"A surprisingly positive story of the end of the world."
For a dystopian novel set in a near-future Britain in which rising sea levels have suddenly flooded the whole coastline plus cities on rivers, including London, When the World Ends is a positive and - unexpectedly perhaps - cheering read. That is down to the personalities of its protagonists and the way Joanna Nadin captures their characters and voices.
The narrative is split between Paris, who writes diary style, her sort-of-stepbrother Otis, who communicates via short, misspelled (he’s dyslexic) to do lists and notes, and Gaston, who uses poetry.
Paris and Otis are in London when the flood comes, staying with her hippie aunt, while her mother and new stepdad, Otis’s uncle, enjoy their honeymoon in Spain. Her aunt’s commune has constructed an ark, and when the flood comes they can sail away. As the weeks go by, the children – Paris in particular – get more frustrated with the adults, eventually deciding to row away, taking with them Jonah, Paris’s cousin, and his new baby sister, and Dog, a dog.
Meanwhile, also separated from his mother, Gaston and his friend Honey are evacuated from their tower block and moved to a camp for the displaced, until they too chose to run away. Eventually, the two groups of young people unite, finding unexpected family connections.
The thought of the destruction of so many homes, of so many lives lost in such a scenario, the families broken, is truly horrifying and Nadin does well to give her readers just the right amount of detail. No matter what is happening, Paris and Gaston remain clear-sighted but hopeful. All the characters develop through the story, learning more about themselves and each other, and this is a really enjoyable read with lots going on, lots of humour and real emotion.
If we do end up facing the end of the world, let’s hope it’s in the company of young people like these.
Geraldine McCaughrean’s Not the End of the World is set on board Noah’s ark and has an equally sensitive and resilient young person at its heart.
A unique story of hope that'll make you laugh and cry in equal measure, from the acclaimed author of No Man's Land and Joe All Alone.
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the best books for 9-12 year olds · the best books for teenagers
A unique story of hope that'll make you laugh and cry in equal measure, from the acclaimed author of No Man's Land and Joe All Alone. I’m sorry about everything I said.
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed When the World Ends and determined it is suitable for children aged 9-12 years old
When the World Ends features in the following genres: Featured Books for 9+ readers, Featured Books for 11+ readers, Recommendations, Adventure Stories, Children’s / Teenage fiction: Speculative, dystopian and utopian fiction, Children's and Young Adult Fiction, Children’s, Teenage and Educational
Paperback. £7.19, down from the £7.99 cover price. In Stock.
When the World Ends was written by Joanna Nadin and published by Fox and Ink Books
When the World Ends has 290 pages
£7.19, reduced from £7.99. In Stock.
