The End of Always

by Rebecca Phillips

Ever since Isobel’s mom died, her dad won’t stop preparing for the rest of the world to end―attending doomsday survivalist meetings, packing bug-out bags, and drawing up plans for a secret backyard bunker. He’s methodically stacked and stored countless packs of batteries and bottles of water in the basement. And thirty-six cans of tomato soup.

But Isobel has no interest in it. She has enough to deal with between finishing high school and trying to shield her little sister April from their dad’s increasing paranoia. She’s managing to cope―until their dad decides to move them all to Endurance Ranch, a survivalist community in the middle of nowhere. When Isobel meets Dane, the son of a hardcore prepper couple, she doesn’t feel as isolated at the ranch as she first thought. But she wants to be in control of her own future. She realizes it’s going to be up to her to save her sister―and herself―from a life underground.

Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult

216 pages, Paperback

First published April 16, 2024

About the author

Rebecca Phillips is a copyeditor by day and a TV series binger by night. Oh, and sometimes she writes novels. Rebecca lives in beautiful Atlantic Canada with her family, which includes a spoiled senior-citizen cat.

Learn more about Rebecca's books by visiting her website: www.rebeccawritesya.com

Reviews

[Namera [The Literary Invertebrate] · Rating 2 out of 5]

RTC

[Susan's Reviews]

Apparently ARCs for this book are only available on Edelweiss. For whatever strange reason, although I was a member of Edelweiss, I never received a single ARC from their platform. NOT ONE.
So, I have to wait for my local library to put this on the shelf. Given that the TPL is recovering... very slowly!... from being hacked and hi-jacked by scammers, it may take me a while to get my hands on a copy of this one.
Stay tuned!

[Tara · Rating 2 out of 5]

The concept for this book really fascinated me. I love social conformity/cult-y stuff. But then it just really fell flat on all counts. Everything about it just didn’t really come together at the end in a way that felt…right? It was too awkward and cookie-cutter and left me feeling pretty meh.
⭐️⭐️ 2/5

[Librarian Bee · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 Stars ★★★
If this was written after 2020 the story would be or should be completely different. I enjoyed the characters in this story, but politically, I disagree with the author and the emotional direction.

[Elsa Rosell · Rating 3 out of 5]

**Thank you to Edelweiss Books and Second Story Press for granting me an ARC in exchange for an honest review**


"Instead of preparing for the end of the world, wouldn't it make more sense to put all that energy into trying to fix it?"


Isobel is furious when her father decides to join a survivalist ranch, uprooting hers and her little sister's lives while they're still grieving for their mother's loss.



I read this book in two sittings. From page one, I was hooked to Isobel's story and feelings, especially her rage and grief. Admittedly, I spent 90% of the book wishing I could beat some sense into most of the adults.

Aside from Isobel's persistent, contagious anger, we get so much about her grief over her mother's passing. Many of my favourite contemporary YA books (such as All my rage by Sabaa Tahir, or On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta) feature this plotline of grieving over a mother's loss, and The end of always navigates this grief beautifully.

The romance, though very clearly not the main focus of the story, was a sweet addition to the general plot.

If you're looking for similar books, I'd recommend Turtles all the way down by John Green, and The Atlas of Us by Kristin Dwyer (releases January 9th)



Instagram: @librisinetenebris

[Erin Cunningham · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC from Edelweiss

Teenage daughter on cusp of legal adulthood reckoning with her doomsday/prepper dad's growing anxiety and move to a prepper community.