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A review by stevienotnicks
Agnes at the End of the World by Kelly McWilliams
3.0
I struggled with this review. Firstly, it wasn’t a poorly written book or conceptually bad, but a lot of the religious stuff just wasn’t something I could get into as an atheist.
If you have experienced religious trauma, this could be triggering. Other triggering themes I noticed include racism, sexism, culty stuff, child death, insinuation of domestic violence, and child marriage. Probably a lot of other triggers too, so if you’re a sensitive reader, check for TWs.
At first I thought this was kind of going to be Hunger Games-esque, but actually it’s more like if The Walking Dead met The Handmaid’s Tale. I will say it was surreal to read about a pandemic while living through one, though this had more horror like elements to it. However I wouldn’t call it scary.
I enjoyed the characters immensely. I also really appreciated the perspective switches between two contrasting characters, Agnes and Beth.
What I enjoyed less was the religious/God stuff. It’s definitely more of a “me” thing than an issue with the author. I personally cannot relate to someone with religious faith and I thought the one atheist character that was introduced was barely discussed.
Overall I thought the virus was extremely unique and interesting. I do wish the “end of the world” would have played a more dramatic role and I wish the magic system hadn’t really been attributed just to the Christian idea of god. But hey. Not every book will be for everyone!
If you have experienced religious trauma, this could be triggering. Other triggering themes I noticed include racism, sexism, culty stuff, child death, insinuation of domestic violence, and child marriage. Probably a lot of other triggers too, so if you’re a sensitive reader, check for TWs.
At first I thought this was kind of going to be Hunger Games-esque, but actually it’s more like if The Walking Dead met The Handmaid’s Tale. I will say it was surreal to read about a pandemic while living through one, though this had more horror like elements to it. However I wouldn’t call it scary.
I enjoyed the characters immensely. I also really appreciated the perspective switches between two contrasting characters, Agnes and Beth.
What I enjoyed less was the religious/God stuff. It’s definitely more of a “me” thing than an issue with the author. I personally cannot relate to someone with religious faith and I thought the one atheist character that was introduced was barely discussed.
Overall I thought the virus was extremely unique and interesting. I do wish the “end of the world” would have played a more dramatic role and I wish the magic system hadn’t really been attributed just to the Christian idea of god. But hey. Not every book will be for everyone!