Although this isn't my normal genre, I found this book captivating and couldn't put it down! The plot includes some twists and turns that I didn't foresee, which kept it very interesting! The author develops the characters really well, so you really connect with them and can understand their behavior. It's well written and touches on a lot of complex topics, such as fertility, government programs, and moral duty. I highly recommend this book!

A literary fiction apocalyptic story of the end of the human race, who would have guessed how much I would enjoy this? This novel follows the catastrophic reproductive failure of the human race and the science and societal change that occurs as those implications impact the world. This novel was well written and quite frankly intriguing to read, a solid read!

I love books that have the premise of catastrophic reproductive failure and how that changes society so I was excited by the premise of this book. However, I think this book is more about the relationship between sisters than anything else. The reproductive crisis serves as a background to explain the characters and their motivations but the driver of this book is the sibling bond.

I really enjoyed the first 2/3rds of this book but the last 1/3rd petered out. Some events happened very quickly without much explanation that drastically changed the MC’s life and those events felt unexplored that didn’t feel true to the story. Overall, the book was still enjoyable and I look forward to reading more by this author.

I found myself intrigued by the premise right from the start—the idea that humanity has only four generations left is both haunting and thought-provoking. As I followed Charlie and Maggie’s journey, I appreciated how the book tackled complex issues like reproductive ethics and personal sacrifice in the face of an impending crisis. However, as the story unfolded, I began to feel that the pacing was uneven; certain parts, especially in the middle, dragged on, leaving me a bit disengaged. While the ethical dilemmas sparked my curiosity, I wished the narrative had delved deeper into some of the characters’ motivations, particularly Charlie’s internal conflicts. Ultimately, the novel delivered a unique concept and some memorable moments, but the execution left me with mixed feelings—enough to keep me reading, yet not quite enough to fully captivate me. Three stars for an interesting but imperfect journey.

3.5 stars rounded up.
This is a speculative story with a really unique premise! Scientists have discovered coding in DNA that indicates all humans and animals will go extinct within several generations. A government agency called Mendelia arises with the goal of buying the human race more time to figure out a cure. We follow two twin sisters from childhood to adulthood, seeing them grow up with this knowledge and their journey to becoming Mendels – doctors who are also genetic/fertility counselors of sorts (20 year old full-fledged doctors…this part is so dystopian YA lol)

This book started off awesome. I was really invested in the worldbuilding and our main characters. Interesting topics are explored, such as ethics in medicine and research. The science is explained in a way that is understandable. The reading experience in the first half reminded me a lot of The Measure, one of my favorite books of recent memory.

Around 50%, the direction of the book shifts more toward Charlie and Maggie’s personal experiences as Mendels and what Mendelia is trying to accomplish. I enjoyed the middle section of the story, but was not a big fan of the last storyline that occurs from 75% to the end. It dragged on and could have been wrapped up more concisely. I also really wish the second half had expanded on the global implications of the extinction event.

One critique I have is that some of the commentary about other cultures, countries, and disabilities was a little uncomfy at times. I get that eugenics is a big theme here, but this story could benefit from some different wording choices, or maybe having a character challenge ignorant comments?

Overall, I do recommend this one if you like light sci-fi!

“The Beauty of the End” asks the question: what would happen if humanity discovered its own expiration date? Scientists have discovered that humankind will end in just four generations, starting the clock to find a discovery that will save it. Sisters Charlie and Maggie sign up to join Mendelia, a government-run program that pays people to have children and collects the genetic information of every person in hopes of finding a solution. The ensuing story includes many ethical dilemmas which were fascinating to me as a medical student (thought a lot of the science was pretty iffy). Charlie is a very bland protagonist to put in such fascinating situations, and she almost functions like a blank slate and a foil for the more ambitious Maggie. An interesting read if not necessarily the most compelling.

Told through the lens of adopted twin sisters, Maggie and Charlie Tannehill, The Beauty of the End contemplates what would happen if the human race was facing extinction within four generations. After high school, the two young women join a government agency whose mission it is to find a genetic mutation that will avert the impending end of the human species, and each sister will have to decide how far they will go to save humanity, torn between love, loyalty, and sacrifice.

I’m a big fan of speculative fiction and dystopian novels, and this thought-provoking book delivers on both, with a decidedly literary vibe that I loved. I enjoyed the way the narrative thoughtfully delves into medical ethics and the ways in which societal norms could shift or collapse in the face of a human existential crisis. I was not at all surprised to see that the author’s background is in public health, as she deftly addresses a wide variety of science and human factors, and the science-y parts are written in a straightforward and very accessible manner. She does a great job of touching on the ways in which the world at large changes, but the true heart of this story is a beautifully crafted character-driven microcosm of humanity.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Little A for providing me an advance copy of this book.

