Things to Do Before the End of The World

Things to Do Before the End of The World - Emily Barr

Genre: Young Adult | Science Fiction

Released: 6th May 2021

"What do you do at the end of the world?

1. Live your best life

2. Uncover family secrets

3. Trust no-one."

Olivia was avoiding the Christmas party when she got the news - the end of the world was really coming. She thought the only things she had to worry about were not having the guts to talk to the girl she liked and being too scared to audition for Juliet in the play, but none of that mattered now. Humans have done so much irreversible damage to the planet that breathable air is running out - scientists estimate a year at most before Earth is altogether unliveable.

She thought she had all the time in the world to figure out who she wants to be and what she wants to do but now she's struggling to do anything. Until she meets Natasha - a long lost cousin who wants to reconnect with her family while she still can. She's amazing - beautiful, confident and so sure about who she is that it's giving Olivia hope in a hopeless world. As the two meet up to enjoy one last summer together, Olivia finds there's more nightmares coming her way than just mass extinction.

"You have to decide whether to go with it meekly like you usually do, or to do something brave, to live your last months with all the energy and bravery you can muster, to rage against the dying of the light."

Things to Do Before the End of the World was a visceral, vibrant story about the end times that had such a unique charm and had me hooked. This was a strange version of the usual apocalypse stories that focused not on the end of the world itself, but the journey there. About the strange human tendencies to ignore and hide, about the things we do to cope; denial, religion, spiritualism, fighting and eventually acceptance.

Olivia was a nervous, quiet soul who resonated with me immediately - she was so relatable and loveable that I would love to have her as a my friend in the end of days. She found a way to find true beauty in the world and try to savour every moment as well as she could.

Hauntingly beautiful, wickedly sharp and devastatingly fun - this book is going to be living rent-free in my head quite possibly until the world ends.

RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to Emily Barr, Penguin Random House UK and Netgalley for a reviews copy in return for an honest review.

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