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betweentheshelves's review
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
If you're trying to stay away from anything that feels like the COVID pandemic, I'd recommend probably not picking this one up. While this is about a plague rather than a pandemic, a lot of the events feel very similar to what happened at the beginning of COVID. Things escalated much more quickly, too.
Anyway! I was expecting a more tense thriller kind of story with this one, and while those elements are there, it's more of a character driven story, focused on the teens in this detention center. Besides the plague and trying to survive, there's not much a plot driving the story. It's definitely the relationships and what transpires between this particular group of teens.
There's good representation here, with a variety of identities represented throughout the story. For the most part, I didn't necessarily feel emotionally invested in their story, but maybe that's because it felt too real? I can't quite put my finger on it. The descriptions of all of the measures they were taking against the plague, though, did feel very real. I did appreciate the world building and the extra pieces of news and information between the chapters. It helped build the intensity overall.
Anyway! I was expecting a more tense thriller kind of story with this one, and while those elements are there, it's more of a character driven story, focused on the teens in this detention center. Besides the plague and trying to survive, there's not much a plot driving the story. It's definitely the relationships and what transpires between this particular group of teens.
There's good representation here, with a variety of identities represented throughout the story. For the most part, I didn't necessarily feel emotionally invested in their story, but maybe that's because it felt too real? I can't quite put my finger on it. The descriptions of all of the measures they were taking against the plague, though, did feel very real. I did appreciate the world building and the extra pieces of news and information between the chapters. It helped build the intensity overall.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Medical content, and Abandonment
Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, and Death
Minor: Deadnaming, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
Also realistic descriptions of a pandemicanniereads221's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book now holds a special place in my heart
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racism, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Eugenics Imprisonmentsarahmreads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
As a avid middle school reader, I was obsessed with Marieke Nijkamp's story This is Where it Ends, a story about a school shooting. When I was sent her newest book, I knew I would fall in love with it.
The Hope Juvenile Treatment Center is home to a wide array of teens who have all been punished under criminal law. Their lives change when the guards suddenly disappear, and a deadly infectious plague threatens everything they know. Now the kids of Hope have to fight to survive in a world that doesn't want to remember them.
Nijkamp wrote this in the midst of them recovering from COVID, so a lot of the symptoms and causes of the plague in the story resembles a lot of what COVID did to our society, but on a much worse scale. This includes food rations, plague signs on doors, and even to the point where the hospitals have to eventually decide who to accept and who to let die. It's terrifying. So if you have been severely impacted by the pandemic and find it triggering, I'd steer clear of this book.
The plot very much reminded me of an apocalyptic dystopian story. The plot absolutely reflected that, and as a result a lot of things I expected but wasn't sure in what order to get them in. One thing that I wish there was a little bit more focus on was the whole thing of racial profiling. It was only ever dropped like once or twice. However, I am also glad that it wasn't a major focus. Nijkamp in her author's note explains that she made the main characters of the story white because she knew that, as a white author, she didn't want to take space away from an author of color who could talk about this more in depth and that it isn't her full story to tell. Instead, they recommended a bunch of books by authors of color to read as well as other books about incarceration, which I really loved!
The representation in the book was SOLID! Emerson is the nonbinary of the group and I loved them! You get a lot about their backstory and their relationship with their parents before their incarceration, and I really related to it. I myself have a rough relationship with religion and my identity and sexuality because of parents turning it against me, so I saw myself a lot in what Emerson did. I liked Grace, and I think it was mentioned she might be aroace (aromantic asexual), but I also liked she might have had a closer bond with Casey. However I do wish that was build upon more. There were a few lesbians and people of color as well.
At the End of Everything is a fast-paced look at how our pandemic could have gone much worse, with some great representation. Marieke Nijkamp does it again, and I highly recommend any of their books.
I received a physical ARC of this book from Sourcebooks Fire. Thank you to the publisher, and any and all thoughts and opinions are my own.
The Hope Juvenile Treatment Center is home to a wide array of teens who have all been punished under criminal law. Their lives change when the guards suddenly disappear, and a deadly infectious plague threatens everything they know. Now the kids of Hope have to fight to survive in a world that doesn't want to remember them.
Nijkamp wrote this in the midst of them recovering from COVID, so a lot of the symptoms and causes of the plague in the story resembles a lot of what COVID did to our society, but on a much worse scale. This includes food rations, plague signs on doors, and even to the point where the hospitals have to eventually decide who to accept and who to let die. It's terrifying. So if you have been severely impacted by the pandemic and find it triggering, I'd steer clear of this book.
The plot very much reminded me of an apocalyptic dystopian story. The plot absolutely reflected that, and as a result a lot of things I expected but wasn't sure in what order to get them in. One thing that I wish there was a little bit more focus on was the whole thing of racial profiling. It was only ever dropped like once or twice. However, I am also glad that it wasn't a major focus. Nijkamp in her author's note explains that she made the main characters of the story white because she knew that, as a white author, she didn't want to take space away from an author of color who could talk about this more in depth and that it isn't her full story to tell. Instead, they recommended a bunch of books by authors of color to read as well as other books about incarceration, which I really loved!
The representation in the book was SOLID! Emerson is the nonbinary of the group and I loved them! You get a lot about their backstory and their relationship with their parents before their incarceration, and I really related to it. I myself have a rough relationship with religion and my identity and sexuality because of parents turning it against me, so I saw myself a lot in what Emerson did. I liked Grace, and I think it was mentioned she might be aroace (aromantic asexual), but I also liked she might have had a closer bond with Casey. However I do wish that was build upon more. There were a few lesbians and people of color as well.
At the End of Everything is a fast-paced look at how our pandemic could have gone much worse, with some great representation. Marieke Nijkamp does it again, and I highly recommend any of their books.
I received a physical ARC of this book from Sourcebooks Fire. Thank you to the publisher, and any and all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Transphobia, Forced institutionalization, Blood, and Police brutality
Minor: Sexual violence