Well the queen of YA/Suspense books has done it again!!! At The End Of Everything is an amazing story. This one grabbed me from chapter one and I just couldn’t put it down. It will be a hit with all ages and I can’t wait to see what she has up her sleeve next.

At The End of Everything is an outstanding book. I was gripped by the story and the characters, especially how the reader gets to know the characters as the story unfolds, and how the human truth of what is allegedly a group of juvenile criminals is revealed.

The setting is a juvenile detention center in the middle of nowhere, where supposedly irredeemable teenage “criminals” (not every resident has actually committed a crime, although many have - the Center is also a place where homeless children or young people kicked out of their homes by their parents) have been sent for their last chance to become “productive members of society” (please note, I use quotation marks not because I am quoting the book but because I have trouble with certain concepts and values that the society internal and external to the Center adhere to). The Center is woefully understaffed in terms of people who might actually help the residents; while there is an abundance of guards, there is a paucity of social workers, psychotherapists, and no vocational training whatsoever. The residents are treating poorly and they often fight with each other. The Center has a well-defined caste system, with a warden at the top of the heap and the residents at the bottom, where they are treated like refuse.

Things change all of a sudden. One resident’s therapist packs up all her stuff and leaves in the middle of a session. One by one, the guards leave, followed, finally, by the warden. Not a word is said to the residents, who are, technically, now free, except there really is nowhere to go. Eventually, a group of scouts form and make their way through the woods to the boundary of the nearest town. There they are met by armed soldiers who say that there is a terrible pandemic raging in the world, and that they will shoot to kill anyone who dares to leave. Which, sadly, they do.

Somehow the students manage to survive on their own, although a lot of them die from the illness. They are forced to forge alliances with each other and work out an equitable distribution of tasks. One young man discovers that the warden’s computer works, and he finds out what is going on in the world. A couple of girls become adept at trapping and fishing, and stealing what they can to survive.

Of course we are living through a pandemic and there are plenty of books and movies about them. What resonated with me with this book is while a deadly illness is the backdrop for the story, the real story is how these young people learn to drop their defenses and uncover not who they really are as individuals, but learn how to make a functional community from the ashes of dysfunction.

This book is marketed to the YA audience. While that is appropriate, given the ages of the players,it will certainly captivate and grip the adult reader. Highly recommended.

I received this book as an ARC from the publisher and NetGalley.

*ARC (Advance Review Copy) received via Netgalley.

3.5 out of 5 Stars – Good but not great.

At the End of Everything is a book about a group of teens who reside in a juvenile detention rehabilitation center. When a plague breaks out in the world they find themselves abandoned by the employees for the center. It goes on to detail the events that unfold once they find out they are free.

The story focuses on three main characters but there are several brought to the forefront of the story as well. I feel that the back stories for the main characters could have been more developed. Why is Logan considered fragile and “special” by so many Is it simply because she is mute or is it more than that? And why is she mute? It seems to be selective but it never goes into the why. Then there is Emerson who is nonbinary, meaning they don’t identify as either male or female, but it doesn’t go into any detail about it. Grace is the final main character, the one that steps up and really shines. I would have liked to have learned more details to her backstory and the events that brought her to the center.

Overall, At the End of Everything was a good story. It held my attention and I found it to be interesting. I just felt it needed more depth of character and perhaps more focus on some of the relationships between the teens as they struggle to handle their new reality.

At the End of Everything by Marieke Nijkamp is a timely novel with a unique twist, a school filled with what are considered youth who can be rehabilitated is left with no adult supervision in the midst of a Black Plague pandemic and must fend for itself, finding a structure for their days, food and necessary medical supplies to survive on their own. However, the author takes a nosedive when she tries to include every type of person in her group of misfits...twins who communicate with each other through a special sign language because only one is verbal, a non binary character, a bully, a smart girl, etc. By making each person in the group a standout she has made each a stereotype of their genre and hasn't imbued them with much personality or made the reader feel real empathy for them. The who story was more of a detached telling of events and during the whole reading I felt detached from the events, rather than immersed in them as I usually do when reading novels. I had hoped for more with such a timely subject.

