I don't feel like this book actually explored the things it wanted to explore, it talked about these topics, sure, but there wasn't much depth to it. The adoption aspect was perhaps the only one that was given actual depth in my opinion.

The writing style was oddly both dry and juvenile in many ways, for a good part of the book it made sense since the characters were children but by the end It was kind of annoyed with it.

The way the Mendelia (the government agency Charlie and her sister ended up working for) worked made little sense to me as did people's reaction to an eventual extinction scenario and that did no good for my suspension of disbelief and neither did the way people just went along with what Charlie and Maggie wanted to do as if they had no agency and really just existed as a support cast for Charlie's journey. None of the characters really felt fully realized.

Ultimately this book read like a first draft of a pretty generic YA near-dystopia scenario.

Thanks to Little A and Netgalley for this ARC of 'The Beauty of the End' by Lauren Stienstra.

This is a speculative novel which posits that every species on Earth has a genetic countdown clock ticking down to an inevitable extinction. This revelation happens globally at a time when the twin Tannehills - Charlie and Maggie - adopted from Marshall Islander parents - are growing up and they dedicate their young lives to the Mendelia - the organization tasked with cracking 'The Limit,' the magic number of generations left to any one person.

It's a tale of science, sisterhood, family, governmental and scientific malfeasance, colonial and environmental abuse, friendship, loyalty, and end-of-times. It's a gentle impending apocalypse - everyone seems to just sigh and things begin break down in the quietest of ways. The tone, science, and the muted optimism for a humanity-saving solution reminded me of some of Neal Stephenson's novels, Seveneves. especially.

As a novel it's really strong in the first and last parts but the middle meanders around and gets a bit lost in the science. It's clear that the author is invested in the science but I think it bogs things down and I'd be lying if I said I had much of a clue as to what it was they were trying to achieve and how they were trying to achieve it. There's also a fairly drastic about-face in one of the key storylines which happens without much context and there's one gaping element that's left hanging - hard to say much more without massively spoiling the book. There's also a weird isolationism about the story and the science - this is a species level event but this is pretty much all about the USA, no other country seems to have anything to say about it. It's an oddity given that the author was partially inspired by her work during the Covid pandemic which was very much about a global effort.

When it's good it's very well written and I enjoyed much of it but it's inconsistent and uneven so a mixed bag for me.

If you're looking something great to read, be sure to check out The Beauty of the End by Lauren Stienstra - one of my classmates from UCLA. The book follows a girl who comes of age in a time when man has lost the ability to procreate beyond the next few generations. The question is: can we escape this fate, and what are we willing to do to pursue this goal? The story is both an existential look into our humanity and society as well as a think piece about what scientific methods are appropriate to engage in. I got to know the characters well and was invested in their journey. The book made me think, but I also couldn't put it down.

When Charlie and Maggie are growing up, a huge scientific discovery is made. It all starts when the next generation of cicadas doesn’t come out of the ground when expected. Then dogs start becoming scarce. Scientists discover that all species have a generational limit coded into their DNA, making extinction inevitable. At the time of this discovery, humans have an average of four generations left - only 80 more years on this planet.

The novel follows Charlie into her twenties, as she watches the events unfold around her as a child and then later makes decisions on how to make a difference as an adult. Through her eyes, we see the human proclivity towards panic: multiple people get divorced, leave their children, kill themselves, go on killing sprees. An air of hopelessness is carried around, although a scientific organization, the Mendels, works hard towards finding a way to extend humans’ lives on earth.

I thought the idea of genetic expiration is really interesting, and it was done in a believable way. This wasn’t solely about humans, but it was also tied in to the cicadas and dogs so we could see how it was affecting all species. The one small issue I had with this was at one point in the book, the author said that all the animals people assumed went extinct from habitat loss and climate change actually went extinct due to their DNA. Do I think that some extinctions would be explained by the generational limit? Absolutely. However, habitat loss and climate change kill, and that should not be discounted. It’s one thing to say that some extinctions had other causes, but it’s another thing to say that 100% of extinctions had exactly the same cause.

