ONE LAST STOP by Casey McQuiston | review + sapphic excitement
hi, i’m theresa and welcome to my channel!
today i’ve got a very exciting video because
i am talking about One Last Stop by Casey
McQuiston!! so i got sent this arc through Melia
and i’m so grateful, so so very grateful.
i adore Red, White and Royal Blue, it’s one
of my favourites of all time and so when
i heard that Casey McQuiston was writing
another book and not just any other book, an
F/F book i was mind blown because, you know,
if you’ve spent any time on my channel, you
know that i quite like F/F books and oh,
oh yes. and just spoiler alert for this review
– this book is incredible and i will be gushing
about it. so yeah this is going to be just
a quite casual review / discussion – very
one-sided discussion and just me generally gushing
about it. it’s going to be completely spoiler free
and i’ve kind of separated this into
a few parts, so we’re going to do
just a bit of an introduction to the book, the
synopsis; going to talk about the characters
and the relationships; the writing; the
themes and then just overall my thoughts.
so the kind of tagline almost i’d give this
book is: it’s an
a cynical main character trying to get by
in a new city and her subway crush who’s
been displaced from the 70s and ended up stuck on
the subway. so, we follow a main character called
August as she moves to a new city. she’s moved to
New York to finish her degree and so she’s looking
for a place to stay, place to work – very normal
people stuff. and so she ends up moving into this
apartment and we meet her roommates and i love
her roommates – they’re so cool and she gets a job
at a local diner called Billy’s Pancakes
(it’s like Billy’s Pancakes House of Pancakes,
it’s a very strange name) and so she has to
get a subway to go to class and on the subway
she has a meet cute, she encounters this
girl who’s like this butch punk angel
and then, you know, she has like a subway crush –
she meets her, she like falls in love for a second
and then she gets off the subway and that’s it –
she’s never gonna see her again. except this girl
is always on the subway when August gets on
and so they begin to strike up a relationship
and we learn that her name is Jane and that
she is stuck on the subway, she cannot leave
and that she’s been displaced from the 70s.
so moving on to characters, the characters are the
strong point of this book and of Red, White and
Royal Blue as well, i think that’s really where
Casey McQuiston’s talent shines through – creating
these incredibly authentic, real characters
and it’s something i absolutely adore in their
work. so in One Last Stop, you’ve got your main
character August as i’ve mentioned and she’s…
i think she’s described by her roommate, Myla,
as a ‘reformed girl detective’ and like that’s
perfect, that’s exactly what she is. she loves
these mysteries, and research and solving cases
and she’s very cynical, she’s very determined,
she’s got this dry humour and i love it and she’s
also got this need to help others and that’s
where this solving cases and mysteries idea comes
in because she meets Jane and Jane is an enigma
and she’s the perfect case for August to solve.
there’s a line and i’m just going to read it –
‘she can’t believe Jane had the nerve, the
audacity, to become the one thing August
can’t resist: a mystery.’ and that’s very much the
basis for the beginning of their relationship, for
going beyond, you know, acquaintances that kind
of flirt a bit on the subway, is trying to solve
this mystery of how Jane got onto the subway and
also how come she remembers nothing of her life
and trying to rebuild that as well. and so that
brings us on to Jane who i love love love love.
Jane- oh, she’s so cool. she’s this gritty,
lesbian punk from the 70s, you know, she was-
she’s a radical, she was at all the protests, the
riots, she wasn’t afraid to get violent and she…
from being very heavily involved in the
queer scene in the 70s, she’s suffered a lot,
it wasn’t always a very happy time and there’s…
i loved this part of her character so so so much
and i also love that she’s just so
positive and hopeful and loving and it’s
never portrayed like one of these aspects of her
personality’s more important than the other and
i just loved how they came together to make
Jane Jane. she’s the type to have an impromptu
dance party on the subway when it breaks
down and then have the entire car dancing
because she’s just got this infectious energy
and i really really adored that. and i have
many a quote about Jane, to be honest, and i’m
not going to force you to hear them all – i will
leave some for when you actually read the book. i
think this quote describes Jane absolutely to a T,
perfectly – i love it. ‘August takes note after
notes and finds it almost funny—that all the
fighting only conspired to make Jane gentle.
