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We Have Reached the End of Our Show

Thanks to an unrelenting cycle of cancer treatments, thirty-two-year-old Gabe is too weak to dance gracefully on stage or through NYC’s sparkling social scene like he once did. And although he and Josie have been in love for six years, lately Gabe’s been feeling more like Josie’s patient than his boyfriend. So one day, Gabe makes a choice: he’ll forgo treatment and live out his remaining days on his own terms.
Then a harrowing announcement blasts over the news—TWENTY-FIVE DAYS UNTIL IMPACT—and as the world falls into chaos around him, something sparks inside Gabe for the first time in a long time: the chance for adventure. When his cousin, Lisi, shows up with a car and a plan, the three begin a journey none of them ever expected—a road trip through the end of the world.

Profound, moving, and delicate, We Have Reached the End of Our Show is a crystalline depiction of the best of humanity and the love we’re all capable of, even in the bleakest of times. Gabe, Josie, and Lisi take turns at the wheel of this novel, steering readers along hauntingly empty highways and through the adventure that happens when we’re forced to put down the carefully drawn map of our lives and look around at what really matters: each other.

211 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 30, 2025

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Ali Gordon

4 books15 followers

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
Profile Image for Meredith Stepien.
418 reviews3 followers
August 29, 2025
Omg what a beautifully sad story!!!! I know I’m biased cuz I love Ali so much, but I think that made the experience even more emotional. To know this could be born from her beautiful mind!!! Honestly I’ve thought about the end of the world a lot lately (I think we all have?) and this was such a thoughtful insight into what it could look like for a group of loved ones who are already facing health crises. So beautifully done, Ali!!
Profile Image for El.
148 reviews
July 21, 2025
Thank you to the publisher, Wilding Press, and the author, Ali Gordon, for a gifted ARC of this novel!

I have so many feelings for this beautiful, explosive little book. I started this innocently enough on a Sunday night, and just a couple hours later I was heavy sobbing on my couch. My cats and my partner wandered in to check on me, and I found it hard to articulate the impact I was feeling as Lisi, Josie, and Gabe ran from their own Impact. I’m gonna try my best to highlight some feelings (although they will be vague and ramble-y, I apologize in advance).

First: as a queer person, the notion of the world ending and “being with those you love at the end” for me looks different than for other people. I don’t speak to my parents or extended family- it’s painful, but it’s nothing compared to the pain they put me through when I do speak to them. I wouldn’t ever want to spend time close to them, even if the world was ending. Thank you, Ali Gordon, for capturing that feeling, and for using Gabe and Josie’s disregard for their families to make me feel like me own decision is okay. ♥️

Second: the need Josie has to FIX! I’m gonna try to be spoiler-free; I relate so much to the weight he carries (some of it self inflicted, if we’re honest). He spends a lot of time putting things on the back burner (and then crying, which, is very relatable LOL), and in the end has to reconcile that habit. His love for Gabe is…beautiful. Queer love is so beautiful. Thank you for that.

Third: ugh, Lisi. I’ll say this: I didn’t like her very much at the beginning (…ok ok I favor Josie, mayyyybe his opinions had influence…maybe). But, one of my FAVORITE things is when an author can write a character that is real, not my fav, but has a growth arc and redeeming qualities and feels genuine. Lisi really shut me up by the end of the book…good for her!! Also, side note, I wanna see this cropped leather jacket. I’m imagining something I wore in middle school that I STILL miss to this day.

Fourth: Gabe Gabe Gabe my baby. My little performer, my little sweetheart, my little lover boy. I love your commitment to Josie, I love your love. (Yes I am writing this to Gabe directly, everyone else can avert their eyes). I have a chronically ill partner and I think my love for you stems from my love for my own partner. Caring for someone you love, but not being able to help them, is a gut wrenching experience. I wanted to step into the book and hold your hand Gabe, stroke your hair while you slept, and love you through your awful symptoms. Thank you for showing so much grace and humor in the face of your illness, and also for being irresponsible and beautiful and selfish and messy, bc sick ppl don’t have to be idealized and perfect!!

