SO LONG TO FINALLY READ THIS MASTERPIECE.

I loved Red, White, and Royal Blue when I read it at the height of my quarantining, so naturally, I picked this one up as soon as I could. But i don’t have a clue as to why I kept putting off reading OLS… because I easily enjoyed it even more! (Which I didn’t think was possible, honestly). I love and relate to August so much and Casey McQuiston’s books are a master class at writing diverse, genuine, and realistic queer characters; One Last Stop is no exception.

Getting to the bottom of Jane’s story and how she got on the Q was not what I was expecting it to be at all. And I loved it. It’s just magical enough to keep me going and have it not be this weird, uncanny valley gimmick. It was clever, heartfelt, and well written, which again is a testament for McQuiston’s A-1 writing abilities.

It felt weirdly like a modern day version of Rent (minus the evictions and dying of AIDS and other depressing shit), and I don’t know if it was the setting, the characters, the story, or a mixture of all of the above… but I got the same vibes from my first viewing of Rent, like — I’m home and these are my kind of people. I can’t describe it, not fully or accurately. Highly, HIGHLY recommend this one, 365 days of the year.

3.5 Rounded up to 4 stars

I was so excited to see this release after reading, and loving, Red, White, & Royal Blue but I have to be honest on this one...it just didn't do it for me. The tone was different, the setting a bit boring, and I didn't care much about the romance. To me the best part of this book were the side characters and even the story of August's missing uncle was more interesting to me than the rest of the book was.

I struggled with the relationship between August and Jane. I didn't feel like it was very healthy or balanced. It didn't have the same feel as the relationship in RW&RB which I loved so it was hard for me to really get on board with them.

The setting was a little lacking for me in this one as well and made it difficult for me to connect to the story. I wish she could've been able to leave the train but always feel tethered to go back to it. Even a small radius outside of the train would've helped move their relationship along for me because they could still do some normal things outside of just "making out" on the train.

I can see why people would love this story but for me it just wasn't up to my expectations. I'll definitely read more books by Casey McQuiston in the future.

The audio was great. I liked the narrator and the production was well done.

So many mutuals loved this book, but it just was not my favorite read.

The novel starts out promising and I honestly loved the first quarter of the book. The main character is August, a young woman who has just moved to NYC. Right off the bat, she moves into an apartment with quirky roommates and we are introduced to a diverse set of characters. I think McQuiston really captures NYC living for the young, hopeful, and lost... for white women.

August is becoming more comfortable with her new home when she has a meet-cute on the Q train. What you would think would only be a once-in-a-lifetime encounter in a town of 8.4 million, happens again when August continues to take the Q train in order to meet this person again. So who is this person?

Enter Jane, a Chinese American babe. What follows is an adventure of love transcending time– literally.

Highlights:
There were several things that I thought McQuiston did well!

-We end up getting a small window of lqbtqia history in the 70s from Jane. I found the subplot of her experiences protesting, learning about the various women she dated across the country, and her roommate in NYC was really unique and fit well into progressing the plot.
-The roommates. They were a riot and I am always just smitten with found families.
-Jane as a love interest. I would have loved this novel as a teen/young adult. She’s so assured of herself and I think she brings August out of her shell in the best way. The bisexual and lesbian relationship cannot be understated– it really was amazing to read this representation.

Dimmers:
-This story drags. I was surprised that it doesn’t wrap up after the climax, but instead continues on for longer than I personally think it needed to. At the same time, I understood that we needed to get to see August and Jane be a couple outside the Q train.
-I enjoyed almost all the sex scenes, but like some other reviewers, the public transit sex was a little cringe– mainly through a post-pandemic lens. (Note: I say post-pandemic from an American perspective, but understand that the COVID-19 pandemic is still ongoing and I am fortunate to be vaccinated).
-Micro-aggressions regarding Jane’s race rubbed me the wrong especially with the uptick in anti-Asian hate crimes in the US.

Awesome read.

4.5