Category: YA Fiction (Ages 13-17), 320 pages
Genre: Literary / Mystery
Publisher: HarperCollins (HarperTeen)
Release date: Nov 20, 2020
Format available for review: Print, NetGalley Download (mobi for kindle, epub, pdf)
Will send print books out: USA and Canada
Tour dates: Nov 3 to Nov 23, 2020
Content Rating: PG-13. Language is clean, no sex on the page but reference to it, dark subject matter.
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If you knew the world was going to end tomorrow, what would you do? This is the question that haunts Amina as she watches new and horrible stories of discord and crisis flash across the news every day. But when she starts at prestigious Gardner Academy, Amina finds a group of like-minded peers to join forces with—fast friends who dedicate their year to learning survival skills from each other, before it’s too late. Still, as their prepper knowledge multiplies, so do their regular high school problems, from relationship drama to family issues to friend blow-ups. Juggling the two parts of their lives forces Amina to ask another vital question: Is it worth living in the hypothetical future if it’s at the expense of your actual present?
How to Pack for the End of the World Takes a Fictionalized Look at Teen Pressures. This book takes a group of teens from various lifestyles and life experiences and bonds them within a boarding school setting. The outside pressures and fears of both the external world events and daily teen insecurities and struggles are presented via the group's individual personalities, values, and pasts. As the teens work through various challenges to prepare themselves for the end of the world, they share and learn survival skills for both real-world, day-to-day dilemmas and the hypothetical demise of the outside world.
How to Pack for the End of the World isn't Action-Packed--But, Realization Packed. This book doesn't have any real suspense-filled mystery or any life-or-death action adventures. What it offers is a fictionalized look at life with relatable characters and teen drama. Readers won't find a big secret to solve (though there is a prankster to be caught)--and they won't see substantial plot twists or thrills. Readers will find many scenes and events leading to some self-realization, character growth, and life skill learning.
Would I Recommend How to Pack for the End of the World by Michelle Falkoff? While I didn't love any of the characters in this book--I found them to be reasonably realistic teens with real-world problems combining with self-esteem/self-doubt and fears of the future. Older readers may find some of the dialogue and thought processes immature--but I think that adds to this book's unique character/storyline flow. For fans of young adult, dystopian fantasy novels--this book is a unique look at planning for the end of the world--while living life as real-world teens. I think it would appeal to a variety of teen readers.
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Michelle Falkoff is the author of Playlist for the Dead, Pushing Perfect, Questions I Want to Ask You, and How to Pack for the End of the World. She is a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and currently serves as director of communication and legal reasoning at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law.
Connect with the author: website ~ twitter ~ instagram ~ goodreads
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Thanks so much for a thoughtful read, and for being part of this tour!
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