The Last Boy and Girl in the World by Siobhan Vivian

As the topic of closure for students keeps coming up, with so many schools and graduations and what not being cancelled to help stop the spread of COVID 19, my thoughts keep coming back to this novel.

I am a firm believer that there is a book for all situations. If you have a senior that missed out on prom and graduation, this just may be the answer.

The book follows a small group of friends, and other students on the periphery in high school as their small town undergoes a huge event. The students who are all forced to move on without the tradition closure, and what that means at a time in one’s life where everything is fresh, raw, and deeply felt. As the town is literally washed away, the characters are all forced to deal with the changes and shifts in not only their relationships with friends, but also family. The story though not entirely about the same thing, could provide relief or at the very least empathy to those of us who are trying to process all the feelings during this trying time.

Though I read this story several years ago, the transcendence of the love story you are left with is something you will not soon forget.