The problem with books that are heavily character-based is that those characters have to be interesting to the reader. I recognize the attempt by the author to get readers engaged with each character's personality and struggles (and to be fair, there was a lot of diverse representation here) by doing multiple points of view. Unfortunately, it's always difficult for me to connect with a story when there is constant switching between POVs.

All hope is lost. The story has a really good premise and I must say that it is very well written. The relationships in the story really power you forward. I would like to say that I am so glad I was able to read this story in 2021 because it gives you a new perspective on a lot of things. I am usually not pro email stories so anything that provides any emotional attachment that isn’t buried in comedy freaks me out but I was OK with this book!‘s while we are still in a pandemic some of the topics mean to make you feel a little uncomfortable but a lot of great literature comes from storylines that make you uncomfortable. I really get this 3 1/2 stars but it won’t let me do half stars.

Not an easy read at times as you connect to the young people in the Hope Juvenile Treatment Center who are left to fend for themselves as a plague ensues. Each need to grow up quickly, as they ration food, quarantine, and bury their friends. The outside world is struggling, but the kids are alone.

Author's note and additional suggested readings are a must read, also!

I have to say that it was sort of crazy reading a book about a plague that breaks out while we are in the middle of a pandemic. It does make it hit home more when you are going through something like what you are reading about.

When a group of teens that have been sent to a detention center find themselves with changes to the well known schedule that they always follow, they think that they will try to find out what is going on. When they find the guards, they quickly learn that there is a problem in the outside world that they are not allowed to socialize with anymore. There is a plague that has come over the outside world and no one wants to be around the kids in the detention center anymore. One of the teens ends up getting shot by the guards and the other teens head back to the camp to figure out what to do now that no one wants to be around them.

The things that the kids have to learn to deal with is strangely like what we have had to learn to deal with in our world today. The plague is a respiratory and wearing masks helps to keep others from getting the plague. Having to learn how to deal with things on their own is a challenge for the teens and Grace takes charge.

I have to say that this was a good read and I enjoyed seeing how the teens learned how to adapt and deal with the plague in their own world. If you can stand to read a book about a situation that you are experiencing yourself in the real world, read this one!

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book and all opinions are my own. Thanks for Netgalley, the publisher and the author for an advanced copy of this book.

As an infectious disease runs rampant outside teens at Hope Juvenile Detention Center are fighting for more than just survival!

The story is told through multiple points of view and each teen is fighting an internal battle as well as trying to overcome their situation! This was one of the things that really made this story stick out to me and grip me emotionally! Having gone through what we are now parts of this story were just so real and I could emphasize with the characters!

This is a first novel for me by the author and it’s not the last! This author writes beautifully and really reaches into the soul! I just couldn’t get enough of the story but also had times when tears were just running because of the emotions that are brought out!

A book about a pandemic during a pandemic! I was really excited to dive into this one. I was sucked in at the beginning but as the story unfolded I began to get more confused. I had trouble following along with the new characters. I also began to struggle with the emotions this book brought out. This is a huge accolade to the author. She made me feel big time. Ten years from now when this story doesn’t hit so hard, it will be a phenomenal book.

I'm still trying to recover from this book. All of Nijkamp's books are just filled with emotion and all the feels and this one is no different.
Anytime I read something about pandemics etc...my mind always goes right to "The Stand" (Even when Covid started, I thought of the stand) But a pandemic that affects people is pretty much all that the story has in common with the Stand, because this story stands all on its own.
I don't want to give a lot away since the book hasn't been published yet and in order to write my review, an awful lot of the story, plot etc away. So instead, I am just going to highly recommend this book to as many people as possible
Its a story about surviving and about hope, even when there isn't any reason to have some

I struggled with this one. Very confusing, largely in part due to the number of characters. I didn't find them interesting, and I just couldn't connect with them.

This book started off very strong and I thought that I was going to love it, but sadly I decided to DNF it at the 57% mark. I was ultimately just very confused by the amount of characters that we were introduced to and the fact that we had to somehow remember them all. I really tried to push through it and finish the book, but I couldn't get myself to. I also feel like this book read very young compared to Marieke's other novels. I had really high hopes for this book because I love a dystopian book that has multiple perspectives, but this one just did not do it for me.

This is among the first crop of "pandemic books" to be released, which are books that both take place in and were written during the pandemic we are still climbing out of. It takes place at a correctional facility of sorts for teenagers in the mountains of Arkansas. They are watched and disciplined closely by the guards, and each other. Until one day, they wake up to find themselves alone, with no adults in sight.

They quickly discover what is going on in the outside world, and have to figure out the best way to govern themselves. A little bit "Lord of the Flies" mixed with "The Hunger Games," but unfortunately not as thrilling as either one of them.