Thanks to the author, Sourcebooks Fire and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Unfortunately, this book did not hold up to my high expectations I had for it. The premise was SO good, I was stoked! I couldn't wait to dive in. But once I did, I was just left feeling... unsatisfied.

I did like some of the characters and felt like their emotions were true and real. But I felt so overwhelmed sometimes. There was a LOT going on in this book, and I felt like it was a bit disjointed. Also, I was confused why the "treatment" center was more like a jail or prison atmosphere. It didn't make sense to me. I thought it was for rehab? And rehab or treatment for what, exactly? The book doesn't give us a lot to go on with this, nor does it really delve into the reasons of the characters being there. It touches base on it, but I would have liked more.

To me, it felt like it was a huge race to be published so that it could be capitalized on the pandemic we are currently living through. And I am not pointing fingers - but it's happened a LOT with these sorts of books lately. I mean, the teenagers in the book actually do what we are doing now in real life. They are wearing masks, sanitizing things they find, they are even social distancing. Like, I get it... I do, but this is NOT what I expected.

Also, the first couple of pages is "so and so is a black girl" and then "so and so is a Mexican American" girl and then "we are lesbians" and then "THEY are nonbinary, and THEIR pronouns are they and them.". I mean, okay... diversity is GREAT. Don't get me wrong. I love diversity and I am advocate for it. But there was something EXTREMELY tasteless about how this author basically preached their views in the first few pages. I almost DNF right then and there. I was not impressed. But alas... I pushed on, and really wish I hadn't. I am not pleased with this book.

I will not be owning it nor will I recommend it, sadly. :(

This book in 3 words: Tragic. Brave. Exciting.

This is my second book by Marieke Nijkamp and just like the first, this one tore me apart, in the best way. This story features a group of kids at a juvenile facility who are left behind during a pandemic. Let me say, I'm not particularly drawn to books about pandemics, ever since being in one, but the combination of the description and author intrigued me. I do think this is a tough plot for many and readers may be hesitant. But I'm here to tell you, if you can pick this up, I THINK IT WILL BE WORTH IT.

I thought this book was well-done. The characters were brief, but beautifully crafted. Kudos to the author for one of the most inclusive roster of characters I've read in a while.

The story is a bit dark (and a bit of a trigger for me personally... hands up for anxiety) but I still found myself invested. I read most of this in a single sitting, in my uncomfortable kitchen chair, because I so badly wanted to know what was coming next. This book takes a look at humanity, people who are "good" and "bad", and challenges thoughts and preconceived notions.

I think the author did a stellar job of approaching this subject matter and found a way to keep pulling at the reader. If you're ready for a book about a pandemic, or just about people rallying together to take care of one another, I recommend this one.

At the End of Everything is a new novel from the author of This is Where it Ends. The novel starts off in a juvenile treatment center, ironically called Hope. The teenagers there are all in for various reasons, although no one (besides the employees of the center) knows why each teen is there. The days in the center are very structured and orderly. So much so, that when the guards start to act strange, a couple of the teens take notice.

Then one day, the guards (as well as all the other employees) don’t show up and the teens are left by themselves. With no one there to stop them, a group of the teens decide to leave the facility, only to encounter a group of soldiers, who turn them back to the center because a deadly disease is spreading throughout the country. With limited supplies and the disease already within the walls of Hope, the teens struggle to survive in a world where no one seems to want them.

I really wanted to love this novel. However, I just felt like it was rushed to get published and to capitalize on the current pandemic. (While the author may not have intentionally done this, it is how I feel.) The characters are very cliche. There’s the smart one, the bully, the different one, the quiet one, the one that makes poor decisions, and many more. While we don’t really know why everyone is in the detention center, we know why the three main characters are in. Grace (the smart one) is in because her foster brother attacked someone and she tried to stop him. Logan (the quiet one {selective mute}) is in with her twin sister for starting a fire that killed a person. Emerson is in because they are gender fluid and got kicked out of their house. Other characters are mentioned, along with what they supposedly did to get in the center, but they too are cliche. The author made it a point in the author’s note to say she didn’t want to add to the racial inequalities, so she kept the main characters white. I can appreciate that, but that left very little diversity among the main characters.

