This one was a wiiiiiild ride. Wow. A really unputdownable read. I finished it in one sitting.
Here, we meet Waverly, a girl who is on a scholarship at an academy for millionaires. And, when there's a masquerade ball about to be held, things start getting a very dark turn.
This book was a mess of twists and turns, and I mean that as a good thing. It was a roller coaster of things happening one after another, and it's one of those roller coasters you love. The characters were well written and quite interesting, as well as very diverse. The only thing I didn't love was the ending, since I found it a bit anticlimactic. But I think that's compensated by all of the things that come before it.
If you'd like to read a YA mystery that is a page-turner, search no more, you've found the right one.
I’d like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

If you enjoy Sapphic apocalyptic thrillers then I would definitely recommend you check this one out. Despite the overall plot being a bit predictable, it’s an action-packed, wild ride with plenty of diversity and inclusivity.

Waverly is a queer, autistic teen attending a prestigious NYC private school on scholarship. All of her classmates are part of the 1% and they never miss a chance to remind her she doesn’t belong. So when one of her tutoring students, Caroline, suggests Waverly attends the annual masquerade fundraiser in her place, she jumps at the chance to be part of NYC high society for a night. A dream come true.

That is until she discovers a nefarious plot that puts her and her friends’ lives at risk.

I had so much fun reading this book! It’s a bit campy and cartoonish at times but that adds to the overall charm. Waverly is a great protagonist who stands up for what’s right instead of taking the easy way out.

I would’ve liked for the ending to be tied up a bit more nicely. Well, as nicely as an apocalypse can be tied up. I’m hoping the openness leaves room for a possible sequel. It would be interesting to see how Waverly and crew handle living in a changed world.

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

In my opinion, being relatively short doesn't exactly work in the book's favor. So many characters, including our main character Waverly, felt very one-dimensioned, with so many "out there" things (aka everything that happens after she gets to the Masquerade ball... no spoilers!) being packed in. I didn't care much about anyone and could barely keep the many side characters' names straight! Also, for a romance that was clearly very important to our main character, I failed to feel very invested or understand why we should be rooting for the two.

I also really disliked that Waverly mentions Tiktok. However important the app may be to some current teens, it's a trend that's bound to become out-of-date at some point. This is a personal preference of mine, but an issue nonetheless.

With even an unsatisfying ending, I'm not sure if This Is the Way the World Ends would be my first pick for a re-read. However, younger teens might be more excited by the fast-paced storyline.

Dystopian book full of diverse characters with an interesting plot. This book had potential, but fell a little flat for me. I wasn’t really invested until almost half way through the book, and then the rest felt a little rushed. I’m wondering if there will be a second book. I enjoy YA reads, but i think this is one i would have specifically enjoyed more if i was 10 years younger.

First off, this book has excellent representation. Our main character, Waverly, is a lesbian with autism and both her best friend mom suffer from chronic illnesses. It also addresses topics like women always being taken seriously by doctors and rising drug prices.

I enjoyed the first half or so of this, and I liked the idea of the whole masquerade ball. I also really liked the flashback scenes with Waverly and Ash and thought they were cute.

This book went completely off the rails though, and I just found the whole premise to be way too farfetched and ridiculous. The villians felt like they came straight out of a cartoon. We had literal grown men fighting teenage girls, and I just couldn't.

Overall, if this would have stayed just a cute contemporary romance, I would have enjoyed it. Also, the book ends with so many unanswered questions, and I may be mistaken, but as far as I am aware this is a standalone.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the chance to read and review this book.

This book started off so promising. I was really excited for it, but then, the twist came in to play and I lost all interest. For me, the ending is not finished. For readers, I hope there’s not a second book. This book is what I would call a skim book — you can just skim through it without missing any information. Interesting plot that fell flat for me.

This was an incredibly bingeable, fast paced thriller that will instantly suck you in. I was hooked from the very first page. I loved the representation in this and how for such a quick story, the main characters are very detailed and impressive. I loved everything in the first half of the book; Waverly and Pari were both witty and badass, the twists and turns setting up the plot was fascinating and very very entertaining. The second half was a lot thrown at you back-to-back-back, which kind of felt rushed and a little far fetched, but I still ate it up and had to keep going. I feel like the ending could possibly set up another book so I’m interested in seeing what happens next. This was a super fun read and definitely a page turner.

Waverly has always felt like she doesn’t belong. She is an autistic student whose family is scraping by at an incredibly rich and prestigious school. When Caroline, the most popular girl at school, suggests Waverly disguise herself as Caroline to gain entry to the school’s masquerade ball, Waverly agrees. It doesn’t hurt that her ex-girlfriend who ghosted her will be there.

But when the masquerade is made up of clandestine meetings, secret passageways, and even murder, Waverly realizes nothing about her school is what she believed. Add in that the world may be ending outside the party’s doors, and it’s truly a night Waverly will never forget.

