I was hoping for more from this one. I struggled a bit at the beginning, but really wanted to push through to see if the action would pick up. While it did about halfway through, this book just wasn't for me. I couldn't connect with the characters and felt the rest of the story to feel disjointed.

3 stars, which is being generous. This had the opportunity to be a great story but sadly, the follow-through just wasn't there. The pacing was very slow for the first half and just okay for the 2nd half. I found the story had a few things that were spoken of or shown to us that seemed like they would be of importance later on but they just ended up disappearing into oblivion. I GREATLY appreciated having an autism main character and that is where most of my rating comes from. I knew this was a Dystopian type novel but I feel like it was all just a little too much.

What do you do when the person you admire turns out to be a monster. Waverly is autistic and a scholarship student, which sets her apart from 99% of her classmates at the prestigious private high school, the Webber Academy. Not only has Dean Webber provided her with the scholarship that lets her attend the school, but he provided jobs for her parents and arranged for her mom to get the medical workup she needed to obtain the diagnosis of MS, providing an answer for the years of pain and suffering that so many doctors had ignored or inadequately addressed. Waverly gets the opportunity to attend the school’s annual masquerade ball fundraiser, impersonating fellow student, Caroline, who is wealthy and whose father is part of Dean Webber’s inner circle; Caroline wants a break from the pressure placed on her because of who she and what she represents. Attending the masquerade ball will also give Waverly a chance to see Ashley (Ash) Webber, who was her secret girlfriend for a while before disappearing to London unexpectedly and ghosting Waverly.

However, the masquerade ball will turn out to be a nightmare when a catastrophic worldwide disaster strikes, and it turns out Dean Webber had advance warning and a contingency plan in place — one that is disadvantageous to most of the rest of society. Waverly and her friends Pari and Frank, as well as Caroline’s best friend Max and a mysterious woman in a green mask will have to try to save not only themselves but as many of the other guests as they can and try to stop Dean Webber and his cronies, not knowing who they can trust or what exactly is happening.

Waverly is a great character, but Pari is probably my favorite because of her personality and her determination not to let her handicap (She has Ehler-Danlos syndrome) limit her.

A YA masked-gala, end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it, teenagers-band-together-and-sort-of-save-the-day-but-not-really-cause-the-world-is-still-going-to-hell-in-a-hand-basket type of book.
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There were parts to this story I liked, our main character for example, but overall, this wasn’t a home run for me. It was a bit slow and drawn out for me, and so completely far-fetched that it was hard for me to get into. Though I’m all for a doomsday, end of the world book, the “great escape” these teenagers were trying to pull off never got me excited. ⁣
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However, I’ll acknowledge that I haven’t been in love with any book I’ve finished lately so it’s entirely possible I’m just a reading grouch lately. Here’s hoping my current reads will fare better!

I requested this for consideration for Book Riot's All the Books podcast for its release date. After sampling several books out this week, I decided to go with a different book for my review.

This is such a difficult review for me. I was so hooked on this book from the start - Waverly and her friends were such an easy group to root for. I'm a sucker for a high school setup, especially when it involves an exclusive academy and a big event, so the plot was very promising.

However, I found that it very quickly went off the rails. I appreciated the author's attempt to take a very normal setup and turn it into an unexpected dystopian plot line, but each new reveal began to lose me even more. I'm not one to search for believability in everything I read, but it was even too outlandish for me by the end. I wish Wilde had reigned things in a bit to create a sharper, more nuanced sequence of events vs. escalating things non-stop for the sake of excitement and surprise. While the pace was quick and kept me reading to the end, I was ultimately unsatisfied with the storyline and how it built to the end.

Wow! This book was so incredibly captivating. I was sucked in and thoroughly taken aback by the mystery at the center of it. This is a must read!

3 / 5 ⭐️'ˢ

“This is the Way the World Ends” By Jen Wilde

📕 Edition: ebook & Audiobook

While I didn't exactly fall head over heels for it, I didn't despise it either. The story took its sweet time to pick up speed and felt a bit scattered. The action didn't kick in until halfway through, which had me craving a faster pace.