So that brings me to the “treatment center" itself. It’s in the middle of the Ozarks and the people nearby don’t want to have anything to do with it. It fronts as a place to rehabilitate the teens in order for them to be productive members of society, but the way the center is described, it's more of a prison than a rehabilitation center.

The idea of a mutation of the Black Plague is different, but given the current variation of the COVID-19 virus, it's not very creative. The teens social distance, wear masks, and even wipe down goods they scavenge from the nearby town. I understand this is the best way to prevent the disease from spreading, but again, being in the middle of the pandemic still, something feels off.

Overall, I just didn't like this novel. I didn't feel any connection to the characters. At the end, when one of the main characters dies, I don't even feel sad, especially given all they sacrificed to try to save the others. Yes, there were some good moments, like when all the teens took up a job within the center to keep it running, but those moments are few and far between. The ultimate sacrifice at the end could have been great and could have been really heartwarming IF the character was likable.

I give this novel 3.5 stars.

Thank you to Netgallery and Sourcebooks for this advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the digitarl ARC. My opinions are only my own. I am sorry to say that this was an absolute fail for me. I know my teen daughter has liked this author so I wanted to try but there was something about the writing that felt very clunky and did not flow naturally. It also seemed that in trying to be inclusive with the characters (which is admirable) because the author was trying so hard, it did not come through as genuine, it just felt cut and pasted. I think it is a much more natural flow to have things be revealed about characters as it is necessary to the story. To obviously state, "this character is non0binary, watch" or this character is "special needs" just was terrible. Many other elements seemed very obvious and hitting every trope. I am truly sorry I didn't enjoy it.

I stopped on page 4. I’ve never not pushed past my dislike and given up on a book before at least page 50. I just couldn’t do it with this one. I’ve somehow managed to get away with books that have yet to be published, and in today’s political and social climate it seems everyone has something to stay about everything. Most authors keep their commentary subtle and gently nudge their readers in the right direction, but nope, not this one! I should have known, as this is the first book I have ever seen in my 24 years of being with a fucking trigger warning. A TRIGGER WARNING! I'll stop you right there, this is not my type of book.

At the End of Everything is a story following the wake of an epidemic. We meet our main characters in the ironically named Hope Juvenile Treatment Center - a dark and dreary, survival of the fittest, dangerous jail-like institution for adolescents who have caused legal infractions. After meeting the main characters we learn of an epidemic that causes the guards to not to return to the Center. The book follows the characters as they deal with a very real life deadly disease (no syfy).

I did not connect with the characters in this book. Too many times the characters were similar to others with reactions and interactions based on many other stories. Because I didn't connect, it was hard to keep focus on the story and the ending.

If you like real-life disease stories, juvenile discipline underdog stories, this might be for you! Thank to @Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I felt like this book had a lot of hope. I was a fan of previous things that this author has written so I was excited to read this one. However, I felt like it lacked authenticity. The characters were problematic and seemed unrealistic and one sided. Also I found myself to be bored throughout much of the book. To me it kind of dragged on and although the theme of the book shines through, I just thought it could have been handled better.

To start off this review, I just wanted to say thank you to Netgalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book is about a group of barely acknowledged teens who live in The Hope Juvenile Treatment Center which is crazy because that place seems to have no hope to them. But one day the guards to the facility have start acting weird, and the kids later find out the guards have left. When the teens find out, they are determined to break from the facility but when they do they only discover that there is a deadly disease spreading in the outside world.

It was actually really hard to get through this for me, I don’t know if it was like that for anyone else but, I didn’t really feel interested in this story. I did like some of the characters and their authenticity, their emotions felt so real and I like how the author wrote it. There was a lot going on in this book and it just wasn’t my fav. I’d give this a 2/5 stars.

Again, thank you to Netgalley for the arc!

Think about trapped inside the juvenile treatment center: abandoned, left behind as an outbreak spreads through the entire world. What if being caged behind the locks is equal to take your chance at the outside world.

What if nowhere is safe enough to run or hide!

I loved this apocalyptic thriller concept surrounded by young narrators who are a bunch of broken, criminal kids who lost their ways and who don’t have any chance to recover for starting over!

The place they stay called Hope Juvenile Treatment Center lies amid a small clearing. A piece of elevated grasslands between the wild oak and hickory trees and mountain ranges of the Ozarks. It may be considered as wilderness camp: cut out from all kinds of civilization.

