Z for Zachariah - R. C. O'Brien

The second adult novel from the author of Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH is a heart warming tale of greif, misogyny and the corruption of science wrapped in near total nuclear holocaust.

Ann Burden is sixteen years old and completely alone. The world as she once knew it is gone, ravaged by a nuclear war that has taken everyone from her. For the past year, she has lived in a remote valley with no evidence of any other survivors.

But the smoke from a distant campfire shatters Ann's solitude. Both excited and terrified, Ann soon realizes there may be worse things than being the last person on Earth.