Dear Publishing: this book is my jam! Action-packed thriller with end-of-the-world disaster movie plot that would rival any Roland Emmerich tentpole. And add to that a quirky, loveable, relatable, queer autistic MC, a cast of misfit teens who may or may not be in on the conspiracy and a locked room-type mystery with murder and loaaaads of mayhem. What a fantastic ride I can't wait to take again.

This book is definitely engaging. I read it in basically one day. But it was a mess. The first half is pretty slow and then the characters literally just start running all over the place. Waverly's obsession with Ash was annoying. Also, I have so many questions - which I won't post here because I don't want to give any spoilers. But that ending was just not good - how did these kids not die? It read like the ending to a superhero/action/spy novel - but these are regular kids, and not super-athletic ones. I really liked the characters, but we don't get to spend a lot of time with them, because they are too busy running around and reacting to the things that are happening.

Thank you to NetGalley and the pulbisher for allowing me to review this book.

This is a miss for me. The blurb says that this book is about Waverly, an autistic girl that agrees to go undercover as her friend Caroline to the prestigious Masquerade Ball her fancy school is throwing. It's a chance to see the other side of life that Waverly doesn't get to experience, and she'll have the chance to settle things with her ex-girlfriend, the Dean's daughter. Things get a little wild when the night goes horribly wrong, casting friends and foes against one another in the hopes of survival.

I wanted to love this book, but I just didn't. I feel like all I knew about Waverly was that she was poor, autistic, and still pining for her girlfriend. That was it. Autism seemed to be her only personality trait, and for me, that wasn't enough. I love to see representation in books, but it needs to be good representation.

I also found that the book just got more and more out of control and unbelievable as it went. It made it quite difficult to not roll my eyes at all the wild stuff going on. more than anything, that made me feel like I'd wasted good hours reading this when I could have been reading something else. 2.5 stars rounded up to 3.

I'm a big fan of Jen's other books but unfortunately, I did not enjoy this one. This book was very messy and all over the place. None of the characters were very likeable.

Thanks to netgalley and the publishers for a copy in exchange for a honest review.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: May 9, 2023
Waverly doesn’t fit in at Weber Academy. As a scholarship student from Queens, she’s taking on tutoring gigs to help pay her way to her dream of Yale Medical school, a dream that Weber can definitely help bring to fruition. So, when super popular socialite Caroline asks Waverly to attend the Weber Academy’s ultra exclusive annual ball in her place, Waverly awkwardly accepts, hoping that this glimpse into the rich and famous society of Weber alumni, donors, parents and students will be the chance she needs to finally reconnect with her ex-girlfriend who ghosted her months ago. But Waverly doesn’t expect is to see someone murdered, or to hear the nefarious plans the founder of Weber, and its dean, have for the future of Weber, and the future of humanity. Waverly has to find a way to get the Weber community to believe her, and to save the world in the process.
“This is the Way the World Ends” by YA author Jen Wilde is a sleek, modern and engaging story with diverse, spunky characters that will find quick fandom among fans of Karen McManus. Waverly, a queer young woman with autism, breaks the boundaries and stereotypes every step of the way, leaving readers with a strong, stigma-breaking protagonist to root for. A character with autism is nothing new, of course, but Wilde does Waverly and the autism community justice, by making her eccentricities and her anxieties part of the overall reality of the plot, and I appreciated Wilde’s honest depiction of Waverly’s struggles and behaviours.
Part YA, part dystopian fiction, “Ends” is full of page-turning action and suspense. The end of the world is at your door and you’re surrounded only by the rich, white men who helped create it? There’s no other choice but to get the hell out of there (and FAST), and Wilde pulls readers into the tumultuous adventure of Waverly and her friends as they aim to do just that.
Wilde is not a new author, but she is a new one for me, and I always love when I discover a hidden gem in my TBR list. Wilde’s “This is the Way the World Ends” will be on every “to read” list there is, and we will be hearing about it for months to come. An on-trend disaster story that manages to be both fresh and modern, “Ends” will leave an indelible mark (in the best way!)

I wanted to enjoy this book based on the description but I really struggled. This book was all over the place. It almost felt like 3 different stories and the author couldn’t decide where they wanted the book to go.

I liked that 2 of the MC were neurodivergent. The reason I gave the book 2 stars was because I felt like the author did a great job with the disability representation.

I received an Advanced Reader Copy from NetGalley for an honest review.

3.5 stars
i’ve read a few jen wilde books and never clicked with her writing style, but decided to give This is the Way the World Ends a try anyway, because as an autistic lesbian, i’m a sucker for stories about autistic lesbians and those are few and far between.

this book immediately felt more mature and put together than any of the author’s previous work. i’m not sure if that’s because wilde’s skill has matured or if she acquired a really great editor, but whatever the case, it’s working out.

the story started out feeling like a typical ya contemporary. its shift into apocalyptic storytelling was extremely abrupt but i think it worked. i didn’t care much for the love story at the heart of it all and i think the side characters were quite underdeveloped, but that’s often to be expected with books of this length.

overall it was enjoyable. i would recommend it.

Waverly is an autistic scholarship student at the prestigious Webber Academy. In order to try to fit in she tutors the upper 1%. It is during tutoring that she meets the schools “it” girl and ends up forming a friendship. When she convinces Waverly to attend the masquerade ball as her – Waverly reluctantly agrees.

The ball is everything Waverly ever dreamed it would be – and more, but when some sinister things start happening Waverly isn’t quite sure what to do. As the world is thrust into a blackout Waverly and her friends must navigate through hurdles and try to save the night. But Waverly can’t help but wonder, even if they do escape, will there be anything worth living for?