Those delinquent teenagers who are kept there haven’t seen the outside world for months or years, living under strict rules. There is an inner hierarchy between them. A wild and vicious boys group provide protection to some of them leading by the boy named Hunter who is a killer. And his group used to welcome new members with their special initiation ceremony by kicking them till they bleed out.

Emerson already gets bullied by guards because of being non binary and she forgets to attend her initiation meeting with that vicious welcoming committee because she meets Grace lurking around the corridors, telling her there are no guards watch them. This strange situation triggers the boys group to take their chances to flee!

But as soon as they take a few steps outside they realize a group of soldiers waiting for them with their guns trained on them, telling the group to go back where they came from.

After a violent quarrel breaks out, teenagers find out the ugly truth: right before Christmas, there was an outbreak of respiratory disease in several cities across the state and country. The very same disease is highly deadly and dangerous, spreading fast as the people keep traveling outside the country. The government placed the state in total lockdown.

This means they cannot go anywhere. If they try, they will get shoot. But this never stops them even though some of them still think stay at the treatment center is safer, some unexpected incident force them to change their minds.

It was gripping, surprising, action packed thriller with multi narrators. Grace was already my favorite one who was fighter against the inequality, barely restraining her temper.

The conclusion was also satisfying enough which made me give four pandemic, thrilling, riveting, young adult, mysterious stars.

Special thanks to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Fire for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

Book was good, but not my favorite of the year, but still worth the read.
It takes a while to get into, but it is much better as you get into it.
Not something I would put at the top of my list, but it is worth the read.

I received an advance copy of, At The End of Everything, by Marieke Nijkamp. This is a really heavy book. Its different to what I normally read.

This book is a definite example of "art imitating life." As I was reading it, I thought it was very relevant to the times we are living in (COVID) and felt like it was part historical fiction. The story was a heartfelt one, about friendship and survival, and yes, social injustices of the world. I rate it 3.5 rounded up to 4 stars.

This was the first Marieke Nijkamp novel I've read and I really wanted to enjoy it! The premise seemed interesting and looked like a contemporary that would fill all my needs. However, a lot of this novel didn't do it for me.

My problems with this novel started from the very first page. From the start, I could tell that the characters were going to be off and I wouldn't like them that much, however, my problems with the cast would extend a bit more. There wasn't a single person that I enjoyed reading about. Meaning that there was also not a point of view that kept me engaged. All the characters were an oversaturation of already existing stereotypes, they had very little depth and very little development. The dialogue and interactions that we witness are all very immature and juvenile. I found myself cringing a lot while reading, so obviously my entertainment levels were fairly low.

I also don't believe that the ending was properly executed. I'm not a reader that can predict endings or plot twists, but in this novel it was somewhat more obvious to me. I wasn't hooked on the plot and I found myself not caring that much.

I appreciate the idea that the author had, but with more editing I think it could've been better. I'm not sure if I'll end up reading any more Nijkamp novels, but if you enjoyed her other novels, you may end up liking this one!

Great story about the kids at the Hope Juvenile treatment center. The guards are oddly absent and no one is watching, so an unlikely group bands together and breaks free. Stopped by the military and told there is a pandemic and they must return. What happens next is twist after twist in a story of survival.

This book was rushed to publication. The structure wasn't tight enough, the characters were too stock, stereotypical and not developed at all. The suspense was not sustained and the ending too predictable. Was this an effort to be the first YA book published about a pandemic? The seed idea this book is based on is a good one, but readers would have been much better served if an editorial team had worked with the author to create something worth reading.

I really don't know how to review this book. I found it impossible to put down, I loved many of the characters, I thought the the idea of "throwaway" kids was right on target, and of course a pandemic (plague) is very timely. BUT (spoiler alert) I hated the ending. When a character is killed off, especially a loved character (in this case a self-sacrificing character) there should be a reason. I realize that life is not fair and it doesn't always work out, but the last death in this book was just cruel. Maybe because I am not a young adult, I am a 68 year old YA librarian, but I read a lot of YA and enjoy it, but this I found just too sad. I will have to wait to discuss with YA readers and get their opinions--should be interesting.