This was a really gripping and unique read. The masquerade ball and everyone there really came alive through Wilde’s writing, and it felt like I was there with the characters. The tension was so heightened, and everything was so mysterious and suspenseful. The stakes were so high I couldn’t help but be invested. I would recommend this book.

This was a quick fun read. Once I picked it up I couldn't stop reading. The first half of the book I was truly hooked, the character development was great. I liked where the story was going, I wasn't expecting what was going to happen next. It just started to feel very far fetched and over exaggerated.

Waverly was such a great character, queer quirky, cute, autistic girl. She was so well portrayed and I loved that so much. The side characters also bring their lot of greatness to it. I truly loved the characters apart from the villains which were not doing it for me.

It definitely was an interesting story with dystopian post apocalyptic world, but it just felt overdone. It came out of nowhere and I would've loved to have more of the first part of the book, not this dramatic shift. I still think it's worth the read as it was entertaining and non stop page turning.

If you're looking for a YA, dystopian, post apocalyptic with some great characters definitely give this one a try.

Waverly attends the exclusive and prestigious Webber Academy on scholarship, tutoring its elite students to earn extra money. When one of them, Caroline, offers to switch places with her so that Waverly can attend the academy's Masquerade Ball, she leaps at the chance. Her best friends Pari and Frank will be there. Everything almost falls apart when Caroline's father is found unresponsive in his office the day of the masquerade...until Caroline posts Waverly's picture to her Instagram, saying she'll be at the ball. Waverly soon finds herself wrapped up in something far beyond anything she could have imagined when strange events send her scrambling through a maze into private room where she witnesses the murder of one her fellow student's father. Can Waverly get out of the building, save her friends Frank and Pari, and maybe even save the world?


Holy crap, this book was just a *total* romp! I could not put it down. It has everything you'd want in a YA thriller set in the world of the ultra rich: Rich people behaving badly because they're rich, secret societies, secret romances, opulent parties, and even an underground bunker thousands of miles away in Texas.
I also really loved all the rep in this book, autism, anxiety, lgbtq+, the struggles people who are chronically ill or have close family members with chronic illnesses go through in this world. Wiseass Pari is one of my favorite characters, in part due to having Erlos-Danlos syndrome. She has the best cane names!
This book was definitely written for teenagers, so an adult reading this book might not like it as much as teens will. But that's okay, this book is absolutely for teens. All in all, I liked this book a whole lot, and if you're looking for a little light dystopian end of the world teens save the say (maybe?) fiction, this is perfect.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Suspense: 👀👀👀👀👀/5
Action: 💥💥💥💥💥/5

Tropes: End Of The World, Queer, YA, Elite Academy, Disability Rep, Autism Rep, POC

I opened this book to find so much more than I ever bargained for. Let me preface this by saying that I read the synopsis before I chose to review it. Then promptly forgot the synopsis 🤦🏻‍♀️. So when I picked it up I literally went in blind. And I'm so glad that I did. This kind of book should be gotten into with no clue what is to happen. I loved it that way. No expectations and no let downs.

Also I am not an end of the world, apocalypse kind of girly. It's just not my thing.

Waverly is such a dynamic character that will always surprise you with every twist and turn of the story. Not only is she dynamic, but she is one heck of a heroine! I never expected for her to go to the lengths that she went to for those she never thought would be there. And those that she hoped would. She had such a a huge heart for not just her friends, but also her family. She knew how hard it was in the world before everything went to pot, and she knew how much she had to sacrifice. And she was so willing. My heart went out to her often throughout the book in only the way someone with a kindred spirit could.

With so much action going on through this book it was not easy to have to put it down when I had to do the adulty things. Like eating, taking my dogs out, and just doing things in general. I couldn't stay away for long because I needed to see what was going to happen next.

The friendships she made along the way with people she never thought she would only strengthened her as the night went on. I honestly don't know how this could have ended any different. And I don't wanna know.

I truly enjoyed this book to the very end. I hope you will too!

3.5 ⭐️ rounded down

Overall an interesting concept, a very diverse set of characters and an action packed second half ; however the first half of the story was really slow and the ending felt … incomplete - so maybe it will be a series ? If it is I would definitely read the next one

I loved this fast paced and exciting read! Waverly is such an endearing and strong character! I loved experiencing the entire story from her perspective. I will always champion the outsider. Very well done!

I was really excited when I saw this a Masquerade Ball with some of New York's elite? And a brutal murder? Sign. Me. Up. However, this book just didn't land for me. It wasn't what I expected. I wasn't fully invested in most of the characters or story line. It was a fast read, but I debated on giving it up a few times.

I've decided Dystopia books aren't my thing. If they are yours then you should check this book out.