This book was good but left me wanting for more. It was a fun YA queer romance and dystopian mash up that was really a delight. However, the whole second half of the book was out of the blue and not what I was expected or wanted. I was prepared for the dystopian, but I seem to struggle that this group of high school kids could save the world. It just felt very disjointed. I think had the author just stuck to the first half of the book and turned that into the entire book, but more flushed out, then it would have been a better read.

Thank you to St Martins Press, Wednesday Books, @StMartinsPress, @WednesdayBooks, and Netgalley @Netgalley for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This one is out May 9th.

As an autistic scholarship student at the prestigious Webber Academy in NYC, Waverly is used to masking to fit in, in more ways than one. While her classmates are the children of the one percent, Waverly is getting by on tutoring gigs and the generosity of the school's charming dean. So, when her tutoring student "it girl" Caroline asks her to attend the school's annual fundraising Masquerade disguised as her, Waverly jumps at the chance - especially once she finds out that Ash, the dean's daughter and her secret ex-girlfriend, will be there. The Masquerade is everything Waverly dreamed of, until the evening takes a dark turn. As the world is thrust into a blackout and the people at the gala are planning something more sinister than anyone could have imagined, Waverly and her friends must navigate hurdles and try to make it through the night, but even if they do escape, will there be anything left worth living for?

This book was a fast paced YA queer romance and dystopian mash-up that was delightfully addicting and I devoured it in one day! I loved all the queer, disability, and racial representation that was packed into the diverse cast of characters. I definitely was not expecting the chaos of the second half of the book, the turn everything took threw me and I had several questions that were left unanswered. The ending left me wanting more and hopefully there's a sequel in the works to tie up some of the loose ends.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Wednesday Books for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

The first 25% of the book was just introductions. Speaking of introductions it felt like the author was trying to hard to have the characters be different. It seemed like each character only had a disability so that the author can pat themselves on the back.

It took way too long for the plot to really happen. Then when it finally kicks in it’s all over the place.

I just as not a fan of this book, which is unfortunate because I really did want to like it.

Fan of Jen Wilde but this one just wasn't for me. It was a little all over the place and I struggled to connect with it and it was a lot for me to keep slugging through. Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Heart pounding thriller that left me on the edge of my seat. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one. Definitely one of the best books this year.

A pretty good book, well-written and with a solid cast of characters. They were the highlight for me. The themes were explored in an interesting, original way too. Dark in places, but also very moving. I can recommend this to YA readers.

I really enjoyed this! All the things I expected to happen allllllmost happened and all the things I didn't expect to happen...happened. Truly a wonderful twisty story that kept me guessing the whole time, a true hallmark of a good novel! Highly recommend!

This is the way the world ends by Jen Wilde is a book that has two parts, each a two different plots but all a part of one story. For the first half of this book, its mostly just an introduction to Waverly and other characters in the world. Nothing truly happens in this section, (with the exception of one dramatic health change). The writing for this part was fine, provided great background for what would occur but I constantly felt reminded that Waverly is a queer person who is on the spectrum and on scholarship to an elite school. It seems as if a variation of this statement occurs every chapter for the first half.

Then comes the second half, this half makes this book feel like a completely different novel, as more information continues to be revealed it becomes a fast paced mystery/doomsday novel. The characters all had some background provided but still all felt one sided and sped up, neglecting to see the development of them.

I did enjoy reading this, but I felt the two separate parts of the book, overwhelming details, and quickly wrapped up and vague ending makes it hard to highly recommend it. The ending really just solidifies this to be around the 3 star range for me. The problem is solved...but it really isn't and there's a whole lot left to the unknown and more questions than answers.

Expected publication May 9, 2023

Waverly is a scholarship student at Weber Academy in New York City. Weber Academy is a prestigious school that is made up mainly of students who are children to the top 1%. Waverly tutors other students and relies on the generosity of the Dean. Waverly's family struggles financially and her mother is incredibly ill. Waverly is autistic. Her group of friends are treated as outcasts but amongst themselves they are fully accepted for their differences.

Waverly has always wanted to attend the yearly Masquerade but the steep ticket price of $10, 000 makes its impossible for her until popular, rich, student Caroline proposes that Waverly go in her place. Waverly accepts but the Masquerade turns out to be anything but great. Waverly witnesses a murder and then learns that it's the end of the world.

Waverly is a well written character which makes for a fun and fast paced read. I actually forgot that I was reading a book about the end of the world (which happens halfway through) until it starts. I was a bit surprised by it which made the book all that more interesting.

A fun little YA story. I’ll never stop reading YA. Books like this solidify that. I love the cover on this one too.

This book was very eye-opening for me! It mixes science with wealth in a way that I have not read before! This book will appeal to young adults who are looking for strong characters to read about. This author does an excellent job of examining how the wealthy few are able to use their money and power to dictate how lives can all change in an instant. It does a great job of showing us how strong young adults can be when needed and how they are capable of teamwork that can save the world!

I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Irresponsible wealthy teenagers in elite private school set in a dystopian world, my favourite YA genre! This book started off reminding me of Thousandth Floor by Katharine McGee, instead of winning the boy though, our heroine is set out to save the world.

The book ends satisfying, while welcoming a sequel, I can't wait to read more about Waverly and her gang.

I think my students will really like this one, It has elements of mystery, dystopia/end of world/tech disaster and a diverse group of characters, action based, more than character driven, which again they will like. I as an adult was less interested in the book