Imagine an alternative version of our world in which humanity discovered that its own extinction was encoded in its DNA. How would our lives look? How would we think of our own bodies? How much control would we have over our own futures? The Beauty of the End by Lauren Stienstra is a very ambitious novel. While I'm not entirely sold on the execution, I think there are interesting questions being asked her. Thanks to Little A and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Bodily autonomy is one of those topics that can shift a conversation into a surprising number of directions. For some, like me, it is a major element of our belief in a right to abortion, a key cornerstone in feminist arguments. I imagine it is also an important topic in the trans community and in conversations around disability. However, ever since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, it has become a talking point on the right side of the political spectrum as well, with people arguing for their right to not mask or get vaccinated. I had all of this and more in mind when I began reading The Beauty of the End by Lauren Stienstra. The alternate version of our world which she creates is one in which the body suddenly becomes both a threat and a potential salvation. If the cure against human extinction is hidden in your eggs, womb, or genes, do you have the right to deny humanity that salvation in favour of body autonomy? If humanity requires you to have children (as some right-wingers are already arguing), how do you justify being childless? And where does the line lie between "saving humanity" and eugenics, messing with the genes of future generations for your own sake? As I said, heavy topics. Stienstra used to work for the US government and it is clear she has done research and extensive thinking on these themes. For me, personally, I don't know if her writing is strong enough yet to fully wield these heavy themes in a way that feels consistently intentional.

Charlie and Maggie are twins from Marshallese parents, now adopted into a suburban, working class family. Their lives are largely normal, until the news begin to affect them directly. It turns out most humans only have a few generations left in their DNA, meaning the extinction of humanity is on the horizon unless a scientific breakthrough happens. Charlie and Maggie become part of the Mendelia, who are trying for this breakthrough through a form of human-husbandry, matching up interesting genetic adaptations in the hope of changing humanity's fate. While Maggie has fully bought in, Charlie is skeptical, unsure of where this is all heading. This all comes to a head in various dramatic ways, ending with Charlie having to find a path between remaining loyal to her sister, sticking to her own ideals, and, perhaps, saving humanity. The Beauty of the End is told entirely through Charlie's perspective and covers a period of roughly fourteen years, I think, from ages 8 to somewhere around 22. I have to say the timeline isn't super clear to me. The early childhood years, up until maturity pass pretty quickly, with us mainly getting an insight into important events and decisions. I did enjoy the world-building in these early chapters, which looked at some of the immediate fall-out of the extinction becoming known. But there is a speed to this, as well as the more detailed years after Maggie and Charlie turn 18, which made it hard for me to keep track. Unfortunately Charlie was a tad annoying to me, which perhaps is also caused by the sheer effervescence and intelligence that is given to Maggie. Charlie doubts everything but she makes no choices and it is hard to truly engage with a character who is so removed, for most of the novel at least, from taking any action.

For a debut novel I think the aim and thought behind The Beauty of the End is impressive. Stienstra clearly went into the novel with ideas she wanted to discuss and explore in this alternate version of our own world. As I said above though, I wasn't always convinced she was fully in control of the messaging. Of course there is the chance that some of the things I picked up and thought "yikes" about were intended that way, in which case Stienstra messages successfully, but I am not sure about that. I went into The Beauty of the End expecting a novel which would deal, intensely, with the pressure of having children many women experience, but in a heightened way due to its dystopian-esque setting. While this theme is a part of the novel, it isn't really at its heart. Instead, The Beauty of the End focuses much of its energy on considering medical overreach, the cruelty of adoption malpractices, the push and pull between siblings, a love story that made me roll my eyes a bit, and something of a revenge plot. All of these are interesting themes worthy of discussion, but they just don't come together into something that felt fully cohesive to me. Especially the last third or so of the novel felt a little gross to me, which might just be me and my childless self, but it didn't feel entirely in keeping with what I thought the book wanted to say. For those who have medical trauma or trauma regarding birthing, I'd probably not recommend this book. For those looking for a real deep dive into the themes mentioned before, I also am not entirely sure it is the one, although it is sure to ask some questions you'll be thinking about! I would be intrigued to see what Lauren Stienstra does next, though.