It’s not about gayness, or dying, or fear, or family. This book is about the lack of importance of everything at the end- your past, popularity, material possessions, etc. It’s about love in a painful, raw, turned-on-it’s-head kinda way. It’s about going full speed toward everything, because we cannot slow time down. It’s about white knuckling life and enjoying life and life as a living being that goes on regardless of your permission or protest. It’s very, very good.

I’ve rambled on for too long at this point, but I will say that I can’t wait to reread this. I think people should read this in schools. I’m gonna infiltrate 100 book clubs just to get them to read this book. It’s that good. Obviously, 5 stars, for sure. Thank you again SO MUCH to Wildling Press for this golden gift of a galley copy. It’s a prized possession. Thank you also to the author for this creation, and that really good cry it gave me. And now, officially, we have reached the end of our show. See you when I see you <3

Profile Image for Kelsey.
1 review1 follower
July 20, 2025
Thank you to the author (and publisher) who sent me an ARC of this book to read before publication in exchange an honest review! Out September 30.

In this book, it is announced that a an asteroid is going to hit the earth in 25 days and it will end the entire planet. Josie and Gabe, a gay couple, offer to drive Gabe’s cousin Lisi to Sacramento to be with her parents at the end of the world. A road trip across the country through the last weeks of civilization on earth ensues, and the three of them must navigate (literally) through what it means to love and care for one another in the most unexpected of circumstances.

This book was an incredibly emotional read about end of the world and how we show up for each other in times of crisis (one could say the ultimate crisis). I loved getting to see the growth of the relationships between all of the characters. Definitely not your typical road trip story, but I mean that positively.
Profile Image for Lee.
222 reviews9 followers
July 20, 2025
Rating: 5/5 stars (easily)

Wow. Wow, wow, wow.

First, a massive thank you to Wilding Press and Ali Gordon for an eARC of this book!

It's hard to put the impact of this book into words, and there is so much to say about it that to say it all would end up in a novel itself. I could not put this down!

This story is so much more than what you could imagine before diving in. It is more than just having an adventure before the literal end of the world. It is packed with passion, love, humor, growth, and relationships.

I became SO invested in these characters and the story. Their situation is complex, but what is more compelling is how they are complex as people and as parts of a whole. Each of the three main characters (Gabe, Josie, and Lisi) are so distinct while being inextricably tied to one another. The author did an incredible job of balancing each of their characters in the story, and we got different amounts and kinds of background information about each of them through the seamlessly executed dual timeline. While the information we get about each is different in kind and amount, by the end of the story I realized that we got exactly what we needed for each of them to understand them as they are.

They each have such different perspectives on what is happening around them. Gabe has been slowly moving towards death because of his cancer, so his take on the world ending is almost comforting to read in the midst of Josie's and Lisi's (and really, all of humanity's) terror. He finally feels alive again, feels happy, is taking full advantage of a new kind of freedom. As someone who has lost a family member to cancer, Gabe's character made me feel so many things all at once, but he comforted me.

Josie and Lisi are understandably terrified, not only of dying, but of losing Gabe. For both of them, Gabe is their everything. That thread remains throughout the story, and it hit me HARD - Gabe is *the* connecting link. The way both Josie and Lisi adore him and cling to him for comfort and happiness is endearing and twisted my heart.

The characters grow so much over the story, and I wish I could know them in reality. By the end of the story, I felt like I was part of their group. I loved Gabe just as much as they did, and I loved Josie and Lisi.

While the story is largely character-focused, it also speaks so much to other themes. It comments on survival, desperation, and hope. It highlights acts of kindness and humanity. It talks about courage and dignity, expectations and false assumptions. It forces you to think about who you'd want to be with at the end and the way 'family' doesn't just mean blood. It is a found family story, in a way, that goes beyond the typical "my friends have become my family." It also features so much queer representation and commentary that is incredible - the love and the challenges that come with a queer identity.

