Review: Nowhere on Earth by Nick Lake (Spoiler-Free)

~ Thank you to NetGalley, Random House, and Knopf Books for providing me with an early copy for review! ~ This was a super quick read with some very interesting ideas. Ultimately, I do think the story is slightly forgettable, but the messages it carries are very memorable. I went into this hoping for a fast-paced survival story, and that is definitely what I got out of it. Of course, Aidan (the young boy in this novel) also represents a much larger message, one that is quite poignant and fitting. I think Nick Lake wrote this book as a way to get some of his random ideas out into the world, and I think it was effective. I could resonate with a lot of Emily's thoughts and especially loved seeing a 16-year-old girl function so brilliantly in the wild. I envy her resilience out there and always hope I would be able to respond the same way. The main themes of this book are love and personal liberty, and I think the growth between Emily and her family was illustrated in a very unique way (surviving in the wilderness trying to protect an alien child lol). So for that, I give this book high praise. This definitely makes me eager to read Lake's other work, Satellite, which I've had on my shelves for a little while but haven't gotten around to quite yet.

Song I was reminded of while reading: Banana Pancakes