I was very intrigued reading The Beauty of the End, despite in the end not being fully sold by it. I wanted to know where Lauren Stienstra would guide us and yet by the end I felt a little betrayed by my guide. It almost felt like an attempt at social commentary wrapped in a dystopian YA suspense jacket and that is, as Suzanne Collins proves consistently, a very difficult balance to strike.

The Beauty of the End delivers a hauntingly plausible vision of the future, blending speculative fiction with stark realism in a way that feels both urgent and deeply unsettling. The novel examines how societies react when faced with an existential crisis and not just in terms of survival, but in how people rationalize, resist and adapt to an unfathomable new reality.

One of the book’s greatest strengths is its ability to tap into the psychology of catastrophe. The characters aren’t just grappling with the mechanics of survival; they’re forced to reckon with the absurdity of continuing daily life when the world as they knew it is crumbling. It’s an eerily familiar theme, echoing the strange dissonance we experience when global crises collide with mundane responsibilities. Do we keep going to work? Do we still make plans for the future? What does hope look like when the rules we’ve lived by no longer apply?

The novel builds its tension gradually, using intimate, character-driven moments rather than large-scale chaos. While this makes for a deeply personal reading experience, I did find myself wishing for a broader lens at times. The narrative hints at unrest, paranoia, and the unraveling of social order, but I wanted to see more of how the world outside the main characters’ bubble was handling the crisis. The glimpses we do get - hushed warnings, fractured relationships, the slow collapse of normalcy - are interesting, but a deeper exploration of the societal impact would have made the story even more gripping.

That said, The Beauty of the End is a novel that lingers. Its quiet dread and thought-provoking premise make it a standout in speculative fiction, offering both a compelling story and a chilling reflection on our own world. It’s a book that leaves you questioning how you would react when faced with the unimaginable - and whether, in the end, that choice even matters.

Thoughtful and thought provoking. Charlie and Maggie make different choices but their love for one another runs true. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Would make a good book club read,

The premise is serious and very enticing, but the book fell short for me. First half was kind of okay, but I didn't enjoy the second half. Perhaps I am not the right audience and this should be considered YA. Thank you, NetGalley.

This book really tried to be something unique but it really just fell short for me. I was really interested in the first half of the book, but it really fell apart for me in the second half. The motivations of the characters were so different from the first half that it just felt so disjointed. I’m frustrated with a few things that occurred plot wise that didn’t make any sense to me. Having a science and nursing background, some things really annoyed me because they were highly improbable (specifically getting cancer in 3 years because of “x-ray and other radiation exposure”). I really liked the initial idea of this book, and exploring the moral and ethical implications of humanity ending via reaching a “reproductive limit” should have been so much more fascinating than it was. The author swung hard but ultimately missed many opportunities for moral and ethical discussions. I didn’t mind our MC Charlie but I have to say I absolutely LOATHE when women who are firm on not wanting children change their minds (this is a minor spoiler but to be honest this enrages me so much, so I’m sharing it for those who might want to know). These narratives serve to invalidate woman who want to be child free and present a situation in which they fully change their minds and now want to be mothers.

Thank you Netgalley and Little A for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. “The Beauty at the End” will be published April 1, 2025.

Although this isn't my normal genre, I found this book captivating and couldn't put it down! The plot includes some twists and turns that I didn't foresee, which kept it very interesting! The author develops the characters really well, so you really connect with them and can understand their behavior. It's well written and touches on a lot of complex topics, such as fertility, government programs, and moral duty. I highly recommend this book!

A literary fiction apocalyptic story of the end of the human race, who would have guessed how much I would enjoy this? This novel follows the catastrophic reproductive failure of the human race and the science and societal change that occurs as those implications impact the world. This novel was well written and quite frankly intriguing to read, a solid read!