My main gripe was the repetitive emphasis on the protagonist's identity as an "autistic lesbian." It was repeated many many times, like, I get it already.

Overall, this one was just a “meh” for me.

Thank you @NetGalley, Jen Wilde and Wednesday Books for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I have to give major props to the author writing a queer autistic teenager as her protagonist. It is amazing how real and flawed this character is and I loved that she's giving rep this way. I cannot speak for how well it is done - while I am bi, I am not autistic - but I thought it was one of the well done parts of the book. Great friendships throughout as well as the setting. I think this is where her background as a YA contemporary author really shines in working in this new genre. Sometimes you want a mystery where you're going to care about the cast and this is it. I'm not sold on the romance or the ending, but I'm willing to keep an open mind to try more of this author's works.

💃☠️Book Review:
Title: This Is the Way The World Ends
Author: Jen Wilde
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/3 stars

I liked a lot of this book; the details of the masquerade, especially because it was well written, and I was able to really visualize the setting. The end of times topic is also pretty intriguing, although extremely eerie to think about. I feel, though, that it seemed to go on and on and on, and I started to get bored about 3/4's of the way through.

Let me try to summarize this in as few as words as possible. Waverly is asked to attend the highly exclusive masquerade hosted at the elite private school, the Webber Academy, disguised as Caroline, a popular socialite. Waverly is not popular, or rich, or invited as herself, so she agrees. Which was a pretty big mistake. Things go completely haywire at the event. People start exposing who they really are, including the adults, which is scary considering she should be able to trust them! This is an end of the world, apocalyptic fiction that made me think about what I would do in a scenario like this. It's definitely a thriller and has quite a bit of suspense. Thank goodness it's fiction!

Published: May 9th, 2023

Thank you, @netgalley and the @wednesdaybooks, for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Quick and sometimes fun read. The pacing was strange at time and the apocalypse part seemed very random.

I really hate giving books bad ratings. I definitely didn't hate this one, and I went back and forth between two and three stars.

Jen Wilde does a fantastic job at creating her diverse characters. There's queer rep, disability rep, and not every character is white. I think having different representations strengthens a book. I actively seek out books like this because it's so important to have characters that aren't cookie cutter replicas of each other. I also really enjoyed the main character, Waverly. She's a total bad ass!

I really enjoyed the first half of the book, but as it progressed it just became more of a what the heck is going on. The book is well written, but some parts just felt over the top, and the bad guys were very much the bad guy trope. As much as I loved Waverly, I honestly did not care about her relationship. I think the story would have been stronger without it. But my main irk about the book was how it just ends. The immediate issues are wrapped up, but there's no update on what Waverly and her friends do now that there's been an apocalyptic event. It's like the author just got bored of the story and just ended it abruptly.

The book is mostly enjoyable, but does require some suspension of belief. I wouldn't suggest rushing out for a copy, but if you see it at the library, it is worth a read.

Action packed thriller about a girl who gets the chance for a “Cinderella” moment by going to a elite masquerade party for the rich dressed as the most popular girl at school, This is the way the World ends is unputdownable!

I was immediately hooked from the synopsis but while reading the book I really started to enjoy the characters! Pari, Max and Frank ESPECIALLY. None of them were what I expected and all of them would do anything for their friendships and I really value that in a character! The “villains” were kind of meh but did the job.

The first half of this book GRIPPED me but the second half had me gasping lol. I truly should have known at least to some degree what was going on but somehow I didn’t until it was already happening.

Overall, if you’re looking for an easy and gripping YA thriller or looking for a spooky season read without being too spooky.. this might be worth the read!!


Read if you like:
- ya thrillers
- Cinderella moments
- Masquerades
- Autism representation
- Scholarship kids
- Strong friendships
- Amazing supportive casts
- Action packed
- LGBTQ representation
- Chronic pain representation

The premise of this book sounded great, but the execution was a bit of a miss for me. It felt unbalanced in the writing, and the storyline had quite a few places where rooms in the masquerade or events were described as though they were going to be important but ended up never being mentioned again in the grand arc. I wish Wilde had circled back on the purpose of the maze, and the lack of acknowledgement from Webber about Frank’s death (which Jack made seem like a really big deal) and what that meant for The Gateway was a little confusing.
I did enjoy the teamwork of the girls as they try to figure out a way out of the sewing factory, and I hope there’s a sequel, as I’m curious about the aftermath of the evenings events.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press, and Wednesday Books for the ebook arc.