And THE. END. I had to sit with it, frozen, after reading it as I connected a few links that made the ending so layered, rich, and meaningful. It was the PERFECT ending, the perfect last few lines, the perfect story. I won't give any spoilers, because the ending and the story is something everyone needs to experience. There is nothing I wouldn't give to be able to read this for the first time again.

In 160 pages, Ali Gordon has managed to write a story that is going to stay with me for years. I hope everyone gets the chance to read this.
1 review
September 1, 2025
we have reached the end of our show by ali gordon is everything all at once. it achieves a perfect balance between love and grief, fluff and angst. it’s perfect to the point where even the length of the story is ideal. for someone who generally avoids apocalyptic narratives because they remind me a bit too much of the pandemic, the themes of “found family”, “queer love story”, and “crystalline tribute to art, love, and things that make life worth living” were too good to pass up.

gabe and josie love each other so fiercely and authentically until the very end. josie, introverted, shares the most vulnerable parts of himself and continues to care for gabe, despite the possibility of losing him to terminal illness. gabe’s defiance in the face of it—his desire to live and continue creating art—considerately represents the disabled community.

in my interview with the author ali gordon, she mentions part of the reason the book takes place during an apocalypse is because it illustrates the most heightened version of people’s reactions “when they know that time is limited”. the grief the characters encounter as they realize everything they love will be stripped away from them reminds me of my privilege of experiencing the world.

i fear i will never be the same after reading this book. it has altered my brain chemistry. it’s a wild ride. the end of our show has left me “queasy with motion sickness”.

thank you so so much to ali gordon and wildling press for the digital arc!
full review and the interview coming soon on substack https://unapologeticallypod.substack....
Profile Image for Julianne.
4 reviews1 follower
September 15, 2025
Thanks to Wildling Press for the arc! We Have Reached the End of Our Show is a short, emotionally devastating read.

It’s definitely a character driven story with a focus on our three MCs - Gabe who’s been diagnosed with cancer, Josie his boyfriend, and Lisi his cousin as they spend their last 25 days before the end of the world roadtripping across the country.

I do wish there was more of a plot so it felt like a full length book rather than a depressing short story. This is NOT an action/adventure apocalypse novel, very little actually happens, and there are very few happy moments, but it is an impactful look at relationship dynamics and the human condition. And it’s full of love.

(I cried)

Josie was by far my favorite character and POV - soft, observant, and empathetic. His relationship with Lisi was fun to watch develop throughout the book and I think the novel ended in a good place.

All in all I recommend for sad girl autumn.



Tigger warnings: terminal illness, childhood sexual trauma, apocalypse
Profile Image for Hanna Barlow.
50 reviews
October 6, 2025
Ali Gordon is so impressive in the thoughtfulness and depth throughout her debut novel 🥰. The book is real and complex about the challenges and darkness of grief, terminal illnesses, family, and love and still ultimately left me feeling hopeful and grateful for my life and my loved ones and my loved ones' loved ones. I am always a fan of time jumps and character POV switches and this was no exception-- both of these used perfectly to allow us to truly meet each character and learn the quiet and loud parts of who they are.
Profile Image for Lee Fr.
455 reviews5 followers
December 15, 2025
you know it's good when it manages to completely destroy you in one short sitting exactly as this quietly profound little gem did for me (and to tell a full compelling story and make me care for these characters so much in such a short amount of time was literally bawling my eyes out at one point like wtf was not expecting this at all)
Profile Image for Amy (amysbooked).
425 reviews19 followers
September 10, 2025
Review: "I don't resent a life I spent any part of with you." Whew. This book. This book was beautiful, devastating, heartwarming, and wrecking. I laughed, I cried, I contemplated who I'd want as part of my end of the world road trip. This book is about so many things, but at the end of the day, it's about love. True love. Familial love. Platonic love. I will genuinely be thinking about this book for a long time.