Charlie and Maggie are adopted twins, living in Pennsylvania with their parents. Despite being identical, they are polar opposites: Maggie is bold and daring, while Charlie is shy and careful. Maggie will say the wrong thing, she will throw big tantrums, she will over-insert herself into your life if she deems it is the right thing to do. Charlie will hang back, not ask for help, and doubt herself every step of the way. Maggie comes off as both toxic and brilliant. She aces classes and is always trying to fix people’s problems. At the same time, this hubris can be harmful. She never says “I’m sorry,” choosing instead to say “I was just trying to help.” She has visions of saving the world, and this often blinds her to the feelings of those around her. Their dynamic as sisters was really well done, because these two bickered and fought, but they also needed each other and gravitated towards each other. When their ideas for the future involve separating from each other, Charlie nearly has a panic attack, imagining her future where she wouldn’t see her sister nearly every minute of every day.

While I think Charlie and Maggie were well-developed as characters, I was frustrated by the lack of additional characters in their lives. In this book, Charlie only had two friends total, one as a child and one that was also a coworker, and she never had any lovers (and Maggie only had one). This made it seem like Charlie was incredibly isolated in her life. Even if she was too socially anxious to make friends, she would have been surrounded by the people Maggie brought into their lives, because Maggie would never settle for such a lonely life. I realize that every person you interact with in a life can’t be named in order to save space in a novel, but I would have liked a few side characters to make it seem like these twins weren’t the loneliest people in the world.

The decision to be a parent was crucial in this novel, and we see how it affects both those closest to the story and strangers later on in the book. The government begins giving aid to women to reproduce, particularly if they are above a certain age (in order to extend the length between generations). We also see women being coerced into having children, and into being a surrogate for children with someone else’s DNA. In some ways, this parallels politics in the US, where women’s choices are taken away. In this novel, women still have a right to their own bodies and healthcare, but there is a lot of coercion and even some brainwashing going on, starting in the youngest grades at school.

I really liked the human response to the impending extinction in this novel. Some of it just felt really realistic. Disaster can bring out the worst in humanity, and we saw people use it as an excuse for every immoral action in the book. This was a beautiful study of two sisters and of humanity as a whole. If you enjoy a good dystopian, end-of-the-world read, definitely pick this book up.

Charlie and Maggie are twin girls who are young when the world discovers that the human race is going extinct within four generations. At first, their parents try to hide this news from the girls, but they inevitably find out because it has worldwide implications. Through the years as Charlie and Maggie reach adulthood, they have to decide how involved they want to be in solving this crisis for humanity. Charlie and Maggie have to decide how much of themselves they need to give to the cause.


This book brings up many conversations about how humanity could possibly react to such devastating news. It explores how there are those who help, those who take advantage of the situation for personal gain, but also how one could think they’re “only trying to help”, but might be doing more harm than they realize. Some of the topics might be triggering to some. There’s some concerns over consent, and what people will try to get away with under the disguise of helping humanity.


This book started off paced pretty well, but it slowed down drastically in the middle. Towards the last third of the book it picked back up but by the time it did, I had already lost interest. This book has a great concept and morally gray characters which I liked. Overall, I did like the book and I’d recommend it to anyone interested in the topics.

Thank you Netgalley and Little A for allowing me to read this book early for an honest review.

When a scientific breakthrough alerts the world to the ending of humanity in 4 generations, Maggie and Charlie Tannehill are still in elementary school, but the discovery will lead them down the path of scientific research. As they wade deeper into uncharted bioethical waters, they will be forced for reckon with their own beliefs and challenge what is best not just for themselves but for all mankind.

Thoughts:
The blurb immediately caught my eye. Alternative reality, or in this case the lead up to dystopian reality, can be so hit or miss. But there was something that resonated so deeply with our modern reality and discussions around adoption and biological engineering that I knew I just had to read The Beauty of the End.