I love books that have the premise of catastrophic reproductive failure and how that changes society so I was excited by the premise of this book. However, I think this book is more about the relationship between sisters than anything else. The reproductive crisis serves as a background to explain the characters and their motivations but the driver of this book is the sibling bond.

I really enjoyed the first 2/3rds of this book but the last 1/3rd petered out. Some events happened very quickly without much explanation that drastically changed the MC’s life and those events felt unexplored that didn’t feel true to the story. Overall, the book was still enjoyable and I look forward to reading more by this author.

I found myself intrigued by the premise right from the start—the idea that humanity has only four generations left is both haunting and thought-provoking. As I followed Charlie and Maggie’s journey, I appreciated how the book tackled complex issues like reproductive ethics and personal sacrifice in the face of an impending crisis. However, as the story unfolded, I began to feel that the pacing was uneven; certain parts, especially in the middle, dragged on, leaving me a bit disengaged. While the ethical dilemmas sparked my curiosity, I wished the narrative had delved deeper into some of the characters’ motivations, particularly Charlie’s internal conflicts. Ultimately, the novel delivered a unique concept and some memorable moments, but the execution left me with mixed feelings—enough to keep me reading, yet not quite enough to fully captivate me. Three stars for an interesting but imperfect journey.

3.5 stars rounded up.
This is a speculative story with a really unique premise! Scientists have discovered coding in DNA that indicates all humans and animals will go extinct within several generations. A government agency called Mendelia arises with the goal of buying the human race more time to figure out a cure. We follow two twin sisters from childhood to adulthood, seeing them grow up with this knowledge and their journey to becoming Mendels – doctors who are also genetic/fertility counselors of sorts (20 year old full-fledged doctors…this part is so dystopian YA lol)

This book started off awesome. I was really invested in the worldbuilding and our main characters. Interesting topics are explored, such as ethics in medicine and research. The science is explained in a way that is understandable. The reading experience in the first half reminded me a lot of The Measure, one of my favorite books of recent memory.

Around 50%, the direction of the book shifts more toward Charlie and Maggie’s personal experiences as Mendels and what Mendelia is trying to accomplish. I enjoyed the middle section of the story, but was not a big fan of the last storyline that occurs from 75% to the end. It dragged on and could have been wrapped up more concisely. I also really wish the second half had expanded on the global implications of the extinction event.

One critique I have is that some of the commentary about other cultures, countries, and disabilities was a little uncomfy at times. I get that eugenics is a big theme here, but this story could benefit from some different wording choices, or maybe having a character challenge ignorant comments?

Overall, I do recommend this one if you like light sci-fi!

“The Beauty of the End” asks the question: what would happen if humanity discovered its own expiration date? Scientists have discovered that humankind will end in just four generations, starting the clock to find a discovery that will save it. Sisters Charlie and Maggie sign up to join Mendelia, a government-run program that pays people to have children and collects the genetic information of every person in hopes of finding a solution. The ensuing story includes many ethical dilemmas which were fascinating to me as a medical student (thought a lot of the science was pretty iffy). Charlie is a very bland protagonist to put in such fascinating situations, and she almost functions like a blank slate and a foil for the more ambitious Maggie. An interesting read if not necessarily the most compelling.

Told through the lens of adopted twin sisters, Maggie and Charlie Tannehill, The Beauty of the End contemplates what would happen if the human race was facing extinction within four generations. After high school, the two young women join a government agency whose mission it is to find a genetic mutation that will avert the impending end of the human species, and each sister will have to decide how far they will go to save humanity, torn between love, loyalty, and sacrifice.

I’m a big fan of speculative fiction and dystopian novels, and this thought-provoking book delivers on both, with a decidedly literary vibe that I loved. I enjoyed the way the narrative thoughtfully delves into medical ethics and the ways in which societal norms could shift or collapse in the face of a human existential crisis. I was not at all surprised to see that the author’s background is in public health, as she deftly addresses a wide variety of science and human factors, and the science-y parts are written in a straightforward and very accessible manner. She does a great job of touching on the ways in which the world at large changes, but the true heart of this story is a beautifully crafted character-driven microcosm of humanity.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Little A for providing me an advance copy of this book.