In the Beauty of the End, Lauren Stienstra does a nice job setting a curious speculative world where scientists discover that all living beings have an expiration date coded in their DNA. The code determines how many generations a particular species has left. In this world, humanity only has four generations left.

With the interesting speculative world set, Lauren Stienstra builds the story around two main characters, twin sisters and props them up with some good supporting people. The characters were all easy to keep track of. Stienstra does a nice job illustrating the sisters’ complex upbringing and family situation. I feel this made them a good fit to head into careers as reproductive scientists working for a large-scale government program with the goal of breaking the limit on generations.

I’ve read some folks reviewing the writing in this book as dry and young-adult-esque, I don’t feel it was really dry. Stienstra writes to the point, but there was plenty of beauty in it. I do feel it wasn’t written in a very complex manner, but I don’t find that to be a bad thing here. It was a very accessible read, an interesting story and tackled an imaginary issue well. It was written to be laser-focused on the main characters, even though I would have loved to learn more about how society and government was dealing with this issue. I mean could you imagine if this happened in the United States today!? (Head explodes!)

Overall, I think most speculative fiction lovers like me will enjoy this one. It was a pretty quick read, wasn’t heavy to follow and explored some interesting “what-ifs. The premise gave off some “The Children of Men” vibes. But for the most part, the similarities ended at the “humanity is going extinct” part.

Thank you to Lauren Stienstra, Netgalley and Little A for the free ecopy and opportunity to share my thoughts.

THE BEAUTY OF THE END - LAUREN STIENSTRA

I really enjoy speculative fiction, and the Beauty of the End poses a unique what-if situation, where the extinction of all species is genetically determined. The protagonist, Charlie, and her twin sister, Maggie, are very young when this discovery is made. As they grow up, scientists are able to screen all human beings to determine how many generations each individual might have if they choose to reproduce. 

Author Lauren Stienstra works in crisis management, and played an instrumental role during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her professional background definitely shapes how she writes, where genetics-determined extinction not only sounds realistic, but she captures the many knock-on effects of this discovery in a way that feels completely plausible.

As Charlie and Maggie make sacrifices, join up with Mendelia and are then sent out to work as counsellors as part of a human husbandry programme, we get to follow along as discoveries are made and lines are crossed. I found Charlie's journey utterly gripping, and I like that both Charlie and Maggie are relatable yet flawed characters. This, again, made the story feel more real.

The only issues I had were to do with pacing (where certain sections slowed down significantly) and that I wanted more context for the extinction ie wider world politics, climate change, etc.

These small issues aside, I would wholeheartedly recommend The Beauty of the End, which feels like a blend of speculative fiction and science fiction, and which has a fully formed and unique concept at its heart.

Thank you to Lauren Stienstra, the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this eARC.

Review score: 4/5

Trigger warnings: d*ath, illness, su*cide, health experiments

Review: The Beauty of the End

Lauren Stienstra’s The Beauty of the End is a haunting, thought-provoking blend of speculative fiction and deeply personal storytelling. Set in a future where humanity has only four generations left before extinction, the novel follows twin sisters Charlie and Maggie as they navigate a collapsing world and a controversial government program designed to extend human existence through selective breeding.

Charlie and Maggie, adopted as infants, face not only the unraveling of their own identities but also the weight of an entire civilization’s survival. While Charlie questions the ethics of the Mendelia program, Maggie embraces it, making desperate sacrifices to increase her chances of producing viable offspring. Their diverging paths test the limits of sisterhood, love, and morality as they wrestle with what it means to be human in a world on the brink of disappearance.

Stienstra masterfully crafts a narrative that is both intimate and epic. The world-building is unsettlingly plausible, and the ethical dilemmas raised—about reproductive rights, genetic selection, and government control—are eerily relevant. The prose is immersive, evoking a visceral sense of place and emotion, whether it’s the warmth of home-cooked meals or the chilling realities of a dying world. The twists are genuinely surprising, making it impossible to put down.

This book isn’t just about survival—it’s about love, loss, and the fragile beauty of human connection. It forces readers to ask: What would you do to save the future? And at what cost?

A must-read for fans of The Handmaid’s Tale, Never Let Me Go, and dystopian fiction that lingers in your mind long after the last page.