I finished last night and I am still thinking about it. The plot troubled me (in a good way) as I grapple with the possibilities of what science will risk to achieve a goal. My heart breaks for the pain and longing of the families in the novel, especially thinking of how children in our real world are commodified.

The juxtaposition of Maggie and Charlie was so beautifully done, it never felt like a stereotypical “opposite twins”. Their motivations were clear, Charlie’s voice powerful. The family dynamics devastated me. What I loved most of all was the ending - not going to say more but it hit just the right emotional

There are only 2 reasons this isn’t get 5 stars - the first, some of the science was a little weakly explained, which kept distracting me. The second, there is a pivotal moment for one of the characters that felt too easy for me.

I would definitely recommend that you pick this up and give it a read.

Wow, The Beauty of the End is a book that will make you think. It’s a book that will make you question your beliefs.

Lately I have been getting really into speculative fiction, which often has a commentary on our current day and age. In this novel, the human race is set to expire as more and more people are sterile. This causes a host of problems, there is not as much need for housing, so all houses plummet in value, as the world will only need less and less. The story revolves around adopted sisters from Pennsylvania who discover they have rare and very valuable eggs that can last 5 generations.

The book started out strong for me, I liked the character development and the premise is just fascinating. However, it got a little too into the weeds for the scientific explanations and became a bit dry. I’d say it goes past the genre of “speculative” into more Sci Fi. Others with an appetite for that may enjoy it more.

Thanks to NetGalley and Little A for the ARC. Book to be published April 7, 2025.

I'm lucky to have gotten my hands an ARC of Lauren Steinstra's brilliant debut The Beauty of the End. In this speculative novel, identical twins Charlie and Maggie live in a world where a DNA gitch renders most humans infertile and humanity has at most four generations left before extinction. While battling their own personal desires, Charlie and Maggie chart their paths through their careers, love lives, and sisterhood.

I could not put this book down, and Stenstra's blend of science and imagination blew me away. Highly recommend.

I’m a big fan of speculative and science fiction, so I was very excited by the description of this book. I’m happy to say it absolutely met my expectations!

The story follows adopted twin sisters Maggie and Charlie through their childhood and young adulthood as the world around them is completely upended by the discovery that humans have a genetic “expiration date” of approximately four generations away.

To start, I think the premise of this book lands in the perfect sweet spot of plausible speculative fiction. It touches on topics relevant to current events (reproductive choice, medical ethics, “unprecedented times,” etc.) but without tying itself too closely to actual real-life events like the pandemic or climate change. This allows the book to still be thought-provoking but not so on-the-nose that it feels unoriginal or loses the sense of escapism you want in a book. I was not at all surprised to read that Lauren Stienstra has a background working in public health during the height of the pandemic; it definitely informs the storyline of the book. I can really see parallels between COVID and the Limit in terms of their effect on society. Both completely threw the world into a tailspin, but then after a while you have to just keep living life—and that can feel like an absolutely insurmountable task. It’s the panic you feel when you realize nothing actually matters—7 million have died from COVID yet I still have to do laundry and answer emails and go to work and act like our sense of life as we know it hasn’t been utterly destroyed—in competition with the freedom you feel when you realize nothing actually matters—day-to-day worries that normally control your life like project deadlines and the vacuuming you need to do couldn’t be more inconsequential than when you’re staring in the face of a species-wide existential threat. I think the book did a good job of capturing that feeling.

I think I would have liked the book to spend a little more time exploring the global effect of the Limit societally. The pandemic was a threat to human existence biologically, but also a threat to the very structure of society, and I think the Limit would have been even more so. I imagine if the Limit were real there would be people burning buildings because they think it’s a government hoax and people trying to hold researchers hostage because they think extinction is preordained and shouldn’t be stopped and countries threatening to nuke other countries if they don’t share what they’ve learned. That’s part of what makes things like that so terrifying—they threaten to unravel the very fabric of our society and expose the ugliest parts of humanity. We saw small glimpses of that in places (telling the girls they shouldn’t be out by themselves, Aunt Frankie’s friend, etc.), but I think having a bit more of that global context throughout the book could have upped the underlying tension.

