theoceanrose's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Death, and Violence
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
halfwaytoaugust's review
5.0
What an amazing book.
Waverly's used to wearing a mask to fit in with her neurotypical, 1% classmates at the prestigious Webber Academy. When offered the chance to put on another mask & pretend to be one of the most popular girls in school at this year's masquerade ball, she says yes. Only, the ball doesn't go seamlessly and Waverly witnesses a murder. Enlisting the help of her friends, they have to fight to save everyone's lives at the ball.
So many thrillers are allocishet, non-disabled, and white. And I am absolutely loving the increase in thrillers that are pushing back on this. Jen Wilde's "This is the Way the World Ends" is queer, disabled, and not all white. And it is so so amazing. I absolutely love thrillers and it thrills me to see more and more diverse ones being published. So let's talk about it:
Our main character, Waverly, is queer and autistic. And so unapologetically so. There are so many open discussions about her being autistic, such as feeling overwhelm & overstimulation, using accommodations like headphones & ear plugs, stimming to self regulate, and we even see her friends help her out of triggering environments.
Then we have Pari, a bi, Indian American SC who has hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. She is a major side character, so we see lots of discussion about her chronic pain, we see her use a cane, and since it's a thriller and there's lots of action, we see discussion about how everything is currently and is going to affect her pain.
There's also Waverly's mom, who has relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. She isn't as major of a side character, but we still see her struggles with pain, of doctors not believing her, misdiagnosing her, and the cost of medicine being raised too high to afford.
Now onto the rest of the book: I had absolutely no idea what was going to happen. There were so many twists and turns and surprises thrown in and I would never have guessed the motive behind the murder. There is so much betrayal, questioning who you can and cannot trust, and I fell for it all.
This was an absolute thrill to read and the vibes were immaculately done to reflect the feelings of everything going on. I loved every second of this book and it is definitely one of my favorite thrillers.
Rep: lesbian MC, bi SC, sapphic SC, Indian American SC, Black SC, autistic MC, SC with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, MC with hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, SC who uses a cane, MC with anxiety
CW: murder, hospital, overstimulation, death, death of a parent, vomit, blood, autistic meltdown
Rating system:
5 - absolutely love, little-to-no dislikes that did not impact my reading experience
4 - great book, minor dislikes that did have an impact on my reading experience
3 - good/decent book but for some reason did not hook me or there were some problematic things that just were not addressed or greatly impacted my reading experience
2 - is either a book I did not click with and did not enjoy, problematic aspects are not addressed and severely impacted my reading experience, or I DNF'd but think it has potential for others
1 - is very problematic, I would not recommend the book to anyone
Thank you to Netgalley & Wednesday Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. Expected pub date: May 9, 2023.
Waverly's used to wearing a mask to fit in with her neurotypical, 1% classmates at the prestigious Webber Academy. When offered the chance to put on another mask & pretend to be one of the most popular girls in school at this year's masquerade ball, she says yes. Only, the ball doesn't go seamlessly and Waverly witnesses a murder. Enlisting the help of her friends, they have to fight to save everyone's lives at the ball.
So many thrillers are allocishet, non-disabled, and white. And I am absolutely loving the increase in thrillers that are pushing back on this. Jen Wilde's "This is the Way the World Ends" is queer, disabled, and not all white. And it is so so amazing. I absolutely love thrillers and it thrills me to see more and more diverse ones being published. So let's talk about it:
Our main character, Waverly, is queer and autistic. And so unapologetically so. There are so many open discussions about her being autistic, such as feeling overwhelm & overstimulation, using accommodations like headphones & ear plugs, stimming to self regulate, and we even see her friends help her out of triggering environments.
Then we have Pari, a bi, Indian American SC who has hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. She is a major side character, so we see lots of discussion about her chronic pain, we see her use a cane, and since it's a thriller and there's lots of action, we see discussion about how everything is currently and is going to affect her pain.
There's also Waverly's mom, who has relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. She isn't as major of a side character, but we still see her struggles with pain, of doctors not believing her, misdiagnosing her, and the cost of medicine being raised too high to afford.
Now onto the rest of the book: I had absolutely no idea what was going to happen. There were so many twists and turns and surprises thrown in and I would never have guessed the motive behind the murder. There is so much betrayal, questioning who you can and cannot trust, and I fell for it all.
This was an absolute thrill to read and the vibes were immaculately done to reflect the feelings of everything going on. I loved every second of this book and it is definitely one of my favorite thrillers.
Rep: lesbian MC, bi SC, sapphic SC, Indian American SC, Black SC, autistic MC, SC with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, MC with hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, SC who uses a cane, MC with anxiety
CW: murder, hospital, overstimulation, death, death of a parent, vomit, blood, autistic meltdown
Rating system:
5 - absolutely love, little-to-no dislikes that did not impact my reading experience
4 - great book, minor dislikes that did have an impact on my reading experience
3 - good/decent book but for some reason did not hook me or there were some problematic things that just were not addressed or greatly impacted my reading experience
2 - is either a book I did not click with and did not enjoy, problematic aspects are not addressed and severely impacted my reading experience, or I DNF'd but think it has potential for others
1 - is very problematic, I would not recommend the book to anyone
Thank you to Netgalley & Wednesday Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. Expected pub date: May 9, 2023.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, Medical content, Death of parent, and Blood
Minor: Vomit
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