The Loneliest Girl In The Universe – by Lauren James

Id like to give the blurb before I review this book by Lauren James.  Here is the short version:

Can you fall in love with someone you’ve never met, never even spoken to – someone who is light years away? Romy Silvers is the only surviving crew member of a spaceship traveling to a new planet to establish a new home for humanity. She is the loneliest girl in the universe until she hears about a new ship launched from earth – much faster than hers – carrying a single passenger on board. A boy called J.

This book has several things that make it appealing – the Science Fiction factor. A girl alone in space. Even more so, she was born in space. She never had the chance to do something as simple as breathing Earths air after a rainstorm. Young Adult factor – she has never seen anyone as young as she, and now after many months alone, another ship is coming for her with a boy her age commanding it. Psychological factor – who is this boy that’s coming to the rescue?

Their only communication is by email. Because of the distance between them, it takes months to send and receive, yet she falls in love with him. Thriller factor – again, who is this boy and why was he chosen to be the one to rescue Romy?  Another appealing factor in this book is J’s ability to cause Romy to think she is losing her mind, which I call ‘gaslighting.’  Again- who is this boy?

I really enjoyed this space odyssey. The details of her being born and ultimately being left alone pulled me in the story. The only negative I have was the selection of J to rescue Romy. I believe NASA would have made a better choice. I won’t go into detail on this point. I’d rather you read the book and tell me if you think I was right. For this, I give ‘The Loneliest Girl In Space’ 4 stars. (I’ve gotten feedback that readers want to see a rating)