Casey McQuiston’s One Last Stop is a love letter to New York, queer history, and believing in the impossible. 
August moves to Brooklyn, New York, to disappear in the crowds and finish her degree. She switched majors and moved around, but feels like New York is meant for her. The book begins with August interviewing for an apartment. Her potential roommates are an intriguing couple, Myla and Niko. Niko is a psychic. Myla is a mixed-media artist. The third roommate Wes comes later, but we meet his dog, Noodles, during the interview. He instantly loves August. She definitely needs a place to stay and agrees to move in. August is trying to live the ultimate minimalist lifestyle. She is always primed to escape at a moment’s notice with only a backpack. It takes her only a few hours to move in and lay everything out. The couple takes her out for dinner at a local diner, Pancake Billy’s. August reluctantly agrees since she doesn’t have much money as she only got to NYC. Myla offers to pay and wrangles August a waitress job, even though August has never worked in food service. She’s not great, but she eventually gets the hang of it.
On her way to college, August finds herself on the subway spilling coffee on her shirt. She meets Jane who graciously offers her scarf to cover up. They have a MOMENT. August tries to return the scarf when getting off at her stop, but Jane says to keep it. August is mesmerized by Jane and her kindness. She begins to run into Jane every time on the Q train and crushes hard. She can’t get Jane out of her head. We soon learn that Jane NEVER leaves the subway. By some unknown force, Jane has time-traveled to the present from the 1970s. Her memory is fuzzy and she can’t even remember her name. She calls herself Jane because of the name inside her black leather jacket. The more time Jane spends with August, the more she begins to remember. As they fall in love, Jane tells amazing stories about her wandering travels, the women she’s met and loved, and some queer history. I’m sure you’re thinking how can a whole relationship play out on a train? McQuiston creatively finds ways to bring them together off the train. And when they are together, things are electric! Things can’t go on like that forever when the Q is scheduled for maintenance. Jane may disappear if August doesn’t find a way to untether Jane from the subway. 
I was SO invested in this book even before I read it. It deserved all the hype for covering historical LGBTQIA moments from such a personal perspective. All within a time-travel framework! I cried and was brought back to life by the end. I wish I had read it sooner, darn life getting in the way! I adored the entire cast of characters: her roommates, her diner coworkers, and the random people posting in online forums about Jane. The LGBTQIA history was well-researched and adeptly woven into the story. We see most of it through Jane’s eyes and August’s research. I loved that August was thoroughly taken in by her found family. Her roommates and neighbor don’t blink an eye when she asks for help. The romance between our two MCs was epic due to the time-travel element but felt so intimate and vulnerable. I was on the edge of my seat invested in their HEA. Those final chapters were a doozy.
Even if romance isn’t your jam, this is a great story about finding love and family where you least expect it. It’s not a full-on science-fiction story, but the time-travel part was a mystery to solve. Eddie and the Cruisers come to mind. Also, the audiobook narration by Natalie Naudus is superb!