Synopsis: Thanks to an unrelenting cycle of cancer treatments, thirty-two-year-old Gabe is too weak to dance gracefully on stage or through NYC’s sparkling social scene like he once did. And although he and Josie have been in love for six years, lately Gabe’s been feeling more like Josie’s patient than his boyfriend. So one day, Gabe makes a choice: he’ll forgo treatment and live out his remaining days on his own terms.
Then a harrowing announcement blasts over the news—TWENTY-FIVE DAYS UNTIL IMPACT—and as the world falls into chaos around him, something sparks inside Gabe for the first time in a long time: the chance for adventure. When his cousin, Lisi, shows up with a car and a plan, the three begin a journey none of them ever expected—a road trip through the end of the world.

Gabe, Josie, and Lisi take turns at the wheel of this novel, steering readers along hauntingly empty highways and through the adventure that happens when we’re forced to put down the carefully drawn map of our lives and look around at what really matters: each other.
1 review3 followers
October 4, 2025
A Heartrending and Beautiful Debut Novel

I absolutely loved the experience of reading this! The characters are vibrant, richly painted, and bursting with emotion. And the central premise of the novel is immediately compelling: What happens if your death is imminent, but suddenly, everyone else on earth will die soon as well? Gordon explores the concepts of love, loneliness, and mortality through the “end of the world” in a fresh frame. Please read this wonderful book!
Profile Image for Casey.
1 review1 follower
September 28, 2025
"Everything was incomprehensible. Everything was manageable."

**First off, thank you to Ali Gordon and Wildling Press for an ARC of this book!**

I know Ali Gordon from college, and she has always been a phenomenal writer, a brilliant human, and wicked smart. That blend of sharp intelligence and human groundedness shines through every page of this debut, which balances devastating honesty with unexpected tenderness.

The story follows Gabe, a 32-year-old performer living with cancer. Along with his long-term partner Josie and his cousin Lisi, Gabe sets out on a road trip when they learn that an asteroid will hit Earth in 25 days.

The book starts slowly (I wasn’t quite sure what kind of "apocalypse" I was stepping into) but then all of a sudden it sucked me in. Gabe and Josie’s relationship is messy, beautiful, and tender in a way that feels so real: complex, earnest, gritty, and painful all at once. Lisi… well, let’s just say I started out hating her, but eventually grew to tolerate her (begrudgingly). I loved the way Ali weaved in the edges of each character without painting the whole picture. Sometimes I wanted more, but that restraint felt intentional. It made the characters feel real, and it especially made the relationship between Josie and Lisi feel very real.

What stayed with me most were the lines that captured the tension of opposites. One of my favorites: “Everything was incomprehensible. Everything was manageable.” It reminded me of Gavin Creel’s saying, “Everything is both.” That’s the heart of this book: it is both devastating AND beautiful, slow AND quick, raw AND simple. Incomprehensible AND manageable.

The apocalyptic backdrop isn’t the typical bleak, horror-filled survival story. Honestly, part of me kept waiting for the other shoe to drop and for hunger, violence, or chaos to rip our characters apart. Some of those elements are there, but Ali takes a different path. Instead of focusing on external terror, she zeroes in on what happens inside people when the end is coming. That choice made space for unexpected moments of joy, curiosity, and even peace. Watching Gabe soften into himself, freed from being just “the sick one,” was moving and unforgettable.

If anything, I wanted even more of the present-day story. The flashbacks were so rich that they made me crave the same texture in the current timeline.

All in all, this debut is powerful, tender, and gorgeously written. It’s a story about love, loss, found family, and the beauty of living honestly at the edge of the world. I'm still sitting here reeling and feeling the ending of the book. It's the kind of book that really sticks with you!!

