The Last Boy and Girl in the World by Siobhan Vivian

“What if your town was sliding underwater and everyone was ordered to pack up and leave? How would you and your friends spend your last days together?

While the adults plan for the future, box up their possessions, and find new places to live, Keeley Hewitt and her friends decide to go out with a bang. There are parties in abandoned houses. Canoe races down Main Street. The goal is to make the most of every minute they still have together.

And for Keeley, that means taking one last shot at the boy she’s loved forever.

There’s a weird sort of bravery that comes from knowing there’s nothing left to lose. You might do things you normally wouldn’t. Or say things you shouldn’t. The reward almost always outweighs the risk.

Almost.

It’s the end of Aberdeen, but the beginning of Keeley’s first love story. It just might not turn out the way she thought. Because it’s not always clear what’s worth fighting for and what you should let become a memory.” - taken from the front flap

The author has loosely based the story on real events. Each chapter is dated and includes the weather forecast for Aberdeen on that day.

It hasn't stopped raining in Aberdeen. To make matters worse, the temperatures haven't risen, even though it is May. The ground isn't really thawed and there is no place for the excessive rainfall to go. It was almost as if spring never occurred. Junior Keeley Hewitt has harbored a crush on Senior Jesse Ford for years. She is known throughout the school as being obnoxious and doesn’t have a lot of experience in the guy department. A day of sandbagging on the riverfront leads to the beginnings of flirting by text messages between the two of them. Things begin to escalate on the night of the Spring Fling when the threats of a severe thunderstorm come true and the dance is almost canceled. When Keeley makes a mad dash for the gym during the downpour, Jesse sweeps her off of her feet to dance in the middle of the parking lot. Things are looking her way until she tells Jesse that she loves him. Her voice betrays her true feelings and in the end, Keeley comes across Jesse hooking up with his on again, off again girlfriend.

Heartbroken, for school nemesis, Levi Hamrick comes across her after witnessing Jesse with Victoria. And that's when the power goes off. Everyone leaves and days pass without a word from Jesse. The storm doesn't let up. Eventually, streets fill with water and the governor orders the citizens of Aberdeen to the high school, which is been set up as an evacuation center. When the knock on the door comes late one night at the Hewitt house, Keeley and her parents are surprised to find Sheriff Hamrick, Levi’s father there. Even though they live near the top of the hill, her family is made to leave. Her father vehemently protests, to no avail. Since her father became disabled, his only hobby has been going to the local government meetings and speaking out against and questioning things that are going on around town. Most of the residents think that Mr. Hewitt is a crackpot.

At the high school gym, things get interesting. Jesse begins talking with Keeley again but Mr. Hewitt realizes that his worst fears about the town of Aberdeen are coming true. The governor will be meeting with the town residents the next morning. Corps of Engineers’ vehicles are in the parking lot. When the mayor and Sheriff refuse to answer any of Mr. Hewitt's questions, he packs his family up and leaves. They borrow and sheriff office’s canoe to head towards home.

Sleeping in late the next morning, Keeley wakes up to discover that the house is full of people, including Jesse's family. It turns out that her father was right to question what was going on around Aberdeen. The governor has announced that the town of Aberdeen is being condemned because of all of the flooding And the reservoir will be created in its place. The townspeople start to look towards Mr. Hewitt for guidance. This disaster is just what he needed to get over his depression. He gets out of the house to organize cleanup and construction crews and begins the fight to save Aberdeen. Keeley gets a job with Levi to clear the houses around town for destruction.

What will happen to the town of Aberdeen? Is there something underhanded going on like Mr. Hewitt believes? Does the Hewitt family leave behind the town where they have lived for Generations? Who is the last boy in the world? How do he and Keeley play out their final days in Aberdeen? Is it Jesse Ford or Levi Hamrick?

Visit Siobhan Vivian’s website.