#SpeculativeFiction #DystopianReads #TheBeautyOfTheEnd #BookReview #EthicalDilemmas #Sisterhood #ThoughtProvokingReads #SciFiThriller #FutureOfHumanity

Have you ever read a book where you know there are some inconsistencies or areas that needed editing or the twists weren't that twisty, but you just loved it anyway?

The Beauty of the End was that book for me. I binged it in a day. I could not put it down and I expect it will make my top reads for March, possibly for the first half of the year.

It is a unique speculative fiction where the world finds out that humans will become extinct with just a few more generations and that each person carries a genetic countdown, called the Limit.

From that point on, humans and science are in a race to survive and extend beyond that Limit. It impacts families and society in ways that no one imagined.

This is a different spin on dystopian, bringing in all the typical ways that societies begin to suffer, along with ethical dilemnas on experimentation and reproductive rights, ambition vs risk taking for the greater good, survival vs greed, sibling and familial relationships.

I'm sure some people will say it is too science-y, but I loved revisiting my education in biology and genetics.

It's a book that I feel like I will be recommending over and over.

This is what a speculative fiction novel should be: just realistic enough to resonate, with enough of a twist to keep you turning the pages. When humanity discovers the end of itself, Charlie and her sister become part of a group of scientists working to find a cure for the extinction. I loved getting a first hand POV of the ethical and personal and emotional battles that these circumstances wrought. Would absolutely recommend!

It felt like this book had a lot to say, but didn't end up saying all that much. For such an interesting concept with such interesting conversations that could've been had, the book felt like it missed the mark on what it had set out to do. It was interesting, but did not live up to the expectations I had set for it.

Speculative dystopian fiction told in first person past tense. The author works in public health and has experience and skill in communicating scientific concepts to laypeople that is apparent here. Lacklustre prose lets the book down a bit. The elements - concept, plot, characterisation - are there but a skilled editor would have been able to help Stienstra tease out a more engaging narrative style.

What I did really like is the way the story examines the ethics of reproduction and adoption and weaves it into the plot and characterisation. The second half of the book is where things become really tense as the action unfolds and Stienstra really gets into what is or isn’t justified during desperate times. If you start this book expecting a Children of Men-type story you won’t get it, it’s a look at relationships and what individuals can and should do at the end of the world. I look forward to reading more from this author!

(Honestly, probably the least realistic thing about this story is the way the government immediately establishes and funds a scientific venture to help break the Limit. If COVID has shown us anything it’s that THAT is the real speculative fiction)

The Beauty of the End 🤰🏼

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Speculative Fiction
Pub Date: April 1, 2025

Twin sisters, Charlie and Maggie are only eight years old when the major discovery is made that humans will be extinct after four more generations. Eventually the twins grow up to work for a government run program trying to find a fix to this problem. Maggie thrives and she dedicates every part of her to this cause, whereas Charlie struggles with the ethical side of trying to fix humanity’s decline.

This book really drew me out of a reading slump. I thought the topic was so interesting, especially since I’ve always had a general interest in genetics and genetic engineering. The first 3/4 of the book was so easy for me to get sucked in. I really adored the twins and their adoptive parents. As they grew and we learned more about the expected extinction of humans , we also learned more about ways to try to solve it. So many ethical topics come into consideration, and I enjoyed how the author depicted them through each of the twins and their individual outlooks on it.

The last quarter of the book was a bit of a let down to me. It felt like the author pivoted in an odd way that made me think “but I don’t think those characters would do that”. Ultimately I think the author took on too many issues within this very large topic, and didn’t quite know how to bring it all back together.

If you enjoy speculative fiction, or enjoy science and genetics I definitely think this book would be a fun and entertaining read. I’m glad I gave it a try and would be interested in reading more from this author.

Blimey... that was... a lot.

SUCH an interesting piece of speculative fiction that I think was supposed to leave you feeling hopeful, but left me feeling rather worn out and empty.

The Beauty At The End takes place in an alternative modern day society that is grappling with the news that there is an extinction date written into humanity's DNA. We follow two twin sisters from their early childhood to their twenties as they learn to live with this new reality and subsequently choose careers as 'Mendels' (scientists whose whole purpose is to try and solve this crisis through impregnation of different combinations of genetic makeup).

Charlie as the protagonist and POV character had such a distinct voice and personality and really came into her own as the book developed. I'm not sure whether it was intentional, but to me, she came across as undiagnosed autistic in her relationships with people and the way she views the world which added an interesting dynamic.