Fearsome and flirty and full of bad jokes,
an incorrigible sweet tooth and a steel-toe boot
as a last resort.’ i think that just shows these
like two parts of Jane so well and oh gosh, i love
her so much. i have fallen in love with her just
as much as August has. so, i want to talk in this
video also about some of the side characters. so,
i’ve mentioned August’s roommates and i love
them. so, we’ve got Niko who is a trans latino
psychic, he is very cool i love
him so much and oh he’s just great.
you’ve also got Myla who is dating Niko, she’s
this queer Black girl and she’s also very very
cool. you’ve got Wes who’s a bit of a mystery,
he works nights so you don’t really see him
but he’s got a poodle called doodle and he’s quite
sullen and mysterious and i also really like him,
i believe he is gay, he is definitely attracted
to men. and all together, this apartment is just-
it’s weird and it’s so arty, you know, Wes he’s a
tattooer – tattoo artist – and Myla does art but
she’s got like some kind of electrical degree
and Niko’s obviously a psychic and it’s…
such a strange blend but this perfect queer
found family. and the love and support they
have for each other and this understanding
and i just love them so so so so much.
you’ve also got a few other characters, i’m not
going to go into detail on them but you’ve got
a couple drag queens – drag plays
quite an important role in this book
and i also adored that. the majority of your main
cast of characters, they’re like all queer, it’s
amazing. so, in terms of romance i adored this.
this is- obviously, it’s a rom-com so its the
main focus of the book, really. and
oh, it’s done so well, they’re so…
their relationship is so tender and they’re so
perfect for each other and it just… it’s so
entwined with the uncovering of Jane’s memories
and solving the case and i thought that just with
that it developed so perfectly. and there’s so
much good flirting and pining leading up and oh,
i loved it so much, it was just a complete joy
to read. they have so many sweet moments or
just moments i wanted to keep forever in
my heart, just cute things they do even if,
you know, they’re limited to being on the subway
they still must have all these lovely moments.
i will also say that um the people who found
Red, White and Royal Blue too graphic: honey,
you’ve got a big storm coming. this book very much
does have sexy scenes and they’re so well written,
they’re so good. and yeah, i felt… they
never felt like they were just added in to have
that in, you know, to have a sex
scene. it felt very organic and very
much part of the relationship and a necessary
thing to include, like, you know, it’s the natural
path to follow. and i really really just enjoyed
their relationship so so so so much, they really
are just so perfect together, they fit so well.
so next i want to talk about the writing so,
as i mentioned earlier, Casey McQuiston’s
strength is creating these really authentic,
really real characters and i feel like that comes
through in the writing so well. like, for example,
the humour and the conversations between the
characters, they feel so natural, so real
and honestly it’s like you’re reading about real
people, you’re taking a look into these real
people’s lives. you know, they’ve got inside
jokes, they tease each other and it’s just
it’s so real and i love that so so so much it’s
so- it’s such an important skill in the book
and it’s one that Casey has completely mastered
and i love it an awful lot. i felt like it also
very much came through in August’s narration, the
narration of the book felt like a 23 year old was
was narrating it, you know. like, the way things
were described it wasn’t these over-the-top,
flowery descriptions – it was often relying on
like memes or gay yearning or like pop culture
references but done so well, so organically that
it never felt forced or over the top. and there
were moments of profoundness within this, you’d
have these absolutely gorgeous, beautiful lines,
these lines that really hit home – i was like
“oh yeah, that’s that’s my- that’s my experience
right there you’ve got on page” and oh, it was
gorgeous. but then they’d be followed by a dick
joke and like i love that balance so much, it felt
so authentic – it felt like that’s how you talk,
you know, 23 year olds aren’t going around
saying all these profound things all the time,
it’s just such a talent to capture
that and to have it so ingrained in
the book and the characters themselves
and in the writing and oh, it’s so good.
and next i want to talk about a few themes.
so i’ve got three i want to talk about:
i’ve got New York which is the setting,
queerness and loneliness – so a fun mix.
so, this book is set in New York and
i’m not a New Yorker, if you can’t tell.
i am born and raised in rural Scotland, i’m not a
city slicker you would call me up here a teuchter.
like, i am not a city person but… and
i am certainly not a New York City person
but from my understanding of New
York from the way this book read,
this felt like a very very authentic, once again,
portrayal of New York. the city, it was like one
of the characters – it was just as alive and real
and developed. and i loved how Casey presented the
vibrant communities, the mix of cultures of the
city and the history of the city through Jane.
you also see this very subtle magic, the kind
of way reality bends around the city and there’s
obviously Jane and how she got there but there’s
a few other just slight instances, i just really
really enjoyed seeing that. i just really loved
this portrayal of the city and the massive role
it played. you don’t really think very much about
a setting of a book in terms of your enjoyment but
the the way the setting was portrayed in this
book was so incredible so in portraying this real
New York City, Casey hasn’t just done, you know,
the slight magic; the wonderful, diverse people
of the city – you’ve also got the subway rats;
the subway breaking down; the horrible, shitty
apartments, you know, it’s not romanticized like
that. you’ve got a very cynical main character,
very pessimistic and that comes through in the
narration, in terms of the tone of the book.
and so, the characters, setting, nothing is
romanticized to that extent and that’s another
thing i just really loved and another point for
the writing. and another theme is queerness:
queer identity, queer community. and this was
very obviously a very important part of this
book for the author, the dedication is ‘for
queer communities past, present and future’
and so it’s set up from the very beginning that
this is going to be a large part of the book.
and so we explore queer life in the past through
Jane who’s displaced from the 70s and who lived as
openly as you could as a lesbian, at that time,
very very heavily involved in the community.
and through her we see so much of the good
times and so much of the bad times, you know.
