School Library Journal (Tue Mar 01 00:00:00 CST 2016)

Gr 8 Up-Keeley Hewitt, officially "the last girl in Aberdeen," tells the story of the last days of her hometown as she floats in a boat above it. As torrential rains threaten the town of Aberdeen's survival, Keeley and her friends embark on a last, desperate hurrah for life as they know it. Vivian uses the setting of a natural disaster, with dates and weather forecasts prefacing each chapter, to imbue every event in the protagonist's conversational narrative with the weight of impending doom. At the mercy of dirty political maneuvering and the whims of the elements, the teen finds the courage to pursue Jesse, the ridiculously cool boy she's loved forever. Her father rediscovers his sense of purpose in a determined bid to save the town, and Keeley's best friend, Morgan, grows frustrated with Keeley's tendency to wisecrack her way through pain and loss. Fans of Gayle Forman's If I Stay (Dutton, 2009), Daniel Handler's Why We Broke Up (Little, Brown, 2011), and E. Lockhart's We Were Liars (Delacorte, 2014) will be pleased with the dramatic retrospective narration. VERDICT Vivian's fans won't be disappointed with this savvy chronicle of a girl finding herself amid the wreckage of her past. Anna Stover, Poughkeepsie Day School, NY

ALA Booklist (Tue Mar 01 00:00:00 CST 2016)

It has been a cold, rainy spring in Aberdeen, and the consequences might be more dire than high-school junior Keeley and her friends thought. At first, it's all about the inconvenience: winter jackets in May, a dance cut short because of the weather, and so on. All class clown Keeley really wants is to kiss a certain boy and hang with her best friend before their last year of high school d the threat of their inevitable separation comes a reality. But Aberdeen, as it turns out, is sinking. Streets are flooding, families are abandoning their homes, and high-schoolers are seizing the opportunity to have their last big blowouts together before life as they know it is over. But tensions are high, and Keeley, who never takes anything seriously, might be on the brink of losing everything. At its core, this is a love story mantic, familial, and, above all, friend-to-friend th a unique hook. Keeley, though brash, is a relatable heroine who will speak to teens facing their own times of transition.

Voice of Youth Advocates

The newest standalone novel by the author of The List (Scholastic, 2012/VOYA April 2012) takes readers into the world of high school junior, Keeley Hewitt. Keeley's comfortable living with her parents in a town with family history and spends a majority of her days worrying about grades, the spring dance, and her longtime crush, Jesse Ford. Awkward and always the laugh at a party, Keeley does not believe she will ever have a chance with one of the most handsome and popular boys at her school. However, when the rain starts that fateful spring and does not stop until part of the town suffers catastrophic damage, Jesse finally notices her. Being in a relationship with someone you have had a crush on for ages should be easy, but as Keeley's entire world shatters, she finds it difficult to navigate the tricky path of having a boyfriend while losing everything she has ever known.This story is told in a first-person female point of view, organized as a timeline including weather reports, emergency bulletins, and temperatures which are relevant to the plot. The protagonist deals with realistic issues that teens face such as trying to be a supportive friend, a carefree teen, and yet also a responsible daughter when faced with major life changes. Unsure of her future, many of Keeley's decisions cause ripples in her relationships and by the end of the book, she comes to realize that what she thought was important may not be. A particularly heartbreaking scene is when she is asked to pack up her entire life in thirty minutes. The prologue makes it clear that Keeley's family and the entire town are forced from their homes by the end of the book, yet Vivian draws readers into the story effortlessly. The novel is inspired by true events.Valerie Burleigh.

Horn Book (Sat Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2017)

In the midst of her hometown's gradual destruction and evacuation due to monumental rainfall and flooding, high-school senior Keeley's relationships with her best friend, her crush, and her sometimes-nemesis are uniquely tested. Interpersonal drama and disaster survival combine effectively here, keeping tension high; Keeley's big personality and narrative agency make her an engaging protagonist.