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A review by readerandom
Things to Do Before the End of the World by Emily Barr
3.0
I received this as an ARC via NetGalley, but this has in no way had an impact on my review.
Things to do Before the End of the World - a YA apocalyptic thriller - written by Emily Barr who is well-known for her YA writings. This is my first time reading a book of her's, and honestly, I am not sure what to think of it.
Libby is a young teen girl who is very introverted and does not have high thoughts of herself as a person. The moment we step into the story we're presented with the date for the end of the world, and this is when Libby decides that she'll try and live her life. Joining the theatre group and interacting with Zoe - her crush - is a great start. Libby's estranged uncle dies in a traffic incident and here she comes in contact with her cousin, Natasha, whom she didn't know existed. Several times throughout the beginning, we are introduced to the idea that Libby has wanted a sibling close to her age, instead of her two half-siblings on her father's side who are both toddlers. She wishes that she had someone that could look out for her as her little sister looks out for their little brother. She speculates, that if she had had a big sister she would have been a different person today. Someone she'd like to be. So when Natasha shows up, it's almost as if her wish has been granted. Natasha challenges Libby to get out of her shell, but there is something off about the cousin - which Libby overlooks both in the excitement of having someone looking out for her and the impending doom that is the end of the world.
Getting into this story, I was under the impression that the end of the world would be more important for the story, but it feels more like a backdrop for a YA thriller. The thing is, even though the end of the world isn't the main part of the plot it still takes up a lot of space in the story. There are interactions between Libby and Natasha, but we're already halfway through the book when they finally get to meet each other IRL. At least, that's how it feels. The first half feels like a filler episode we get before the plot-filled episode. I'm not sure if it's due to the writing style, but I did feel like I was just waiting for things to happen. We get a lot of plot and actions in the last 1/3 of the book which I really enjoyed. It was here I wouldn't put the book down until I had gone to the end (no pun intended). But the ending itself just happened so quickly and I would have liked to get more of an opportunity to enjoy the end. The ending was still satisfying and tied up the story very well - it just felt rushed.
I thought the end of the world would be more important, but it serves as a backdrop of a coming-of-age story mixed with a thriller. This is probably why I didn't enjoy the book as much as I could, my expectations for the book might have ruined it a bit for me.
Sidenote: I know we aren't supposed to judge a book by its cover, but the cover definitely gave me a 28 Days Later vibe, which has affected my expectations of what kind of book I was getting.
If you want to read a coming-of-age story mixed with a thriller I definitely will recommend this book for you.
Things to do Before the End of the World - a YA apocalyptic thriller - written by Emily Barr who is well-known for her YA writings. This is my first time reading a book of her's, and honestly, I am not sure what to think of it.
Libby is a young teen girl who is very introverted and does not have high thoughts of herself as a person. The moment we step into the story we're presented with the date for the end of the world, and this is when Libby decides that she'll try and live her life. Joining the theatre group and interacting with Zoe - her crush - is a great start. Libby's estranged uncle dies in a traffic incident and here she comes in contact with her cousin, Natasha, whom she didn't know existed. Several times throughout the beginning, we are introduced to the idea that Libby has wanted a sibling close to her age, instead of her two half-siblings on her father's side who are both toddlers. She wishes that she had someone that could look out for her as her little sister looks out for their little brother. She speculates, that if she had had a big sister she would have been a different person today. Someone she'd like to be. So when Natasha shows up, it's almost as if her wish has been granted. Natasha challenges Libby to get out of her shell, but there is something off about the cousin - which Libby overlooks both in the excitement of having someone looking out for her and the impending doom that is the end of the world.
Getting into this story, I was under the impression that the end of the world would be more important for the story, but it feels more like a backdrop for a YA thriller. The thing is, even though the end of the world isn't the main part of the plot it still takes up a lot of space in the story. There are interactions between Libby and Natasha, but we're already halfway through the book when they finally get to meet each other IRL. At least, that's how it feels. The first half feels like a filler episode we get before the plot-filled episode. I'm not sure if it's due to the writing style, but I did feel like I was just waiting for things to happen. We get a lot of plot and actions in the last 1/3 of the book which I really enjoyed. It was here I wouldn't put the book down until I had gone to the end (no pun intended). But the ending itself just happened so quickly and I would have liked to get more of an opportunity to enjoy the end. The ending was still satisfying and tied up the story very well - it just felt rushed.
I thought the end of the world would be more important, but it serves as a backdrop of a coming-of-age story mixed with a thriller. This is probably why I didn't enjoy the book as much as I could, my expectations for the book might have ruined it a bit for me.
Sidenote: I know we aren't supposed to judge a book by its cover, but the cover definitely gave me a 28 Days Later vibe, which has affected my expectations of what kind of book I was getting.
If you want to read a coming-of-age story mixed with a thriller I definitely will recommend this book for you.