***SPOILERS*** My biggest wish for this book is that we had a more definitive answer about what happened to Maggie. What did she know before she died? Was it an accident, or could she just not live with herself? Why did she cancel the airline ticket? Because her body was never found, I kept expecting her to make a re-appearance somehow, but then she just…didn’t. I also wanted Charlie to be harder on Maggie once she knew the truth. I didn’t want Charlie to continue to try and be like her and think fondly about her, I wanted her to completely disavow Maggie. I wanted her to think that she didn’t care if Maggie was actually dead or not, because she was dead to her anyway. However, I also understand the choice to make their relationship more complex than that. ***END OF SPOILERS***

Overall, I really liked this book. I enjoyed the writing and found the premise to be a unique take on dystopian fiction. Lauren Stienstra is absolutely a new author to watch, and I look forward to reading more from her in the future!!

What a brilliant, emotional book.
The lessons and feelings I have will stay with me.
The complicated relationships and motivations were a treat to read, however were also harrowing and real.

Charlie was five when she knew she didn’t want to have children.

How daunting it had been for Charlie when at the age of eight it was broadcasted that
humanity hangs on a balance. Babies were hard to conceive, the human extinction is near
and the only way to forestall such tragedy is to encourage compatible women to have children.

The Limit it was called, a scientific discovery that reveals the number of
generations a species can
bring forth before they exist no more. And the Limit for humanity was discovered
to go into an extinct in about four generations.

To ensure hope and the survival of humanity the government embarks on a
project named the Mendelia to manage the human reproduction in the United States.

For children to have a better chance at beating the Limit they are to provide council
and help parents in the decision making providing two choices, make many children
as possible or postpone childbearing to extend their generation. Mainly after you
are screened with a high chance of potentially breaking the limit, men
and women are either advise to donate their eggs / sperm in exchange of a
seizable income or advised to havemany children with another
high compatible men/ women for the same reward.

Charlie and her sister Maggie screened 5* ( meaning they have a potential expand to a fifth
generation) when they were children. Ten years later, when the government encouraged
Young Women and Men who displays high intelligence
to join the Mendelia
with requirement of donating their ovaries and
the Men are obligated to
quarterly sperm donations, in return for a regular income and permanent
position in the program at the end of their training, This became a blessing for Charlie.

It was a way out of their town and she has no ambition to save the
world, she prefers an ordinary life but quickly she realises she could not achieved such
with a vivacious, tenacious and passionate sister like hers. They have always been
together, Maggie has always been her safety blanket. She wasn’t going to leave her sister now.

But as far as plans goes Charlie is left to make the most important decisions of
all when Maggie makes unfathomable sacrifices in the name of improving the
odds of humanity, what is she willing to sacrifice?

A stimulating and intimidating world with scientific discoveries woven into the plot. I enjoyed they way the world was not solely about the science and hapless doom that had covered the world but the author imbued snippets of mundane life.

The heat of a tropical island and how life is lived there, the taste of French toast that is made sweeter by family and a drink shared by sisters with a bond so strong that nothing could break it. A silly Christmas carols between strangers at back of the truck like the world wasn’t prophesied to end.

From Charlie’s Narrative about her twin Sister Maggie, I knew she was daring and audacious with unchecked ability and lack of taking responsibility for her actions the complete opposite to Charlie’s character but I never imagine the wings of her ambitions would fly her far and high. It was unbelievably stupid for Maggie and Nolan to do what they did. Love makes fools of us I guess but Maggie not taking responsibility for her actions, again was another notch on her belt. I was aghast by her actions she quiet plumed head first and there was nothing left of her.

But it was not hate that festered in me, I only felt pity for her. I figured out the second plot twist but I was quite still shocked by Charlie’s actions but at the end I thought, good for her.

Thank you so much Netgalley for a copy of this ARC for an honest review.