Thank you to NetGalley, author Jen Wilde, and Wednesday Books for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

This was just an okay read. I think I wasn't quite the right audience because I can see how I would have enjoyed it more as an actual teenager. I really enjoyed the diverse aspects of the book with a queer, autistic main character and friends from different backgrounds. It was also extremely engaging and a quick read. I tend to enjoy books with cult-y aspects too, and there were elements that I was drawn in by while reading. For me personally though, I thought it almost moved too fast. There were some weird kind of plot holes, and I think by drawing out certain scenes and reveals of information, it would have helped the suspense to flow. I also didn't love the kind of dystopian, truly "world ending" elements; I didn't like how dramatic the book was in parts regarding "neon skies" and such. It felt very "tell" rather than "show", and I just couldn't get behind some inconsistencies. The ending also wrapped up too quickly, and although I don't normally enjoy epilogues, I feel like this book could have definitely benefited from one. This won't be a book that I come back to, but it was entertaining enough.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this novel. 2.5/5 stars

Points for diversity rep and authentic autistic character who is the protagonist. Points for visible disability rep. I really liked Waverly and Pari but the rest of this was….I don’t even know. I’ll be honest, I couldn’t put it down but also I was reading it while knowing I wasn’t enjoying it.

The plot starts off normal, Waverly is a scholarship kid at an elite private school and befriends (romances) the dean’s daughter behind his back but he also knows they’re friends and he pays for basically everything for Waverly under being “family” to everyone at his academy. She is a tutor to another elite kid and switched places with her at a masquerade ball for a night. And then witnesses a murder. And like a white supremacist end of the world cult. And then a solar flare happens. And then like….literally the title of the book? While also trying to prevent a new world order that was secretly being built by rich people? And more murder?

I don’t even know but it was a mess but I also couldn’t put it down but I also don’t think I would recommend it?

This book was… bizarre, but not in a bad way. The first half of the book is typical YA, getting to know the characters (who I loved!). Then in the middle of the mascarade ball shit hits the fan. The story goes crazy and these teenagers are trying to save their lives and the world.

You’ll need to set aside reality a little for this one to be believeable but it’s done very well and I was invested til the end.

I did appreciate the representation in this book including queer, disabled and autistic characters.

If you’re looking to go on a wild ride I’d recommend this one!

If you're looking for a thrilling read that will keep you guessing, then This is the Way the World Ends by Jen Wilde is a must-read!
High School Gala - Waverly is a scholarship student at her prestigious high school, and tonight, there is a masquerade Gala.
Undercover - but she is going undercover as her popular tutoring student, Caroline, in a Prince and the Pauper situation
Suspicious - But while she is there, she is seeing things that are truly suspicious, like her Ex-girlfried ignoring her, a mysterious girl in a green dress, blackouts, and murder.
End of the World - Is the End of the World truly coming? And how do you escape?

This book was very much an exciting read, and I really enjoyed trying to figure out what was happening and who was actually to be trusted. However, it does have 2 major issues: #1 There are a lot of fit scenes and sometimes I felt lost in the action. #2 some of the people’s behaviors were not explained enough and the ending was kind of open ended. Which due to the nature of what is happening in the book, I totally understand. However, it did fill my need for fast paced YA, semi dark academia vibes.
Get your copy today and join the hunt for the truth!

Thank you Wednesday Books, Netgalley and Jen Wilde for the ARC.

This was an okay read. Wasn’t my favourite but wasn’t the worst. That seems to be pretty standard with other reviews I’ve seen. It kept me entertained but not something I would probably recommend.

The quick cut: An Autistic girl at a prestigious school on scholarship finds herself over her head when she switches places with a rich classmate at a party.

A real review:
Thank you to Wednesday Books for providing the arc for an honest review.

When you're different, you have to work harder to accomplish your goals. Not only do you have to do everything everyone else does, but you also have to go above and beyond to start at the same level others naturally have. These are skills and efforts that Waverly is all too aware of.

Waverly is an Autistic girl on scholarship at the prestigious Webber Academy. She's doing everything she can to fit in and take advantage of the opportunities there, including masking who she truly is. When one night a classmate named Charlotte asks her to switch places with her at a masquerade ball, Waverly reluctantly agrees. What she doesn't know is that there's more going on than meets the eye and she's just placed herself in the middle.

I wanted to like this book so badly. An Autistic heroine trying to fit in at a fancy high school? It is a setup that's practically written for me. However, the cover and the description of this story feels very deceptive to me because what it's really about is something else entirely. This story is much closer to a disaster movie than a high school story.

The one thing this story does excellently is Autistic representation. While there is plenty of other disability representation throughout, the Autism representation is the strongest. The author talks about masking, overstimulation, planning conversations, and other aspects common to those of us in the Autism community. It's impressive how many elements she managed to work in. That being said, I feel like she missed a huge opportunity in the plot to showcase other aspects, like how excellent we Autistics can be at pattern recognition.

The core of the issue with this book is it's inconsistency. It tries too hard to work too many genres into the story and ends up struggling to do well at showcasing any of them. The pace starts slow and then at about the halfway mark suddenly rockets into fast territory. It's enough to give a reader whiplash.

An inconsistent story with strong Autism representation.

My rating: 2.5 out of 5