The Doomsday Date

by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

An exclusive new World Book Day story from the bestselling author of ACE OF SPADES, Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé. The hilarious, heart-soaring story of one night, two friends and a list that will change everything, perfect for teen readers.

On the day before the world is meant to end, Sanjeet dyes his hair pink... He's determined not to die without ever having really lived, so he's come up with the Doomsday List.

Ten things he needs to do before the sky comes crashing down.

Sola knows the world's not going anywhere. But, as Sanjeet's best friend, she's decided to help him out.

As the seconds tick down to midnight, Sanjeet will need all his courage - and Sola's, to finish the list. Especially number ten. The one that scares him the most.

And for more swoon-worthy first love, friendship and hilarity, don't miss Four Eids and a Funeral by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé and Adiba Jaigirdar, coming soon.

Praise for Ace of Spades

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

WINNER OF THE BOOKS ARE MY BAG READERS' AWARD FOR YOUNG ADULT FICTION

"I could not put this book down!" Alice Oseman, author of Heartstopper

"Prepare for your next YA obsession." The Observer

"This summer's hottest YA debut." Entertainment Weekly

"Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé is a revelation." Angeline Boulley, author of The Firekeeper's Daugher

Genres: Romance, Young Adult, Contemporary, LGBT, Short Stories, Queer, Novella

112 pages, Paperback

First published February 15, 2024

About the author

Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé is the instant New York Times, International bestselling, & Award-winning author of ACE OF SPADES and WHERE SLEEPING GIRLS LIE. In 2024 she was a world book day author with her title THE DOOMSDAY DATE and she also has a Marvel Spider-Verse story coming out this year where she writes a new Spider-Verse character known as Spider-UK/Zarina Zahari. Faridah is an avid tea drinker, a collector of strange mugs, and a graduate from a university in Scotland where she received a BA in English Literature. She also has an MA in Shakespeare Studies from Kings College London. When she isn’t spinning dark tales, Faridah can be found examining the deeper meanings in Disney channel original movies.

Reviews

[Daniel Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this but I wish it was longer. I thought it would be about 100 pages but it was only around 40 and the rest was the beginning of the author’s upcoming book. If this was a full novella it would have 5 star potential but it was cute for what it is.

[Fern (Avery) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute little short story. Would have loved it if it was longer, and the book wasn’t filled with the author trying to sell her next book (didn’t read that part, as I am not a fan of authors doing that, or starting a chapter and not being able to read on).

[Anniek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh this was so cute!!

[Chloe Finnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was disappointed as the story was only half of the book and the other half was a extract from her new book coming out

[molly ⸆⸉ · Rating 3 out of 5]

quick easy book
3.5 stars
good but not a lot to it

[melian · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 average short story not bad but nothing mind blowing either

[Mazzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Literally sooo cute, why tf did it have to be so shorttt ugghhhh

[Sophie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3⭐ (book 33/25 - 2025)

[Bethany Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a very cute short story. I loved Faridah's references to the 90s and her love for World Book Day.

The story was sweet and fun. I just wish it'd have been a bit longer - the story itself was only about 55 pages, with the rest being an author's note and an excerpt from her upcoming book. I understand why author's do this- to introduce readers to their other work, but in such a short book, it takes away from the actual story. I thought the story was 110 pages, but it ended up being half of that. For a free book, or £1, it's okay, but I remember these books being bigger.

[Aiza Khan · Rating 3 out of 5]

short and sweet

[Roman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book it was quite predictable but a nice book to get out of a reading slump

[Ania ’;) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aw cute

[Heaven Aughton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute little short story, let down by half the book being an advert.

[Kate Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Doomsday Date is Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé‘s contribution to World Book Day 2024. Set in 1999 day before the New Year, when people across the world were panicking thinking the world might end, or at least the world as we knew it. People were concerned that all the computer programs wouldn’t be able to change from the date 1999 and 2000, and as a result planes would fall out of the sky, all the banks would collapse and that power plants would explode. The fear that we would be plummeted back into the dark ages was a real concern for many. Sanjeet has made a bucket list of 10 things to do before he dies, feeling the full threat of Y2K, his best friend Sola doesn’t believe the conspiracy theory, but is happy to help him complete his list.
Unfortunately, I was left quite disappointed from this short story, all World Book Day books are around 100 pages so I was very surprised that The Doomsday Date was actually only 50 pages, and that the rest is an extract from Àbíké-Íyímídé’s new novel, Four Eids and a Funeral. Although this helps to promote her new novel - which I’m sure will be good - I feel that if the novella had used the full amount of pages, we would have gained a better insight into the characters and their story. Due to the limited space, we only get to experience a couple of the things on Sanjeet’s list, most of the goals are just described rather than shown. Also there is a very minor LGBTQ element which is barely touched on, I wish this had been more explored and not just skimmed over. It felt this had been added in and ticks a box rather than gives an accurate representation.
Overall I was left feeling disappointed because of these two issues, however, I wouldn’t be put off reading more of her work because I enjoyed her novel, Ace of Spades.

[Tessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wat een cute verhaal! Het gaat ontzettend snel waardoor ik het gevoel had dat er nog veel meer uitgehaald kon worden. Zeker rondom dit thema/tijdperk. Het voelde daarom oppervlakkig. Ik wil meer zien van deze personages. Wat er nu beschikbaar is voelt meer als een side quest dan the main game, maar het is geheel begrijpelijk en knap dat ik toch met zo weinig pagina’s een connectie heb kunnen vinden met de personages! Toch snapte ik hier en daar de acties niet. Misschien ken ik het hoofdpersonage daar net niet genoeg voor?

[Sarah!! · Rating 4 out of 5]

*4.5*

Oh my god this book was so good what??? i legit loved it. tbh the plot is kinda tacky but it’s a cute story although i wish it was longer as most of this book was filled with the authors sneak peak to her new book. but other than that i really love this authors writhing and tbh i wish this book was longer/ we got to see more of this couple but yea really nice book and pleasantly surprised.

[Lex Smi · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a very short book, but I did enjoy it. It was about 2000 when people thought there was a virus on all the computers and they would explode at exactly 2000. This guy made a bucket list of what he wanted to do before domesday, and he ends up dying his hair pink, confessing he’s bisexual and dating his best friend, Sola.

[Taybah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super cute short story- really do wish it was much longer and although I suspected the plot, it was still a nice quick read :)))

p.s. lol not half the book being sneak peeks into other novels by the author ahah XD

[Dana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charming, well written and well paced. A really sweet tale about being who you are flavoured with humour and heart.

[Love, Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute!!

But really should have been a full book on its own imo

[gelly ༊ · Rating 3 out of 5]

so short but cute!!

[Anisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars -- v cute short story, wish it was longer. Have to say I liked Faridah's letter at the end, it was so sweet

[yuna ୨୧⋆｡]

This was my first World Book Day read

[Eponine Montaigu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this on the plane and it was very cute !!!!! (It’s a very short novella!)

[Emily | bookswith.emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wish this novella was a full 100 pages 😢

[Denise Rouwenhorst · Rating 2 out of 5]

Einde was echt heel raar gegaan er gebeurde er dingen achter elkaar wat niet klopte in de verhaallijn

[- ̗̀ 𝐢𝐦𝐬 🎧ྀིྀི ̖́- · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
it was a very short book, i liked it but the words the author used like "the y2k bug." and such. the little friends to lover was cute. i liked it.

[afrida · Rating 3 out of 5]

definitely for teen readers. wasn’t a fan.

[jess (taylor's version) · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read it because Nia wanted me to, but no thanks

[Asomi · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great example of Good Idea vs Bad Execution. I dont mind short stories and the lenght is not the issue here, the main issue is that it feels way too overblown and unrealistic. To be clear, by that i mean for Young Adult, Teen standards. The concept of potential "end of the world" and list of stuff to do before dying is great, even though it has been overused recently (by the likes of Zom100 for example) However i dont believe a 16 year old never did half of these things from the list (half of them is reasonable like no. 2,4,5,8,9,10) also the final "arc" feels so flat and stiff like the dialogue before their kiss is one of worst coversations i ever read, there is absolutely no message-response relation and it hurts. To be clear, i absolutely enjoy lgbt content in fiction, but here it feels out of place and added at a really last moment, for whatever reason we will never know. However, there are elements i really enjoyed, pacing is good, story structure is effective yet extremely simple and straightforward, skatepark arc has been very enjoyable and introduction to the setting has cute and charming. All that said, writer has a potential, however she didnt really showed it in this work (nor in first two chapters of an upcoming novel, that were given as a bonus to make this book have these 100pages, even though in artificial way). I hope i will meet with her future works someday, and that they will be much better 5+/10