Casey McQuiston depicts both and you don’t… it’s
not romanticized as i said – you see the bad but,
also, it’s not all negative – this book has very
much got a message of hope and so you see the
positives. and then you see the comparison
with how queerness exists in the present
with all these openly queer characters and the
celebration of queer identity and it’s really just
very beautiful. and it’s just, as a whole, very
moving. it’s handled so sensitively but without
shying away from the reality and the grittiness
and the truth. and yeah, once again, like with
setting, queerness played such an integral role of
the story and i just really really enjoyed reading
that. so the third theme i want to talk about, it
sounds a bit depressing but it’s loneliness. so,
August is lonely. you know, like let’s
set this up with a quote from chapter one:
‘Truth is, when you spend your whole life alone,
it’s incredibly appealing to move somewhere big
enough to get lost in, where being alone looks
like a choice.’ and so from this you can really
see a lot of August’s character. she’s lonely and
she’s quite almost content being alone, it doesn’t
bother her as such – she’s moving somewhere
where she can get lost and stay lost. and
a lot of this book deals with that
loneliness you can feel growing up
and becoming an adult and having not found
your community, your people, your place,
what you want to do and how it
can feel when everyone around you
is and that just really resonated with me a lot
and it’s one of my favourite parts of the book.
putting this really isolating feeling on page
and having this book tell you that no, you’re
not alone – other people feel this and that really
meant a lot, that was something i really enjoyed
and so it isn’t depressing or sad to read about,
you know. like yes, it tackles loneliness but it’s
got such a message of hope. you know, August finds
her people – you’ve got this wonderful queer found
family and you’ve got Jane. this book has such
an important message of finding community and of
hope and of the importance of community and
i really really appreciated that message.
so the last little bit i wanted to do was a bit
of a comparison almost with Red, White and Royal
Blue. so i’m gonna say straight up, you know, i
can’t pick a favourite or anything like that – say
one is better than the other because they are
very very different books. and although they have
their similar similarities and differences, they
are both very very strong individual books and
i really just adored them both. i adore Casey
McQuiston as a writer, i think they’ve become
a complete autobuy author for me.
and so in terms of similarities,
August and Alex are quite similar. they both…
when they have something that they’re working on,
they’re so consumed by it, there’s nothing else
– like Alex and the campaign trail and August and
solving Jane’s case – you know, everything else
ceases to exist, they have their focus and they’re
very just determined within that. Red, White
and Royal Blue also has this message of hope,
this queer cast, exploration of queer identity
though to a lesser extent than One Last Stop. and,
you know, you’ve got Casey McQuiston same
really authentic characters, lively characters,
really natural humour and conversations that i
adored in this book is what i also really adored
when i first read Red, White and Royal Blue. but
they’re also very different in terms of plot,
of tone, of setting, of the relationship, they’re
very very different books. Red, White and Royal
Blue had these really high stakes, you know, with
two major worldwide figures, international figures
in a relationship, it was very high stakes
– you had the election. but with One Last
Stop it’s shrunk right down, there’s very
very few people that care, even if it is
Jane’s whole life, you know, only really
August and Jane and August’s friends know about
that situation and so it’s such smaller stakes and
more personal meanings and i really really enjoyed
that. in terms of tone, as far as i can remember,
Red, White and Royal Blue has a much more positive
tone – it is, you know, full of humour, it is
really upbeat, really hopeful. and One Last Stop
is not by any means depressing or sad but you do
have this more cynical narrator and that kind of
follows through in the tone a bit but you
still got, you know, the message of hope
i’ve been talking about and so it does it’s not
a depressing book by any means but it’s just
less upbeat, we could say.
but yeah, just to conclude a bit
my thoughts, i know this has maybe been a bit
all over the place. but overall this book is
fantastic. it’s a book that i will be rereading
and i can see it being quite a regular thing,
particularly when i’m feeling this loneliness that
August feels, really struggling with what to do.
you know, she’s a couple years older than me but
i imagine once i get to the point where i’m also
getting ready to leave uni and entering the big
wide world and having to figure out what to do,
i’m also going to be like “right, time to just
read this and chill out and have some hope about
what on earth i’m going to do” it’s just this
fantastic, nuanced exploration of queer identity
and all these big things set against
a backdrop of New York and of queer
found fam and shenanigans and just being in
your early 20s and being able to just run around
and have fun and also just this gorgeous,
beautiful romance. and these characters are
so real, so authentic, it is so unreal. yeah, so
i’ve probably gushed about this enough by now,
i was wanting to keep this video short but i do
not think i have so i’m just gonna end this here.
so i’ve got a review on goodreads and i’ll link
that down below and it’s probably just a bit more
cohesive and more focused on the book itself
rather than my feelings, if that makes sense.
you’ve also got some more quotes there if you
want some more teasers. if you’ve enjoyed this
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so thank you for watching and i will
see you with another video soon!