Tags/Triggers: MLM relationship, Queer/LGBTQ+, found family, apocalypse, cancer, grief, sexual assault of a minor (off-page, referenced).
Profile Image for Christina Davis.
78 reviews2 followers
September 19, 2025
Hands down one of my favorite books of this year! I'm one of those fun people who spends too much time dallying in existential dread so of course I'm a big fan of "oh no, how do we come to terms with imminent death" books like this.

Honestly this book offers a perfect balance of negotiating hard things with both humor and despair, love and distance, pain and beauty. I felt like I was building my own relationship with each of the three main characters where I could recognize their intentions, strengths, quirks, and flaws. They became so real so quickly, and I was eager to follow their adventures through the highs and lows of their final 25 days on Earth. What I appreciated most was that there are certain areas without closure, which is an excellent reflection of real life - you just can't get answers for everything and you have to come to terms with that.

Many thanks to Ali Gordon and Wildling Press for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book!
Profile Image for Stephanie.
120 reviews3 followers
September 17, 2025
4.5 ⭐️ rounded up

This novel is a reminder that life is short and spending time doing the things you love with the people you love is never more important than now.

An announcement blares over the TV: there are only twenty-five days until the end of the world.

Josie and Gabe have been together for six years when the announcement comes. While humanity is devastated and thrown into chaos at the idea of a world-ending asteroid headed straight their way, Gabe isn't hit with the same urgency.

The news is only speeding up what his cancer diagnosis already started.

So what do Josie, Gabe, and Gabe's young cousin Lisi do when the world is about to end? They hit the road!

This book hit me in ways I never would have expected. It was delicate and beautiful and wove an intricate tale of love, hope, and life throughout an apocalyptic nightmare.

I found myself sobbing as I read through the back half of this beautiful tale. It was such gorgeous storytelling and you really got to know these characters, even if for only 25 days.

My only wish is that the book had been a little longer, but alas, such is the same with life.

Thank you to Wilding Press and Ali Gordon for the advanced copy!
Profile Image for A.D..
Author 3 books106 followers
September 8, 2025
Ali somehow made me care more about these two character instead of WHY the world was ending!
45 reviews5 followers
October 16, 2025
this book will wreck you, and what a privilege it is to be wrecked by such a grounded and resonant story. do yourself a favor and buy a pack of tissues and read this book.
Profile Image for Kiley.
166 reviews10 followers
Read
August 24, 2025
My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 (rounded up)
Romance level: 🔥🔥.5 (sometimes a lil steamy but mostly sweet)

“’I don’t resent a life I spent any part of with you.’”

The world is ending in this book but somehow the author makes you care about the 3 main characters and their own microcosm more than everything happening around them. This was seriously so good and packs a punch for such a short book - deep and believable character development, a balance between darker edges and softer spots, and some really well-done relationship development between characters. I’d absolutely recommend!
Profile Image for Pete Blanchard.
1 review
February 12, 2026
I don’t think I’ve ever cried so much reading a book. So beautiful but so sad. Wanted to hug all the characters by the end
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Steph (starrysteph).
496 reviews759 followers
October 31, 2025
We Have Reached the End of Our Show is a tender rumination on grief, love, and art in a world unraveling around you.

In 25 days, life ends. An asteroid will impact Earth and it is unsurvivable.

Gabe is already preparing to die – he has a terminal brain cancer diagnosis and left his treatment options (and his professional dance career) behind a while ago. His boyfriend Josie has been serving as his caretaker, and loves him more than anything.

When Gabe’s cousin Lisi shows up with the hope of returning home to California one last time, the three of them set off on a cross-country road trip. They have no idea what they’ll face or if they’ll make it there to say goodbye, but Gabe is ready for one final adventure.

