The Less Year was kindly sent to be by an Instagram follower who said they were partway through the series and really loving it and wanted me to give it a go! It’s a story set around a post-apocalyptic world where the world has essentially crumbled and humanity is left a shell of what it once was. Every 20 years or so, a year comes along called a “Less Year” where trade is prohibited and so people must survive in whatever way they can.
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Our story focuses on a young man simply called “Boy” (you don’t get to have a real name until you complete your first year) who is experiencing the build up to and the eventual coming of his first year and everything that comes with that.
The Less Year plot – 4.5/5
I’ll be honest, I wasn’t quite sure if I was enjoying The Less Year for the first third of the book. It seemed to be focused on a lot of killing, negativity and an odd relationship between the boy and his father. However, once the story found its footing and focused on the direction it wanted to take, I started to become really invested.
One of the big messages throughout the latter half of the book is what sort of person would you want to be if the world came to an end? Would you be kind and accepting of others or would you be selfish and fight for everything? The book essentially shows you all aspects and makes you question where you would stand in that fight.
The plot regularly felt quite fast-paced – there were very few moments where it slowed down to catch its breath and this was a breath of fresh air from a lot of other books that often stop any sort of plot movement to have the characters chat for a bit. The only times this happened in The Less Year were for moments for the characters to discuss what to do next.
The Less Year characters – 4.25/5
Another really impressive element of The Less Year were the characters. At first, as I mentioned I was a little confused as to the Boy’s parents – they both seemed to perform quite dark deeds and this makes you dislike people you’re supposed to really like. Additionally, the father and the boy begin to have a very tumultuous relationship which again questions whether you’re supposed to like him or not.
However, like I said in the plot section, when things start to find their footing in the story, they also start to find their footing in the character dynamic too.
Additionally, later on we have a strong relationship between the boy and a love interest which results in another relationship you end up growing very attached too. All of which is put to the test throughout the rest of the story (can you tell I’m trying not to give actual plot spoilers here).
The Less Year final rating – 4.5/5
The Less Year started off a little unsure about itself but by the end, left me very impressed. I liked the overall message the book was trying to give and I found that I’d had a thrill of a time throughout. Once the plot and characters find their footing, there’s a really fun and interesting post-apocalyptic story going on here that I’d recommend to anyone with any form of interest in the genre. With an interesting concept, a main character you grow to vouch for and an ending that will leave you wanting to read the sequel, The Less Year is a very slide book.
