"Call it coincidence, call it fate. This is the place
you come. There's nowhere else. There's no one else. This is the entire
world." These words welcome Martin Maple to the village of Xibalba.
Like the other children who've journeyed there, he faces an awful truth. He was forgotten. When families and friends all disappeared one afternoon,
these were the only ones left behind.
There's Darla, who drives a monster
truck, Felix, who uses string and wood to rebuild the Internet, Lane, who
crafts elaborate contraptions, and nearly forty others, each equally brilliant
and peculiar. Inspired by the prophesies of a mysterious boy who talks to
animals, Martin believes he can reunite them with their loved ones. But
believing and knowing are two different things, as he soon discovers with the
push of a button, flip of a switch, turn of a dial...
The Only Ones was such an adventure to read. I started out this book not knowing anything about it, so much so that I hadn't even read the inside cover before jumping right in. It follows our main character Martin from his lonely island home, where he had lived secluded from the world his entire life, to the mainland where everyone had, as far as anyone could tell, vanished off the face of the Earth when no one was looking. All except a small thriving town of forty some kids, that is. The entire book caried the underlying question of "where did everyone go?" as we follow Martin and his newfound neighbors through the story. I was so enticed by the dynamic of the characters and really felt their dedication and desperation as they held onto their hopes that Martin could bring their families back with his crazy machine. Aaron Starmer did a fantastic job of sucking me right into the story and bringing me along for the ride.
The Only Ones wouldn't be a book I would quite place as dystopian but I'm certain that any readers who are fans of dystopian or science fiction should give it a look. Happy reading!
Theresa