Stienstra's novel is captivating, enthralling, and mesmerizing. I loved the difficult ethical questions it explored, and especially loved how the story maintained each characters morally ambiguity. The characters were written beautifully, and the bonds/relationships between them made for a heartbreaking narrative. This book will make you questions things that you have always held close to you as absolute truths. If you are a reader that is into well-written speculative fiction, moral quandaries, and familial drama, this is the novel for you.

Thank you to NetGalley for the free arc of this!

This book was a very mixed bag for me. The first 60-70% of the book had excellent pacing and at times I thought I might even give this 4 stars, but I think the climax and resolution really lagged. I couldn't quite grasp why a novel with this sort of topic would wrap up in the way that it did, it didn't feel like a just resolution to the themes that had been set up at all.

One big set-back of this novel was the tendency to tell instead of show, for example in Chapter 1 when Charlie discusses her feelings regarding being adopted: "Deep down, I wasn't sure what I'd done to deserve abandonment, and I wasn't sure why I'd been chosen either. This left me incredibly confused about my purpose in my family, and the easiest way to avoid any heartache was to refuse to think about it at all." This is the sort of conflicting emotion that gives a good story tension and heart, but I think showing us that Charlie felt this way would be way more successful than simply telling us.

Another big set-back for me was that I don't think I'm in ethical agreement with the main-character. A very noticeable element of how Charlie (view spoiler) The book clearly invites these topics but seems unconfident in how to explore them...

Thank you to NetGalley and to Little A publishing for an advanced copy of this book.

This has to be one of the most unique books I’ve read this year. It’s the concept that drew me in (abeit I found the cover quite lovely as well). Unfortunately, this book had quite some flaws, in my opinion, as well.

This book follows adopted twin sisters Charlie and Maggie, who’se lives were just irrevocably upended. In this speculative fiction, science has just discovered an extinction date encoded in to every living creature’s DNA. And while some creatures were years away from dying out, humanity only had approximately four generations left. As adults, Charlie and Maggie choose to enlist as “Mandels” - an organization of scientists determined to somehow beat humanity’s ticking clock. While Charlie chose to do this because she could not picture herself becoming a mother, Maggie’s ambition leads her in a more ethically questionable direction.

First of all, I want to applaud Lauren Stienstra’s choice to draw attention to something that is little talked about, certainly not something I was aware of, and that is unethical adoption practices at the expense of immigrants. It’s touched on a little in the book but after reading the author’s intent, I wish more focus was put on it. I also appreciate Stienstra’s education and experience through the more scientific aspects of the book. It leant to believability, which I liked.

While the story was definitely interesting, there were several issues that kept me from rating it higher. I did not enjoy Maggie as a character and in a lot of ways, I found what she did irredeemable (that was not my main issue). What I enjoyed even less, was her sister’s unwavering clinginess and adoration for her. Despite the fact that her sister used her over and over again, Charlie constantly strived to make excuses right her sister’s wrongs - something I found rather grating throughout the course of this novel. I think the pacing also felt a little disjointed and the story flowed a little awkwardly at times.

Overall, I think this was a really unique and imaginative concept but the characters and strange pacing made it difficult to enjoy at times. However, if you're a fan of books that explore speculative scientific concepts, and somewhat apocalyptic themes, I think you should check this one out!

Rating 3.5/4 (rounding up)
This book releases on April 8th 2025.
Review will be posted to my website on March 3rd, 2025 (close to release date). The URL is below but will not work until the post is published.

Amazing debut! I don’t normally read this type of book but something about the synopsis grabbed my attention. I’m so glad it did! It was hard to put this book down. The story hooks you early and has both great plot and character development throughout. While this is a work of fiction, I love that the author chose this medium to help bring awareness to the illegal adoption/trafficking of Marshallese children within the US.

WOW I loved this book. I really enjoyed the sisterly bond between Maggie and Charlie, I loved the sort of slow decent into madness from Maggie, and the heartbreaking but incredibly touching ending. I alternate between a 4.5 and 5 🌟 simply because it did feel wordy at times and i guessed that Charlie would have a baby by the end within the first chapter.