Something that was lacking slightly for me was the feminist take on the burden this crisis was putting on women. It felt a little like a love letter to pregnancy and motherhood which is of course, one aspect but the reality is, if something like this were to happen, it puts a HUGE pressure on fertile women to reproduce even if they wouldn't normally choose to. I would have liked to have seen the author explore that in more detail as well as some of the less savoury results that come from a government offering to pay people to reproduce.

That being said, this was a hugely memorable book and I would recommend for anyone who like speculative dystopia.

Thanks to NetGalley for an Advanced Reader Copy of this book.

3 stars and DNF (I made it halfway)
I felt like the first 10 chapters could have been condensed. Yes, there was some critical information in terms of character backstory and characters who would come back later however, I felt like there was a lot of minor information that could have been left out or sped along. I liked that there was a strong familial/twin/adoption aspect because that isn't always depicted in a story, but it felt more like that was the focus then sprinkled in some dystopia. Additionally, the whole first part was in the third person then switched to a first person POV.

Again, the educational experience they endured had a lot of minor details and not a lot of juicy plot. Mind you, I have read a lot of fantasy and dystopian literature, so I understand there is a world building component it just felt as if the world we were building was too minor in a sense?

I was hoping once I got through the backstory, I might get some more insight into their research? or more insight into the project? I felt like neither were delivered. It still mainly focused on the main twin and her relationship with her sister.

The ending (I did skip there) I could understand without reading the bulk of the middle which just proved to me that it was going to continue to drag. I liked the concept as a whole, just the execution was not there for me personally.

This is a compelling and thought-provoking novel that has both depth of character and a terrifying existential crisis that has to be solved before time runs out. The ethical issues this raises are fascinating and the premise is as disturbing as the climate crisis is now: what can humankind do to save itself and nature? How far will we go to find a solution? And at what cost to society and individuals? I found The Beauty of the End unputdownable and couldn’t wait to find out if the solution could be found whilst hoping against hope that the main characters Maggie and Charlie would save the day. There will be hope, tragedy and hope again before the end, but the end is unpredictable and the crisis is by no means averted. Thrilling!

I’m grateful to NetGalley for sending me a free digital ARC. My review reflects my unbiased opinion after reading.

The Beauty of the End is a novel about a dystopian world where scientists have recently discovered that extinctions are not due to man’s actions as previously thought. A far more frightening problem has emerged that means that the human race itself is guaranteed to become extinct within five generations, together with all other animals and plants. Reproduction is limited by the number of copies of a certain protein on an individual’s DNA.

In a world where there aren’t any more babies, there won’t be any grown-ups. And if there aren’t any more grown-ups, there won’t be any more people. Ever. The average American family would last just four more generations.

In order to solve this problem, a new scientific agency, the Mendelia, is set up to improve humanity’s chance of beating the Limit. This is run by women at a sort of university known as a convent. Female recruits are required to have their ovaries removed so their eggs can be harvested and men must make a monthly sperm donation. They will be trained to work in teams of two, a Mendel who is trained as a geneticist and a technician who takes samples, tests and prepares embryos for implantation. The government plan is to pay people to procreate. Older mothers are paid more to have more children because this prolongs the same generation, giving the world more time to find a solution. After testing to find out how many generations their DNA will allow, those with 4 or 5 generation potential (4* and 5*) are paid to have as many children as possible.

As the situation becomes clearer, panic sets in and cracks start to show in society. Men leave wives in search of women with better ratings. Women take the money, bear a child then dump it to run off. Others whose genetic potential is zero lose hope. As the situation progresses, more and more ethical issues are raised.

Before all this is explained, however, we go back to the happy childhood of twin sisters Maggie and Charlie, told in the voice of Charlie. Maggie is academically gifted, outgoing, popular, sporty and actively involved in any fundraising or community activity going. Charlie is far more reserved, clever but insecure. She sometimes acts as the brake on Maggie’s impulsiveness. She is also scared of being separated from her sister, knowing that they were adopted and their parents, immigrants from the Marshall Islands, gave them away.

When they are only 10 years old, the news about the genetic decay breaks. The twins are tested and learn that they have 5*, making their genetic potential valuable, either as mothers or working for the Mendelia. Charlie has never wanted children and Maggie is inspired to become a Mendel. Desperate not to be separated, Charlie agrees to join as Maggie’s technician. And so it is they leave for a remote convent where they soon discover that they will have to change their plans. The further they are drawn into the Mendelia’s secretive world, the more disturbing the implications of what the organisation is doing. And Maggie is the ambitious sort who will become inextricably embroiled in the most nefarious of schemes. Initially excited to help the world beat the Limit, her experiments become unethical and endanger those she loves most.

