Eleanor Dross is comforted to know that her survivalist grandfather will take care of her family, after a shocking announcement by a scientist from a prominent university. Knowing that an asteroid will most certainly strike Earth in April, Eleanor struggles with whether to keep the information to herself. She has enough trouble with her middle school classmates, but Eleanor soon finds herself as the president of a secret club. When her life seems to spin out of control, will Eleanor be able to get back on track?

The World Ends in April is a good story about a young girl who struggles with her identity and self worth. Eleanor does not feel like she fits in with her classmates and this rang very true for me. The end of the world stuff aside, the novel is really about being comfortable with yourself and finding your place in the world. Although I did not like The World Ends in April as much as the author's previous work, readers who are in the target audience will be able to identify with Eleanor and her struggles.

Disclaimer: I was given an Advanced Reader's Copy by NetGalley and the publisher, Random House Books for Young Readers. The decision to review this novel was entirely my own.

Overall, this was a good book about friendship, an interesting possible apocalypse, and discovering that family and friends can be an issue no matter what else is going on in your life.

I enjoyed Eleanor’s struggles and the consequences she had to face, and I also liked the STEM elements in the book. It was great to see Eleanor grow as a character and take matters into her own hands when the going got tough. The other characters were also interesting in their own different ways, which is hard to find in MG fiction sometimes.

I would have loved this book when I was younger! I recommend it for grades 4-7.

The metaphor in this book becomes obvious pretty early on. The end of the world is a fundamental change in friendship. That realization made me inclined to put this book down. It's a testament to the quality of the writing that I kept reading. Because as much as stories of selfish friendship make me uncomfortable as long as the characters are compelling I can cope with that discomfort. And these are lovely, complex characters. They make selfish choices that have lasting consequences.
Its also noteworthy that McAnulty is careful to have her protagonist carefully evaluating source material. She examines facts, looks at research, considers the authority of the author, and looks at the quality of thew website. Even then, she doesn't immediately believe what she reads. She gradually comes to believe it. I liked seeing the ways in which thoughtful intelligent people fall victim to scams.

I fell in love with Stacy's writing last year with Miscalculations of Lightning Girl. I used that book in my Mock Newbery book club, and I will be using The World Ends in April in my current Mock Newbery book club. I loved this book and think Stacy is a fantastic writer of middle childhood kids. She makes the kids seem real; I had no trouble envisioning my students in some of the descriptions. She also gives the kids a lot of quirk and personality, which I think is hard for adults to do when writing about kids. As an adult I flew through this because I was so interested to see if the world was really going to end! Kids will fly through this, but not at an asteroid's pace.

I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

Eleanor isn't really into her grandpa's prepper activities. She doesn't enjoy keeping a bugout bag or any of grandpa's little test runs. Then she reads that an asteroid is going to hit earth in the spring. Suddenly it is The End of the World As We Know It and she wants to be prepared. She starts reading everything she can find from the Harvard professor who has predicted the asteroid strike. She even convinces her friend Mack to start a survivalist club at school. Then she and Londyn start a newsletter with information about the asteroid and tips for survival. As the date of impact gets closer, things escalate and end up with Eleanor and Londyn hijacking morning announcements and getting suspended.

I wasn't sure what to expect out of this story, but I enjoyed Eleanor's obsession. The reader, just like Eleanor's father, knows this is a hoax and that we shouldn't believe everything you read on the internet. Eleanor however is convinced and wants to convince others. The interesting thing is that she truly believes the end of the world is coming and in a way is looking forward to it. Because she doesn't do well in school or have a lot of friends, she actually believes things would be better in a post-apocalyptic world. There are definitely kids like Eleanor who do obsess over things, just maybe not to the extent she takes it. You can truly feel her devastation when the world does not end.

I was really excited to read this book. I had heard many great things about it and I was pleased to see that they were correct. When Eleanor finds out that an ateriod is going to hit the Earth and destroy the world in April, she sets out with her "prepper" grandfather and her best friend Mack to ensure the safety of her family and friends. While her father doesn't believe her, she does get support from an unlikely character. This is a wonderful story about friendship and would be a great Middle Grade read aloud. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC.

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This was a cute MG read. I felt like something was missing, though I’m not sure what it was. I really enjoyed the characters and the “end of the world” plot. I think my kiddos would like it! 4/5 stars for me!