This isn’t a book I would typically have selected but omg I’m so glad I did. Thanks NetGalley!

Adopted identical twins Maggie and Charlie could not be more different. Maggie is bold, assertive, and loves people. Charlie is timid and shy. Before they reach their teen years, the girls experience three traumas: they learn that their adoption was illegal and that they were, basically stolen from their biological parents, the boy they both love moves away, and The Limit becomes the dominant reality of their world.
The Limit refers to a scientific discovery that determines how many generations a species will achieve before it becomes extinct. This is bad enough when it refers to animals, but The Limit of the human race turns out to be roughly four generations. Fewer babies will be born and, eventually, people will cease to exist. Panic ensues as the lack of a future results in suicides, crime, and the destruction of too many families.
To combat The Limit, a government organization called the Mendelia (after Gregor Mendel) takes over the management of human reproduction in the United States. Their goal is to control breeding so that people either postpone childbearing to extend their generations or have as many children as possible in hopes that some of those children will have a better chance at survival. All children are screened to determine their genetic level. Young people like Maggie and Charlie, who test out as *5 (having the potential for five generations) and display high intelligence, are encouraged to join the Mendelia. This requires girls to donate their ovaries so that women who test low will have the chance to be implanted with fetilized eggs.. Male Mendels are required to provide quarterly sperm donations for the same purpose. In return, both men and women are guaranteed advanced education, permanent employment as fertilization specialists and a steady income.
While I'm not sure about the science behind this book, I was sufficiently enthralled to be willing to suspend my disbelief. Charlie is an engaging narrator and her descriptions of other characters (Maggie, Nolan, Theo, the twins' loving adoptive parents, and others) brought them to life for me. Unlike too many overly cerebral science fiction stories, The Beauty of the End doesn't ignore the physical side of life. I could almost taste the cookies and French toast, feel the tropical heat and winter cold of the various settings, and visualize the condition of the Mendelic patients.. I did figure out the final plot twist before the end, but it wasn't important enough to spoil my enjoyment of the story.

I really liked the premises of the book, I'm a big fan of speculative fiction and I thought that The Beauty of The End would be an interesting, thought-provoking novel about body-autonomy, reproductive rights, and coming to terms with existential dread.
I believe this is what the novel was trying to explore, but in my opinion it didn't meet expectations.

The story was too character-heavy, especially considering that the characters had basically no growth or development throughout the novel.
***SPOILER***The main change that happened was that Charlie went from being completely child-averse to thinking that her life finally had meaning because she had a child - which felt forced and underwhelming.***END SPOILER***

The whole speculative aspect of the novel was very fuzzy and under-developed, even though we spend the first 4 chapter just building up to an info-dump that could have been more satisfying as a simple prologue.

The whole book felt drawn out with lots of unnecessary, distracting details that didn't add anything to either the plot or the characters' development. It should have been much shorter in my opinion.

I liked the scientific/clinical aspects of the novel, but they felt almost completely separated from the actual plot and themes of the novel, instead of enhancing them.

What would society do if they knew the human species would go extinct? What would society allow? What lengths would people go to, to have a child? This work of speculative (arguably dystopia) fiction delves into these questions while followings sisters on their life journey.

The story is shocking with many themes and ties to the world today. This is not a light book/read,(see trigger warnings) but one that will sick with you. I couldn’t put it down and it lead to many conversations with people in my life. I enjoyed the pacing, the main characters and themes. There were a few times things felt a bit rushed or eased over (the legal/political parts later in the book), I also didn’t like the use of a prominent political name (even though yes this is a fictional story), it took me out of the story. However I cannot say express how much I enjoyed this books and just devoured it.

I go back and forth between a 4.5 start and 5 star. Since this is not the final edit, and the way this books provokes thought and emotions I’m landing on 5 stars.

Trigger warnings:
Human trafficking
Human rights
Mental health (depression, suicidal ideation)
Murder
Suicide
Medical and reproductive ethics
Racisim
Grief
Death
Infertility
Consent
Sexual abuse
Addiction