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beniceorleaf's review
3.0
Hrmm.
There was a lot to like about this book. I liked Ellis as a flawed character with realistic growth. I liked her therapist and the treatment of therapy in general. I liked Tal and his friends, and I liked in the end that Ellis's "dad is perfect and mom is the villain" narrative got challenged in interesting ways.
Hannah just didn't hold water for me. The whispy effervescent-ness of her pain didn't land for me. Her centralness to the book made it frustrating to read.
Personally, I want to see Ellis actually navigate doomsday.
There was a lot to like about this book. I liked Ellis as a flawed character with realistic growth. I liked her therapist and the treatment of therapy in general. I liked Tal and his friends, and I liked in the end that Ellis's "dad is perfect and mom is the villain" narrative got challenged in interesting ways.
Hannah just didn't hold water for me. The whispy effervescent-ness of her pain didn't land for me. Her centralness to the book made it frustrating to read.
Personally, I want to see Ellis actually navigate doomsday.
books_of_am's review
3.0
Was not expecting the Mormon and LSD parts to this book but this was a decent read
bevpages's review against another edition
4.0
solid 3.5 stars
pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed this book.
I definitely like this more than I liked heretics anonymous. I really liked the main character and the love interest, I did like the side characters too because they were key to Ellis’ growth in the end.
I was worried the discussions of religion would be too overwhelming but the author did it really well and it was refreshing to read. I loved loved the anxiety rep in this and by the end of the book you could really see the character growth of Ellis and her accepting that things don’t have to be the way they are and things do and will get better. I really liked the message of it and it was sweet in the end.
pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed this book.
I definitely like this more than I liked heretics anonymous. I really liked the main character and the love interest, I did like the side characters too because they were key to Ellis’ growth in the end.
I was worried the discussions of religion would be too overwhelming but the author did it really well and it was refreshing to read. I loved loved the anxiety rep in this and by the end of the book you could really see the character growth of Ellis and her accepting that things don’t have to be the way they are and things do and will get better. I really liked the message of it and it was sweet in the end.
dspk0608's review
5.0
It's hard for me to articulate why I love this book, but I'll try my best, just for myself. Ellis is someone I deeply resonate with. We both majorly struggle with anxiety; we always see ourselves as burdens to those around us; making friends is difficult; you feel like you have to act a certain way around them, and they still will forget about you or even exclude you. My therapist describes our mental thoughts as a bus, where you are supposed to be the driver, making decisions, but anxiety can come along and will hijack the bus, and you and your emotions and thoughts are strapped to the last row. Reading about Ellis' struggles was like looking into a mirror, which hurt. Reading about how she has that little voice constantly berating her, telling her that everything she does is wrong, is something I also struggle with daily. Even from how much she struggles with decision-making and how it feels like every choice can spiral into the end of the world, it is something I resonate with.
Let's Call it a Doomsday gives me hope that eventually, I can also make that group of friends that love me, and I love back. It gives me hope that one day, I also won't have a voice, constantly judging everything I do and belittling my self-worth. I needed this book when I was also 16 and struggling, but I still need it now when I'm actively trying to beat my anxiety. This book makes me feel so incredibly seen and understood that it hurt. I love this book.
Let's Call it a Doomsday gives me hope that eventually, I can also make that group of friends that love me, and I love back. It gives me hope that one day, I also won't have a voice, constantly judging everything I do and belittling my self-worth. I needed this book when I was also 16 and struggling, but I still need it now when I'm actively trying to beat my anxiety. This book makes me feel so incredibly seen and understood that it hurt. I love this book.
ida_the_vision's review against another edition
3.0
In this story we follow a young girl named Ellis, who is obsessed with the end of the world. She has prepared herself for different scenarios as well as a sixteen year old girl can on her own, but she is still feeling a lot of anxiety about the Armageddon - and almost everything else.
So what happens when she meets a girl who claims to be psychic - and to know exactly when and how the world will end? That's the premise of this story.
I thought it would be so cute. It started out alright, but then it just... fiddled. Many of the things I liked in the beginning ended up being reasons why I disliked it in the end because of too much repetition or sometimes lack of subtlety in exploring the themes.
Our main person, Ellis, gets old real quick. It is hard to portray anxiety in fiction. Especially when it is overdone and matched with the usual teenage insecurity. After a few chapters of her constantly beating down on herself in her inner dialogue (Nobody likes me, I'm not specialetc, you know the drill), you stop feeling sorry for her. It's just annoying and comes across as whiny.
Then there's Hannah, who is just a horrible character. There is nothing about her that I find redeeming. I also found Ellis's conflict with her family to be uninteresting.
The thing is, the book isn't bad exactly. It just lacks the little something to tip it from okay to good. None of the elements make it stand out. The characters are okay, the plot is okay, the themes are handled okay. Just okay, which makes it a very underwhelming read, and leaves me with the feeling that I shouldn't have bothered.