In the Beauty of the End, Lauren Stienstra does a nice job setting a curious speculative world where scientists discover that all living beings have an expiration date coded in their DNA. The code determines how many generations a particular species has left. In this world, humanity only has four generations left.

With the interesting speculative world set, Lauren Stienstra builds the story around two main characters, twin sisters and props them up with some good supporting people. The characters were all easy to keep track of. Stienstra does a nice job illustrating the sisters’ complex upbringing and family situation. I feel this made them a good fit to head into careers as reproductive scientists working for a large-scale government program with the goal of breaking the limit on generations.

I’ve read some folks reviewing the writing in this book as dry and young-adult-esque, I don’t feel it was really dry. Stienstra writes to the point, but there was plenty of beauty in it. I do feel it wasn’t written in a very complex manner, but I don’t find that to be a bad thing here. It was a very accessible read, an interesting story and tackled an imaginary issue well. It was written to be laser-focused on the main characters, even though I would have loved to learn more about how society and government was dealing with this issue. I mean could you imagine if this happened in the United States today!? (Head explodes!)

Overall, I think most speculative fiction lovers like me will enjoy this one. It was a pretty quick read, wasn’t heavy to follow and explored some interesting “what-ifs. The premise gave off some “The Children of Men” vibes. But for the most part, the similarities ended at the “humanity is going extinct” part.

Thank you to Lauren Stienstra, Netgalley and Little A for the free ecopy and opportunity to share my thoughts.

THE BEAUTY OF THE END - LAUREN STIENSTRA

I really enjoy speculative fiction, and the Beauty of the End poses a unique what-if situation, where the extinction of all species is genetically determined. The protagonist, Charlie, and her twin sister, Maggie, are very young when this discovery is made. As they grow up, scientists are able to screen all human beings to determine how many generations each individual might have if they choose to reproduce. 

Author Lauren Stienstra works in crisis management, and played an instrumental role during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her professional background definitely shapes how she writes, where genetics-determined extinction not only sounds realistic, but she captures the many knock-on effects of this discovery in a way that feels completely plausible.

As Charlie and Maggie make sacrifices, join up with Mendelia and are then sent out to work as counsellors as part of a human husbandry programme, we get to follow along as discoveries are made and lines are crossed. I found Charlie's journey utterly gripping, and I like that both Charlie and Maggie are relatable yet flawed characters. This, again, made the story feel more real.

The only issues I had were to do with pacing (where certain sections slowed down significantly) and that I wanted more context for the extinction ie wider world politics, climate change, etc.

These small issues aside, I would wholeheartedly recommend The Beauty of the End, which feels like a blend of speculative fiction and science fiction, and which has a fully formed and unique concept at its heart.

Thank you to Lauren Stienstra, the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this eARC.

Review score: 4/5

Trigger warnings: d*ath, illness, su*cide, health experiments

Review: The Beauty of the End

Lauren Stienstra’s The Beauty of the End is a haunting, thought-provoking blend of speculative fiction and deeply personal storytelling. Set in a future where humanity has only four generations left before extinction, the novel follows twin sisters Charlie and Maggie as they navigate a collapsing world and a controversial government program designed to extend human existence through selective breeding.

Charlie and Maggie, adopted as infants, face not only the unraveling of their own identities but also the weight of an entire civilization’s survival. While Charlie questions the ethics of the Mendelia program, Maggie embraces it, making desperate sacrifices to increase her chances of producing viable offspring. Their diverging paths test the limits of sisterhood, love, and morality as they wrestle with what it means to be human in a world on the brink of disappearance.

Stienstra masterfully crafts a narrative that is both intimate and epic. The world-building is unsettlingly plausible, and the ethical dilemmas raised—about reproductive rights, genetic selection, and government control—are eerily relevant. The prose is immersive, evoking a visceral sense of place and emotion, whether it’s the warmth of home-cooked meals or the chilling realities of a dying world. The twists are genuinely surprising, making it impossible to put down.