The first sign of imminent disaster was the failure of an entire generation of cicadas to hatch. Genetic study of specimens held in museums revealed that there was a genetic sequence that was halved in every generation, now deleted. Studies of older extinct creatures revealed that it was the same genetic fault that pushed them to extinction: the Limit. Mammals had more sequences available, but they were also depleting. To prevent panic, there was an international ban on research into human DNA.
“But by Christmas of 1993, the world had already worked itself into hysterics, thanks to the quacks and the charlatans and the death cult leaders who’d been exploiting the situation for years.”

Once it was allowed, genetic persistence screening was introduced for 10-year-olds. Children with more potential for future generations would be pressurised to have children, to save humanity.

Payments for women to have babies were introduced. Older women were paid more because the longer a generation, the longer the future human potential would last. On the other hand, women who had babies younger would be paid per baby. Women with more generations in their DNA were expected to have more children.
“At this time, the Mendelia have no interest in curtailing normal reproductive behaviour. The government just won’t pay for it. Greed, it seemed, might possibly save humanity.” And for those with ‘high-screening eggs’ the Mendelia will pay for the use of their ovaries for research purposes, but the decision had to be made before a woman turns 18.

As people realise the implications, men abandon infertile wives to find women with higher reproductive or generational potential. Worse than this age-old tale, women’s lives are actively put in danger if they have high generational promise. Women have a child, pocket the cash and abandoned their families. For their children too, the future is bleak; a future of progressive social collapse. Adults who are infertile because their genetic reproductive potential has gone down to zero are known as ‘naughts’ (the American spelling of noughts’).

Mendel
When the twins sign up, they are expecting to pair up as Mendel (high-flying Maggie) and technician Charlie (less academically-minded and introvert). But when they arrive at their Mendelia convent training school, there has been a policy change due to public preference to contact with female Mendels. From now on, all men will be trained as technicians and women recruits will all become Mendels. This means that the twins will be separated, something that Charlie fears.

Charlie is deployed with Korean-American Theo to the Northern Marianas in the South Pacific. Maggie is sent to their native Marshall Islands together with their childhood friend Nathan. Both teams are supervised by the same doctor, Dr. Fontanez. What if she is keeping a secret?

In an attempt to break the Limit, the Mendels deliberately match high scoring genetic material with material with ‘unusual characteristics’, i.e. those with genetic disabilities, neurodivergent people, those with inheritable conditions. They also push people from underrepresented populations such as indigenous groups, isolated populations…

One of the thorny ethical problems raised by this novel is whether there may be a reason for sickness and disability. It’s the same reason that it’s not necessarily a good idea to completely eliminate annoying insects or bacteria. It’s what’s so worrying about the loss of biodiversity. What if some substance an extinct organism produced or something in their DNA is the cure for some other debilitating disease? The case used in this novel raises the question of whether it is ethical to deliberately allow children to be born, knowing that they will suffer and die. Yet their very existence could hold the answer to the gradual extinction of the human race due to a genetic anomaly.

Loose ends?
The Mendels don’t seem too concerned that the same inbuilt genetical obsolescence is going to cause the genetic death of all other living things. Some have already gone. If they save humanity, what will people eat if everything else dies out?

The experiments the ruthless Maggie carries out in the Marshall Islands are at the leading edge. That means they verge on social engineering and seem immoral, especially to those women encouraged to conceive with men other than their husbands to increase genetic diversity. Island society is not ready for these actions.

Lauren Stienstra’s The Beauty of the End is a stunning work of speculative fiction that delves deep into the moral and emotional complexities of a world on the brink of extinction. Charlie and Maggie’s story is as heartbreaking as it is compelling, weaving themes of family, sacrifice, and the cost of survival into a narrative that grips you from the start.

Stienstra’s writing is evocative and haunting, skillfully navigating ethical dilemmas and emotional tension without losing sight of the characters’ humanity. The sisters’ diverging paths create a poignant and thought-provoking contrast, keeping the stakes high and the story deeply engaging.

A must-read for fans of speculative fiction, The Beauty of the End is a powerful tale that lingers in your mind long after the final page. Utterly unforgettable

I really wanted to like this book - it's exactly the type of book I enjoy. Unfortunately, the pacing was a problem and there was a spot with a quote that came out of nowhere.
"No doubt my sister was already contemplating the outrageous combinations she'd put together. A Sudanese egg with a Swedish sperm. A felon's egg with a Mensa sperm. An athlete's egg with an obese sperm."

That's really egregious and turned me off completely.