I found that I couldn't figure out for a while whether they were in the future or the present. And when I figured out that they were in the present, I had a LOT of questions. There is nothing that says they are in a world any different than ours, but the societal rules on the outside seem to be completely different. I couldn't stay invested because of this.

I know my students will really enjoy this book but for me, as an educator of high school kids during an on going pandemic, the story was a bit tough to read. I struggled with getting into the story because it worried me based on the world right now. Nijkamp is a wonderful author and her books fly off my shelves. Overall for me an ok read, but will be a hit with my students.

This is definitely a book I had a hard time getting through. With the COVID pandemic not fully over yet, and deaths and sickness still fresh on my mind, it was hard to read about something like it in a book also. I think the biggest problem I have is that a lot of the things that this writer wrote about, as well as many other writers during these past couple years, are happening to us regardless of how unrealistic they sound. Who would have thought hospitals would run out of beds; bodies would be stored in trucks because the morgues were out of room; etc. It all feels so unbelievable, but it is life during COVID.
The book follows a group of outcast teenagers at a juvenile rehabilitation facility. These are all kids who have been cast out in society, for one reason or another, but who have been sent to this facility to "get well" so they can be integrated back into society. Some have done minor offenses, where as others have done more severe offenses. The group of them are suddenly abandoned by the warden and guards, and they have no adult supervision/direction. It basically becomes a sink or swim situation.
The book is a good read; it was just hard for me to read because of the similarities to what we are going through today.

Timely and unique, At The End of Everything is a story about a group of teens residing in the Hope Juvenile Facility.
When the guards stop showing up, the know they need to get out. Finally free, they discover inside is actually safer. There is a disease spreading,and they need to figure out a new method of survival.

Many thanks to Netgalley and publishers for providing my review copy. This was a really tough read that I do not think I was ready for. Perhaps in a few years, I would not have been so disturbed by the content. Story was well executed but the message felt a bit muddled. Recommend to dystopian lovers, not to those greatly impacted by the pandemic.

This book had me on edge, first of all we have this setting of a juvenile facility, a whole bunch of kids in there, and they all have backstories that keep you on edge, it reads sometimes like kids in High School, there is a bully, and a popular kid and the awkward kids and you understand where I am coming from. Anyway out of nowhere the facility is empty, there are no guards or nothing, they were already acting weird and then they were all gone. I was on the edge of my seat. Anyway I wont be giving anything away this book is worth the read, its very apocalyptic, all about survival, and characters that you least expect taking charge, it was a journey. Thanks Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

I think this was a very well written story about A pandemic and how a group of abandoned teens responded to it. I bet we'd all like to think that we'd do as well with supporting each other in their situation. What did we each do to support others during our pandemic? Because I think the pandemic was different for everyone. We lived in places that had different accesses or loss of accesses to products, including food. The pandemic truly needed to transcend color, race, or sexual orientation, and I don't always think we responded to that. This is not a happy story, and it is different enough from what most of us experienced that we can say it isn't a factual story...but it certainly is possible.

4.5 stars

I was a little hesitant to start At The End of Everything. A book about a pneumonic plague pandemic while living through the real world of the past 18 months? As a healthcare provider, that seemed a little too close to home.

And yet, I was sucked in from page one.

Told in multiple viewpoints, At The End of Everything is the story of some teens stuck at a juvenile detention-type boarding school that is located in the forests of Arkansas. When the plague hits, the warden and guards abandon the kids as lockdown ensues. The teens are forced to survive in what feels like a dystopian future, yet feels very real.

At The End of Everything was heartbreaking and sorrowful, yet a thread of hope was interwoven throughout. Despite that, I was entranced by the characters. How they did their best to stick together and help, how others were so self-sacrificing, and how everyone so very human.

My heart was heavy and oh, so captivated.

Thank you to SOURCEBOOKS and NetGalley for the review copy.

This novel takes the reader through a version of a pandemic where the teens of a group home are left to fend for themselves. Forgotten by the outside world and left to fight this terrible respiratory disease sweeping the nation.

<i>At The End of Everything</i> is poignant and close to home. The novel also focuses on the many teens and their own personal internal stories and struggles with violence, gender issues, and family abandonment.

I loved Nijkamp's previous work but this book was just not for me. After starting and stopping several times, I just couldn't finish it. The characters were not interesting and the narrative failed to keep me interested.

Thank you so much for the advanced copy,

I loved the premise of this book, and it was interesting to read about a different pandemic from another perspective. That said, I felt that the multiple points of view distracted from the narrative. I didn’t feel there was enough character development or depth, and I’m sorry to say I just couldn’t quite connect.