Can a few teenagers save the world? That is the premise of this novel. I was intrigued by the premise, and plunged into the book with great expectations. However, while I enjoyed the book, it did not quite measure up to my hopes for it. Not to say it was uninteresting, far from it. There was a lot of intrigue, some unexpected happenings, and some surprises.

An autistic young woman, Waverly, wins a scholarship to a posh school and struggles to fit in among the wealthy students. While some snub her as beneath them, others befriend her. Caroline comes from money, and her father is the dean of the Webber School. As the students prepare for the coming Masquerade Ball, excitement permeates the atmosphere. Caroline invites Waverly to go to the Ball in her place, claiming she is sick of the formal parties. Waverly is unsure of herself, but since she will be wearing a mask, she decides to do as her friend asks.

Thus begins the mystery and intrigue at the Ball. Something is going on. Something is not right. Waverly and her friends begin to question what is happening and are determined to find out. And find out, they did. If you want to find out, you should read this book. It is a fun read, with plenty of surprises.

The concept of the story was interesting. However, the writing wasn’t for me. I think the novel may work well with a younger audience. Thank you for the kind opportunity to read this book.

Waverly is an autistic scholarship kid at an elite private school. She’s used to masking in order to fit in, and she’s only able to stay in school due to a scholarship and the generosity of the dean. When she’s asked to attend the annual masquerade disguised as her tutor student (and very popular student), she jumps at the chance. It’s a beautiful gown, and her secret ex-girlfriend who ghosted her last year will be there. What starts as a dream turns into a nightmare as a massive blackout and a mysterious meeting of the dean and the school’s top donors lead to murder and mayhem.

Definitely recommend if you’re into Jen’s books, and also it’s a great place to start if you’ve not read their books before (honestly any place is a good place to start). With autistic, queer, and disability rep, I was all over this one! Plus…intrigue.

As someone with a not visible disability and also sensory processing sensitivity, I saw some of myself in these characters, and if it’s validating for me, a grown ass adult, it’s gotta be even more impactful for kids and young folks out there.

This Is the Way the World Ends is a dystopian apocalyptic story of an elite private school's big annual Masquerade and what the event hides. Waverly is a scholarship student from Queens who attends Webber Academy. Her parents have little money, so her ability to attend Webber is a great opportunity for her. At the same time, her parents are also provided jobs, which benefits them all, especially because her mother suffers from chronic pain. Waverly tutors students to make some extra money. When she gets offered the chance to pretend to be someone else so she can attend the Masquerade, she takes the chance, but will it be everything she expected? This was a riveting, captivating and incredible read. It's set in New York City but creates an alternative world to what New York City is today.

This is the Way the World Ends by Jen Wilde
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Waverly is a scholarship student at a prestigious academy in New York. Tonight is the night of a fancy ball the Academy throws. Usually it’s only the wealthy that attend, but Waverly is offered a chance to go in someone’s place.
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This is a rough one for me to review because I really struggled to enjoy it. It was somewhat over the top and I just didn’t care for any of the characters.
Part of this may be that I listened to the audiobook and the narrators voice grated on me a bit. But I also think I did not enjoy being inside Waverly’s head.
I wanted to love it but it was a miss for me.
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2.5⭐️⭐️💫

I think this book had a great concept. I mean, a Cinderella-esque ball featuring a queer, autistic MC that starts off as something akin to Gossip Girl and transitions into an apocalyptic nightmare? You have to give credit where it's due, and Wilde takes readers on a real journey with that.

I think this is one of those scenarios where I'm not the target audience. While on the surface this book seemed right up my alley, this is a young adult book that reads a little too young for my taste–and that's completely okay! I'd still watch the movie adaptation if it ever happened tbh.

If you're someone looking for a unique YA book with the elements I mentioned earlier and pop culture references abound, I think you should check it out!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this arc in exchange for my honest review.