Though the plot is bleak, Gabe, Josie, and Lisi are all beacons of light. Their relationships with each other are complicated - and they keep some things tucked away - but they truly care for each other. There’s so much gentle compassion, even amidst some conflict and ribbing, and a bit of humor and wit, too.

Josie is more introverted, and there are memories and feelings he shoves inside of him. He steps up to be the responsible, pragmatic provider and leader and driver of the car. But over time, things bubble up.

Gabe is a little bit more of a wildcard, always ready to dive into a new artistic challenge. He balances his own impending death between anger that he can’t return to dance, stubbornness when he won’t admit he’s struggling and wants to be seen as strong & independent, dry humor around the facts that he can’t change, and a lot of self assuredness that he’s finally making the right choices for himself.

Lisi is so lost. She’s fumbling her way through life, even though she has a solid social circle and is wonderfully talented. She just wants someone who will love her and will be there for her. I think she had the greatest arc, but the character development for all three protagonists was wonderfully done.

Both Josie and Gabe have past hurts and have distanced themselves from their families. Neither one wishes to attempt to see them one last time, and that’s accepted. At the end of the world, it doesn’t matter who your blood relatives are. What matters are the people who put in the work for you, who accept you as you are, and who love you furiously.

This is an incredibly emotional read at the most heightened moment you can imagine. There are dark moments and cruel people, but I think overall this takes an optimistic look at humanity and the ways we might act during the ultimate crisis.

The writing is mostly straightforward and simple, but touching. The dialogue felt believable, especially when highlighting the things we say versus what we keep locked away. It’s bittersweet (you’ll cry, sorry) and thoughtful and the perfect length. I was really moved by this one.

CW: mass death, cancer, terminal illness, suicide, grief, rape, pedophilia, child abuse

Follow me on social media for book recommendations!

(I received a free copy of this book; this is my honest review.)
Profile Image for Mackenzie Marrow.
536 reviews17 followers
July 7, 2026
What is the end of the world to you?

Is it doing something so mortifying you need to hide away forever? Is it the end of a relationship? A loved one dying far far too soon that a piece of you goes with them? Or are we talking about the literal end of the world?
“I don’t resent a life I spent any part of with you.”

We Have Reached the End of Our Show asks us to explore our grief, both sudden and expected. As Josie, Gabe, and Lisi take the road trip to-end-all road trips across the country, they have little else to do but experience the vast nature of the human existence and the knowledge that it will all end someday. And that someday happens to be in less than a month.

The trio have all been grieving for years. The anticipatory grief, knowing that Gabe’s brain cancer will soon kill him. Gabe has made his peace with dying, but now it’s the whole world who will die with him and he cannot find it in himself to be as despondent as his companions. Now he doesn’t have to worry about how his loved ones will go on after he’s gone, because they will go together. Morbid, but comforting all the same. Gabe feels free for the first time in a long while.
“But apathy is the best disguise, the most palatable way to excise the terror, and the rage against the unfairness of it all. Grief is a sun, impossible to ignore but debilitating to look at for too long.”

I’ve been a fan of author Ali Gordon since….forever. Her comedic style has always stuck with me though the years, and her debut novel is continued proof of her talents. Comedy and tragedy are interconnected through style and emotion. They both rely on a rhythm to lull the reader into the next story beat- both with the goal to lessen the pain in the world through a release. One through crying and one through laughing- often employing both. Gordon pulls on her talents as a comedian, and stage writer, and unfortunately her own experiences to lead the reader through our levels of and responses to grief. Whether it is that of a loved one, or a life not yet fully realized. Not to a goal of peace or acceptance, but something bigger than all of us.

