This book is haunting, all the more so because it is based on a true story. It would be impossible not to compare this book to Lord of the Flies, but I find that despite the isolation and occasional despair of this story, it is much more hopeful. The characters take on distinct personalities, and the reader cannot help but hope for them to be able to cooperate and survive. The boys' attempts to recreate order, leadership, and meaning despite the harsh conditions force an older reader to think about the foundations of our own societies. A younger reader could enjoy the survival story without drawing larger conclusions.
I couldn't put the book down, and read it all in one evening, even past my bedtime. I highly recommend this book.

This was an ok read. It dragged along at parts, but there were other parts that I couldn't wait to see what happened next. I think it was a little bit more adult than young adult, though.

“Cold laid clammy hands on their necks and kidneys, their hands and feet. It twanged on their muscles like a harpist.”
-Geraldine McCaughrean, Author, Where the World Ends

First sentence:

His mother gave him a new pair of socks, a puffin to eat on the voyage and a kiss on the cheek.

Where the World Ends is a gorgeously written book by Geraldine McCaughrean set in the 18th century and is a fictional account based on a true story. It centers around a group of three men and nine boys that are put ashore on the Warrior stac in the archipelago of St. Kilda to go fowling; the harvesting of “bird -meat, eggs, feathers, oil …” What is supposed to be a few weeks turns into much longer when the ship that is supposed to pick them up, never arrives.

The story explores the hardship that is faced on this remote rocky stac as those that are abandoned face starvation, the harsh winter elements, and some of their own base natures along with the fear that the only way their loved ones would abandon them is if the world had ended. Despite this, there is the ever-present hope that they’ll see a ship on the horizon and remarkably, a continuing sense of unity among most present.

Told from the astute perspective of Quill, I felt very aware of each hardship, of each character’s personality - faults and kindnesses - and the absolute misery wondering why they’ve been abandoned. With little more than a cave for shelter and hunger constantly nipping at their bellies, true natures are soon exposed; Some good, some not so much. One thing is undeniable, each boy and each man will be forever changed by their experience.

It’s a tale of survival and tragedy but also one of hope, community and friendship and ultimately, resilience and bravery. This is a story that will stay with me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for the opportunity to read and review this title!