Goodreads: The Loneliest Girl in the Universe
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Space, Psychological Thriller
Rating:
The daughter of two astronauts, Romy Silvers is no stranger to life in space. But she never knew how isolating the universe could be until her parents’ tragic deaths left her alone on the Infinity, a spaceship speeding away from Earth. Romy tries to make the best of her lonely situation, but with only brief messages from her therapist on Earth to keep her company, she can’t help but feel like something is missing. It seems like a dream come true when NASA alerts her that another ship, the Eternity, will be joining the Infinity. Romy begins exchanging messages with J, the captain of the Eternity, and their friendship breathes new life into her world. But as the Eternity gets closer, Romy learns there’s more to J’s mission than she could have imagined. And suddenly, there are worse things than being alone….
Holy wow, this was not at all what I expected… Hah! This story was full of thrilling twists that kept me on the edge of my seat and had me quickly flipping through the pages to find out just what the hell was going on! It was a much darker read than I thought it’d be. I admit to being initially confused by the details of space travel (I blame this on the fact that I started reading it way past midnight), but Lauren James did a good job of keeping the details as simple as possible throughout the story; which I greatly appreciated!
The focus of this story is Romy Silvers. She was the first baby to be born in space on The Infinity, the first manned aircraft bound for Earth II. She’s 16 going on 17 and after a tragic incident resulted in her parents’ death five years ago, she’s been living alone on the spaceship. She writes fanfiction of her favorite TV show, exercises, does homework, and loves pop music. Having to man a spaceship alone since the age of 11, she’s plagued by frequent and crippling panic/anxiety attacks, that she has been learning to manage with the help of her therapist, Molly, on Earth.
Her loneliness and yearning for contact with other people was a palpable thing. I can’t even begin to fathom what it’d be like in Romy’s shoes. Like, I honestly don’t know what I’d have done in her position. That kind of isolation can really do wild things to a person, especially when they’re haunted by the confined space that they live in. She is constantly overwhelmed by self-doubt, but she’s incredibly smart and when she springs into action, quick-thinking and so badass! Even though she’s in her late teens, her character’s voice comes off quite young and it’s hard to remember she’s not actually 12 or 13. While this normally would annoy me, I thought it did a good job in illustrating her isolated upbringing.
“I always told you that you were stronger than you realized, didn’t I, Romy Silvers?”
The build up of the story was terrifyingly awesome. Reading parts of this book *seriously* creeped me the f out and I thought it was brilliant psychological horror! At the same time, it was also an intense thriller kept me on my toes until the very end. I was soo impressed. This is definitely a book that you want to go into knowing less about and there’s honestly not much else I can say without giving anything away. Just know that whatever you think you’ll find in this book after reading the blurb, chances are you won’t anticipate what comes your way!
Have you read The Loneliest Girl in the Universe? Loved it? Hated it? Meh about it? Let me know in the comments and let’s have a chat!
dinipandareads 
I love Lauren James! I was only thinking last night that I should’ve added her to my TTT auto buy authors list. This book was soooooo creepy! I remember messaging my friend about it while reading it (she had already read it) because I was so terrified and needed her to tell me it’d all be okay lol! Have you read any other Lauren James books? The only one I have not yet read is her latest The Starlight Watchmaker.
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This was my first book of hers! What would you recommend diving into next? 🙂
This book was SOO creepy! Haha I kept feeling like something bad was coming and every time she was like “my brain says something’s wrong” I was shouting at my book going YES! Something is wrong! Haha so good 😂🙈
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Oh my god it is so hard to choose one! But I really liked her most recent YA, The Quiet at the End of the World. As is typical with Lauren’s books it is quite thought provoking but in a really happy good kind of way. It is a post apocalyptic book that makes you feel good about life lol!
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Ooh, post apocalyptic. I’m liking the idea of it already and the title alone sounds like something that’ll be up my alley. I’ll go check it out on GR and see if I can find the ebook! Thanks for the rec, Emer! 😃
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You’re welcome! I hope you can get it!!! 🙂
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I’m surprised that this is a psychological thriller! I expected it to be a light sci-fi. Anyway, now that I know it’s a thrilling read, I’m way more interested in it now. 😂 It’s been so long since I’ve read a good thriller. Wonderful review! Also, your blog design is adorable. 😊
❤ Aimee @ Aimee, Always
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OMG thank you so much! Your comment has made my day 😃
I think it’s a psychological thriller! But now I hope that I’m classifying it right 😅 That’s just my opinion! It’s good though and I’d recommend giving it a go. It’s slow to start but you can feel this nagging discomfort/ impending doom looming! Haha
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Also, you complimenting my blog design while I just went on your page and saw YOUR blog is just too funny!! Girl, your blog design is GORGEOUS (and total goals)! 😍 Haha
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A very interesting review! I haven’t read anything by Lauren James, but now am seriously tempted 🤗
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This was my first read of hers too! It was not what I was expecting at all — I really thought I was in for some “harmless fun” 😅 I’m curious to read her earlier books now!
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[…] The Loneliest Girl in the Universe by Lauren JamesI honestly don’t even remember how, when or where I first heard about this book but I’m really glad that I did because it’s a really creepy YA space thriller that had me gripping the edge of my cushion seats and made me want to tuck my feet up tight under me. As if the vastness of space isn’t already creepy (but mind-blowing) enough, imagine being a teenager stuck in space, completely alone and lightyears away from Earth or any kind of help, and you’ve just found out (too late!) that you’re deep in some creepy shit. Are you trapped? How do you escape? IT WAS THRILLING in the best worst way possible. The tension was so real. You can read my review here. […]
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[…] The Loneliest Girl in the Universe by Lauren JamesI had no expectations going into this book but I loved it. It was intensely atmospheric and I left was questioning if what was happening was real or if it was the imagination of a lonely girl, stuck lightyears from Earth, with no one to talk to. Space has never been creepier! Check out my review. […]
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