Growing up as a scared little child, especially of the Big Question, my first real foray into thoughtful discussions on death and major influence on how I try to approach “the end”, was the 2012 movie Seeking a Friend for the End of the World , (which would have performed so much better if it came out today, minus the weird romance plot between Steve Carell and Kiera Knightley). The movie is a mundane but beautiful look at how the world ends for the average person and how we chose to spend those last precious days. The two pieces compliment each other in the way that We Have Reached the End of Our Show feels like a continued discussion on what and who are truly meaningful to us in the end.
125 reviews2 followers
September 29, 2025
This story starts out with a countdown until the end of the world - a meteor will be impacting earth in 25 days. We then follow 3 people as they journey together to their end. It is a beautiful story of grief, and love, and loss, and humanity. Gabe has a terminal cancer diagnosis and has been grappling with his expiration date prior to the news of the end of the world so while the timeline for his end may be altered, he was already mentally on his way to knowing it was coming soon. His boyfriend, Josie who has been acting as his nurse and caregiver, doesn’t know what to do with himself and with Gabe now that he has lost even more control over their lives. Gabe’s cousin, Lisi, leaves in NYC with them and has a very close, co-dependent relationship with Gabe but her and Josie often don’t see eye to eye.
I love the dual time line structure giving us the backstory to the relationship of this trio facing the end of the world. It gives you a glimpse into Gabe prior to his illness and how his personality, goals, and priorities changed after a diagnosis

There are two really fascinating storylines happening while both deal with death one is the death of one person who will be impacting those he leaves behind while the other storyline is an acceptance of mass death, all leaving but all doing this end thing together and its such a stark contrast that occurs when the impending death is seen as one loved person versus all ending together.

There are changes in Josie as he had to become caretaker and took on burdens Gabe didn’t necessarily want or need him to take on. When a disease has no solution or cure and there is no control left for those around the patient, you strive to take control of what you can whether the affected individual desires you to control it or not.

This book does a great job of showing the selfishness in grief and loss when you are losing someone close to you and you want to feel useful or involved instead of focusing on what the dying person’s wishes are.

There is this struggle between Lisi and Josie to prove who knows and loves Gabe better, as if in his last moments only one of them can be his closest partner. It feels crushing for Josie to have dedicated so much time to Gabe while sick and nursing him to then have Lisi show up for the end and swoop in like she was always his ride or die partner.
Overall I knew where this book was going to end but the journey there was a lovely view into these characters and their growth, realness, and humanity.
Profile Image for Mila.
3 reviews
July 9, 2026
Completely shattered me from head to toe, I don’t know how else to put it. I’m writing this slightly teary-eyed after a long cry immediately after finishing this, so this might not be the most eloquent review, but man. It’s beautiful, and human, and feels like your soul is being hollowed out of your body by the last few chapters. Thanks Ali Gordon.

Discovered this through the So What Are You Into? podcast run by James Tolbert and Curt Mega, where they interviewed Ali Gordon and she talked about this novel, and the premise hooked me immediately, although I’m already a fan of Ali’s work so that was certainly a factor as well. I read the first half over the course of about a week in small bites, then I read the last half in one sitting, unable to set it down. The pacing is incredible, it really captures that feeling of being unable to comprehend a loved one’s passing, and the impossible to prepare for suddenness of when it hits, no matter how long you’ve had to brace for it. I found myself relating to and connecting with all three of the characters in different ways, and they also all reminded me of people in my life, but Lisi really struck me personally. Her flaws were so human and real, and her arc over the course of the story really endeared me to her. The gutpunch of that reveal when she finally makes it home after everything, I genuinely dropped the book in pure pain. Her fear of dying alone, and having no closure with any of her friends or family made that last scene with Gabe in the house in Las Vegas really impactful. Her relationship with Josie was probably the most interesting dynamic to me, though, and I enjoyed them slowly opening up to each other a little and connecting over their love for Gabe.

Anyway, kind of a ramble, but wow.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
94 reviews2 followers
August 27, 2026
4.5 ⭐️s
“I don’t resent a life I spent any part of with you.”
“You were the only trouble worth getting in.”

