AustLit

'Everyone looked like bad actors in a poorly dubbed movie. Their expressions didn't match their emotions and their lips didn't sync with what they were saying. But they were all so loud.

'God-he-looks-hot-Can't-she's-my-best-friend-How'd-she-lose-that-weight-No-don't-you-dare-Oh-no-please-

'The end of the world happens in the blink of an eye.

'When The Snap sweeps the globe, everyone can instantly hear everything that everyone else is thinking. As secrets and lies are laid bare, suburbs and cities explode into insanity and violence. What might have been an evolutionary leap instead initiates the apocalypse.

'Sixteen-year-old Danby Armstrong's telepathy works very differently. She can tune into other people but they can't tune into her. With only this slender defence, Danby must protect her little brother and reach the safety of her mother's mountain retreat. But it's 100 kilometres away and the highways are blocked by thousands of cars and surrounded by millions of people coming apart at the psychic seams.

'Danby's escape is made even more dangerous by another cataclysm that threatens humanity's extinction. And her ability to survive this new world will be tested by a charismatic young man whose power to save lives may be worse than death itself.' (Publisher's blurb)

'I glance at my fellow fugitives in the glow of the fire: black-streaked, white-eyed, faces fearful but fierce. Whoever any of us were a week ago, we've now become people we could never have imagined.

'After facing the heartbreaking truth in Shadow Valley, Danby is determined to have her revenge on Jack.

'With Jack dead, her little brother Evan and hundreds of other Minions will be free of his control. With Jack dead, she and her friend Nathan will be able to revive thousands more from the millions of catatonic Goners.

'But what if she's wrong - about everything?

'After Danby confronts Jack on a dying stretch of highway, all of her beliefs are turned inside out. Not only are his feelings for her real, he's working against the clock to save lives and rebuild society. To Danby's horror, it's Nathan who appears to threaten the new order.

'With her emotions raging and blood on her hands, Danby has to take a side in a deadly battle that'll decide the future of the world. And as allies become enemies and foes turn into friends, she'll have to embrace methods so dark that the price of survival may be her very soul ...' (Publication abstract)

'By the glow of the instrument panel, I see my face reflected in the darkened window.

'My God,' she says. 'Who are you?'

It's what I've been asked before. I don't know the answer.

'Danby is desperately fighting to save the last of humanity.

'But with Jack's sinister influence more powerful than ever, Danby's one hope for freeing his minions - and her little brother - seems lost. The only option now for the few survivors not under Jack's control is escape at any cost.

'Danby will also have to confront a danger much closer to home as she realises what she risks in the ferocious battle that looms. Embracing a brutal warrior code might save Danby's life, but the price is high.

'In the explosive final act of the Last trilogy, Danby must save who she can, even if it means abandoning hope for her last remaining family. With soldiers, marauders and toxic bushfires closing in, she has no choice but to fight before she can take flight.' (Publication summary)