This book isn’t just about survival—it’s about love, loss, and the fragile beauty of human connection. It forces readers to ask: What would you do to save the future? And at what cost?

A must-read for fans of The Handmaid’s Tale, Never Let Me Go, and dystopian fiction that lingers in your mind long after the last page.

#SpeculativeFiction #DystopianReads #TheBeautyOfTheEnd #BookReview #EthicalDilemmas #Sisterhood #ThoughtProvokingReads #SciFiThriller #FutureOfHumanity

Have you ever read a book where you know there are some inconsistencies or areas that needed editing or the twists weren't that twisty, but you just loved it anyway?

The Beauty of the End was that book for me. I binged it in a day. I could not put it down and I expect it will make my top reads for March, possibly for the first half of the year.

It is a unique speculative fiction where the world finds out that humans will become extinct with just a few more generations and that each person carries a genetic countdown, called the Limit.

From that point on, humans and science are in a race to survive and extend beyond that Limit. It impacts families and society in ways that no one imagined.

This is a different spin on dystopian, bringing in all the typical ways that societies begin to suffer, along with ethical dilemnas on experimentation and reproductive rights, ambition vs risk taking for the greater good, survival vs greed, sibling and familial relationships.

I'm sure some people will say it is too science-y, but I loved revisiting my education in biology and genetics.

It's a book that I feel like I will be recommending over and over.

This is what a speculative fiction novel should be: just realistic enough to resonate, with enough of a twist to keep you turning the pages. When humanity discovers the end of itself, Charlie and her sister become part of a group of scientists working to find a cure for the extinction. I loved getting a first hand POV of the ethical and personal and emotional battles that these circumstances wrought. Would absolutely recommend!

It felt like this book had a lot to say, but didn't end up saying all that much. For such an interesting concept with such interesting conversations that could've been had, the book felt like it missed the mark on what it had set out to do. It was interesting, but did not live up to the expectations I had set for it.

Speculative dystopian fiction told in first person past tense. The author works in public health and has experience and skill in communicating scientific concepts to laypeople that is apparent here. Lacklustre prose lets the book down a bit. The elements - concept, plot, characterisation - are there but a skilled editor would have been able to help Stienstra tease out a more engaging narrative style.

What I did really like is the way the story examines the ethics of reproduction and adoption and weaves it into the plot and characterisation. The second half of the book is where things become really tense as the action unfolds and Stienstra really gets into what is or isn’t justified during desperate times. If you start this book expecting a Children of Men-type story you won’t get it, it’s a look at relationships and what individuals can and should do at the end of the world. I look forward to reading more from this author!

(Honestly, probably the least realistic thing about this story is the way the government immediately establishes and funds a scientific venture to help break the Limit. If COVID has shown us anything it’s that THAT is the real speculative fiction)

The Beauty of the End 🤰🏼

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Speculative Fiction
Pub Date: April 1, 2025

Twin sisters, Charlie and Maggie are only eight years old when the major discovery is made that humans will be extinct after four more generations. Eventually the twins grow up to work for a government run program trying to find a fix to this problem. Maggie thrives and she dedicates every part of her to this cause, whereas Charlie struggles with the ethical side of trying to fix humanity’s decline.

This book really drew me out of a reading slump. I thought the topic was so interesting, especially since I’ve always had a general interest in genetics and genetic engineering. The first 3/4 of the book was so easy for me to get sucked in. I really adored the twins and their adoptive parents. As they grew and we learned more about the expected extinction of humans , we also learned more about ways to try to solve it. So many ethical topics come into consideration, and I enjoyed how the author depicted them through each of the twins and their individual outlooks on it.

The last quarter of the book was a bit of a let down to me. It felt like the author pivoted in an odd way that made me think “but I don’t think those characters would do that”. Ultimately I think the author took on too many issues within this very large topic, and didn’t quite know how to bring it all back together.

If you enjoy speculative fiction, or enjoy science and genetics I definitely think this book would be a fun and entertaining read. I’m glad I gave it a try and would be interested in reading more from this author.