This is one of those book that is both heartwarming and heartbreaking for the best of reasons. It was so eye-opening to get to follow Gabe, Lisi and Josie as they tried to make the most of their last days together. At multiple points, I was close to tearing up and I definitely spent a lot of time, both during and after finishing, contemplating who I’d hope was with me on a roadtrip at the end of the world. At it’s heart, this book is about love. Romantic love, platonic love, love that walks into your life and chooses to stay. I really appreciated that each of the MCs gets their own parts where they can share their story, each of them giving their unique perspective on what the end of the world means for them and their life, their plans etc. Lisi and Josie’s relationship was my favourite to see develop over the book, and after everything, it was the ending and its inevitability that really got to me.
Profile Image for maya.
266 reviews
November 24, 2025
4 ⭐️

Yes, he would have waited for Gabe. Who else in his life did he have to live and wait for?
“No one has ever loved me like that,” she wails, squeezing Josie harder.


reading this book and listening to Drag Path by Twenty One Pilots has been quite the experience.

gods, do I start with words or tears? because I have so many tears and no fitting words at all.

this was so fucking beautiful and so fucking sad. every character felt so human; I saw myself in each one of them and mourned each one of them.

my only little insight is that I hoped they stayed with gabe or brought him with them but honestly, I can't even complain about this after reading the last few sentences.

the writing style was so, so, so insanely unique and I wanted to be lost in this story.

the book tore me apart and put me back together at the same time. I wish I had more to say but can say for sure that I felt more in these pages than I have in a long time.
Profile Image for M.
219 reviews
September 28, 2026
You know when you're really sad so you put a sad song to get Very Really Sad and destroyed? Yeah. This book was That for me.

The countdown with the flashbacks worked very well to establish the characters without getting confused. Very much reminded me of another favourite book We Are The Ants.

My favourite detail was that the book ended on 2 Days before the Incident. Because much like death itself - shown in the incredibly moving scene of Gabe's passing - comes when you least expect it, and can't ever be prepared for regardless of prior warning. Also Lisi wanting to call her friends to say goodbye really was lovely to see: your platonic relationships are just as important as romantic and familial ones, and Lisi understood and showed that so well. Her and Josie were such an odd and awkward and sweet duo.

Very VERY good book. Tender and harrowing. Will be thinking about this book a lot.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Sharon Falduto.
1,443 reviews14 followers
February 17, 2026
Overview: Gabe is already dying of brain cancer when we meet him and his boyfriend, Josie. We soon learn that everyone is going to die--there's some sort of object hurtling toward Earth that is going to kill everyone. Gabe, Josie, and Gabe's cousin Lisi decide to set out from New York City to Sacramento to see Lisi's parents.

This is a warm little story of love, and loss, and caring; it's like a kinder, gentler end of the world book with a journey aspect. I liked the characters and the descriptions.

This is book is also really, really short. 148 pages. So if you need a brief but fulfilling read, this is a good one.
32 reviews
June 6, 2026
I’m at work and I’m sobbing. I knew none of them would survive but I really hoped they’d all die together. Gabe’s death made me tear up and Lisi and Josie’s death broke the damn. At first I didn’t like the flashbacks to the past, every couple of chapters. But now I appreciate it. The lightness it added to the grim premise. The good times. The before
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Cole.
164 reviews1 follower
April 20, 2026
Beautiful and heartbreaking and for anyone that has lost someone or survived what no one should have to it's gonna hurt but the crying is cathartic.

"I don't resent a life I spent any part of with you."
Profile Image for Rachel Hesketh.
76 reviews18 followers
October 6, 2026
This absolutely knocked me for six! I practically sobbed the whole way through this! And I read it on two train journeys so that's a little embarrassing!

Ali, you made me an absolute wreck! This one hurt in the best ways and worst ways!! 😭😭❤️❤️💔💔❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹
Profile Image for Nat Thomas.
5 reviews
October 31, 2025
Ali Gordon is so so so so cool oh my god 😭 read this in like 6 hours or so
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