Casey McQuiston is back with her hotly-anticipated novel – the follow-up to her debut novel, Red White & Royal Blue, that fast became a cult-classic. One Last Stop is a charming and delightful new novel. Here, we review the novel and give our thoughts on her sophomore release. Pick up a copy of the novel here.
Red, White & Royal Blue was a stunningly charming debut, released in 2019. Since then, the novel has fast become a cult classic, beloved by legions of fans. This year, Casey McQuiston has released her hotly-anticipated sophomore novel – One Last Stop. The novel has already taken over bookstagram and faced a lot of attention.
The novel tells the story of a twenty-three year old girl called August, who has moved to New York City, having moved from state to state. Her whole life, her mother has expected her to help her locate what happened to her uncle, who disappeared back in the 1970s. She moves in with three roommates – Niko, Myla and Wes – who are all perfectly formed and distinct characters. McQuiston has a phenomenal ability to create characters who feel completely familiar yet utterly unique and distinct, and perfectly sum up the idea of a ‘family’ you create. On August’s first commute to school, she takes the Q train, where she meets a girl. Day after day, the pair manage to somehow find themselves on the exact same subway and train car. Jane, or ‘Subway Girl’, is a Chinese lesbian displaced from the 1970s who has managed to remain ‘stuck’ in the present day, due to some kind of magical time slip. August seems to root her more so than ever in the present day. Between the two of them, they try and piece together what has happened to Jane and exactly who Jane is.
Above all the supernatural trappings, at its heart, One Last Stop is a devastatingly raw and real love story between two perfectly-formed and authentic characters, giving a nod to the history of the LGBTQ community and creating a hopeful space for the future. It’s immensely charming and displays yet again McQuiston’s ability to create engaging and real characters.