The World Ends in April by Stacy McAnulty was such an unconventional premise, but it worked really well. Eleanor is a middle schooler, but she learns the end of the world is coming. She is first familiar with "prepping" because her grandpa is all about that life. Doing her own research she realizes that a Harvard professor has predicted an asteroid is going to hit early, and it will have deadly consequences. Eleanor tells her friend Mack because she wants him to be okay. However, she makes the mistake of telling him at the lunch table, and others find out. Soon they've formed the Nature Club (as a cover for the End of the World Club) to start preparing for what's to come. While this sounds like the darkest of premises, it's really such a wonderful story of friendship and family and even how we consume information. I loved how it explored how Eleanor wasn't so much navigating the potential arrival of an asteroid, but instead the relationships and realities of middle school. It was a story that had such heart, and y'all, I just loved it.

This is a sweet book about friendship and the end of the world. Eleanor is a middle school student who becomes convinced that an asteroid is on a collision course with Earth, which will mean TEOTWAWKI (the end of the world as we know it). Together with her "prepper" grandfather and her best friend Mack, she sets out to ensure that her family and friends are ready to survive. She faces both surprising obstacles (her father does not believe her at all) and surprising support (an enemy at school who turns into an ally, and then a true friend).

Thanks for NetGalley for the advanced copy. I will definitely purchase a copy, or two, for my school library when it is published in September. I know my students will love it!

E ARC provided by Netgalley

Eleanor Dross is not having a successful middle school experience. Aside from her best friend, Mack, she has few people with whom she connects, and once she tries to dye and cut her own hair, she gets a lot of negative comments from her peers that make her even more anxious about everything. Londyn, who was somewhat friendly in elementary school, is downright scary now, and throws a ball in Eleanor's face in gym class. When Eleanor finds out that an asteroid is headed to earth and impact will occur in the spring, she is very concerned. Her Grandpa Joe is a survivalist "prepper" who runs frequent bug out drills and expects Eleanor and her two younger brothers to have their bags packed and organized. While she hasn't really enjoyed the drills lately, she loves her grandfather, and the thought of an asteroid hitting is a little bit of a relief. Along with Mack, Eleanor starts a "nature club" that is a cover for helping other kids learn how to prepare for TEOTWAWKI (the end of the world as we know it). A sympathetic teacher, Mrs. Walsh, lets the group meet in her room after school. Eleanor is very anxious about running the meetings, especially when Londyn shows up. Londyn challenges Eleanor's thoughts, but is the mos fascinated by the thought of the asteroid. She helps write and pass out a tip sheet, and starts to hang out with Eleanor. Londyn's home life is a bit complicated, since her parents are divorcing and she and her mom are living with an aunt, and she hopes that her father will take the asteroid seriously and come to be with her. Eleanor's father is not happy with her obsession, and as the days tick down, she becomes more and more distraught, especially when she finds out that Mack is going to attend a school for the blind the following year. When the two girls (aided by Mack's distraction of the librarian) take over the video morning announcements and warn the students about what is supposed to happen in April, they get suspended. Does it even matter, since the world is supposed to be hit in a few days?
Strengths: We know Eleanor. We see her in the hallways at school all the time. Perfectly pleasant enough child, does okay in school, but has trouble making friends and just dealing with classmates. This is exactly the sort of student who would obsess over something like an asteroid. It's this verisimilitude that draws me to McAnulty's work; like The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl, the synopsis of book didn't make it seem like it would interest me, but the writing and characters drew me right in. Mack's limited vision, and the way he manages, is a great addition to the story-- it's a fine line writing between writing a blind character and a character who is blind, and McAnulty nails it. She is also very matter-of-fact when describing characters, saying that they are white, black, etc. and mentioning a defining characteristic. I liked that. The grandfather is a terrific character, the father's frustration and apprehension warranted, and the bits about reliable resources will warm any librarians heart. I loved that Mrs. Walsh and the father were very supportive and asked good questions about Eleanor's feelings.
Weaknesses: This was a bit on the long side, and the cover is not fantastic.
What I really think: Definitely purchasing. It may take a little bit of hand selling, but it's a great story of middle school insecurity that students will read once they pick it up.

3.5 stars

I was quite excited to read this when I found out it was coming out. The premise seemed interesting, and given that I like McAnulty’s other middle-grade contemporary, THE MISCALCULATIONS OF LIGHTNING GIRL, I was sure I was going to love this one as well.

Granted, this book did seem to drag during the middle portion, but overall, it was a great story with great writing and fun characters.

Will I be purchasing a copy in September?

I’d settle on a definite maybe.