So what happens when she meets a girl who claims to be psychic - and to know exactly when and how the world will end? That's the premise of this story.
I thought it would be so cute. It started out alright, but then it just... fiddled. Many of the things I liked in the beginning ended up being reasons why I disliked it in the end because of too much repetition or sometimes lack of subtlety in exploring the themes.
Our main person, Ellis, gets old real quick. It is hard to portray anxiety in fiction. Especially when it is overdone and matched with the usual teenage insecurity. After a few chapters of her constantly beating down on herself in her inner dialogue (Nobody likes me, I'm not specialetc, you know the drill), you stop feeling sorry for her. It's just annoying and comes across as whiny.
Then there's Hannah, who is just a horrible character. There is nothing about her that I find redeeming. I also found Ellis's conflict with her family to be uninteresting.
The thing is, the book isn't bad exactly. It just lacks the little something to tip it from okay to good. None of the elements make it stand out. The characters are okay, the plot is okay, the themes are handled okay. Just okay, which makes it a very underwhelming read, and leaves me with the feeling that I shouldn't have bothered.
olliebee's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
menshevixen's review
5.0
I don't personally get much mileage out of the concept of "books I could have used when I was a teen." This one is, instead, a book that helped me have compassion for the teen I used to be and was a great comfort for the adult I became.
lookingforamandaa's review against another edition
5.0
After absolutely adoring Heretics Anonymous, I knew I had to pick up Katie Henry’s new release, Let’s Call It a Doomsday. I’m so so glad that I did because it was even better than I expected it to be.
We follow Ellis as she struggles to keep her anxiety under control. She has intrusive thoughts, some that we get to see on the page. Her biggest worry is that the world is going to end. So, when she meets Hannah at her therapist’s office and then sees her again at school, she’s interested. Especially when Hannah tells her she knows when the world is going to end.
I loved Ellis. She was realistic and thoughtful and I just enjoyed her character. She battled her anxiety every day. She’s Mormon and despite lots of factors, she says true to her faith which was inspiring. Being able to believe so fiercely in something is admirable to me because I don’t have that same faith. Her journey of self-discovery, learning about her sexuality and how to handle her anxiety.
Then there’s Hannah, who is quirky and eccentric. I really liked her at first, but the more I learned about her the more I wanted her to just leave Ellis alone. She was the cause of pretty much all of the conflict in the story and every single one of her motivations were selfish. Despite that, she managed to push Ellis out of her comfort zone, to try new things and of course, she introduced her to Sam, Tal, and Theo.
These three boys were one of my favorite parts. Pot smoking, deep conversation having, ‘five-word-book-title’ guessing kind of friends. I love that they just immediately accepted Ellis into their group. They never pressured her to do anything that they were doing. They were just a funny group of kids.
I really really loved Tal. I loved the conversations about religion they would have. I also loved how he helped her see that there’s more to sexuality than she thought. I thought he brought so much goodness to the story. I 10000% ship them with my whole heart.
Overall, this book was funny, and heartfelt, and just wholesome. It showed anxiety in a realistic way. It talked about religion in a thoughtful way. Sexuality was talked about by several different characters in an honest way. I think this book did just about everything right. It’s one I plan to recommend again and again.
We follow Ellis as she struggles to keep her anxiety under control. She has intrusive thoughts, some that we get to see on the page. Her biggest worry is that the world is going to end. So, when she meets Hannah at her therapist’s office and then sees her again at school, she’s interested. Especially when Hannah tells her she knows when the world is going to end.
I loved Ellis. She was realistic and thoughtful and I just enjoyed her character. She battled her anxiety every day. She’s Mormon and despite lots of factors, she says true to her faith which was inspiring. Being able to believe so fiercely in something is admirable to me because I don’t have that same faith. Her journey of self-discovery, learning about her sexuality and how to handle her anxiety.
Then there’s Hannah, who is quirky and eccentric. I really liked her at first, but the more I learned about her the more I wanted her to just leave Ellis alone. She was the cause of pretty much all of the conflict in the story and every single one of her motivations were selfish. Despite that, she managed to push Ellis out of her comfort zone, to try new things and of course, she introduced her to Sam, Tal, and Theo.
These three boys were one of my favorite parts. Pot smoking, deep conversation having, ‘five-word-book-title’ guessing kind of friends. I love that they just immediately accepted Ellis into their group. They never pressured her to do anything that they were doing. They were just a funny group of kids.
I really really loved Tal. I loved the conversations about religion they would have. I also loved how he helped her see that there’s more to sexuality than she thought. I thought he brought so much goodness to the story. I 10000% ship them with my whole heart.
Overall, this book was funny, and heartfelt, and just wholesome. It showed anxiety in a realistic way. It talked about religion in a thoughtful way. Sexuality was talked about by several different characters in an honest way. I think this book did just about everything right. It’s one I plan to recommend again and again.