A beautifully-written story full of heart and an honest human portrayal on the meaning of time and connection. Two voices are heard in this novel through each chapter dedicated to Lucinda and Simon's narrations. Taking place during pre-apocalyptic time, as the end of the world is coming near Lucinda and Simon are tied together during their final weeks to seek answers of their mutual friend Tilda's sudden murder.

From the beginning to the end, every moment in this book was carried with grace and perfection. Mats Strandberg's brilliance resonates through strong character developments delivering the heartfelt yet flawed human-interest stories. He writes with such nuance effortlessly interweaving thought-provoking sociopolitical commentaries on climate change and race relations with a touch on philosophical quanderies. This book truly made me ponder what it is to live meaningfully and the acceptance in the face of death. Originally written in Swedish and translated by Judith Kiros. The translation was wonderfully done in conveying the intented message and its tone. I am introduced to Mats Strandberg's work with this book and this won't be my last. I am very impressed with this YA novel and was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed this novel and how deeply invested I was with this story and the characters.

Thank you to Net Galley and Arctis Books for providing me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you so much to net galley and the publisher for sending me a copy of this book. I fell in love with the story and characters in this book and I cannot wait to read more by this author!

I loved the combination of a murder mystery and eventual destruction! These characters made you wonder how the story would end and if they would all die. This book definitely kept you on your toes!

This story reminded me of the movie I loved called Deep Impact. In that movie there was a similar plot only the world was going to end because a giant asteroid known as a global killer was coming soon. The movie had a similar plot to the action/disaster movie Armageddon but wasn't promoted as much.

The reason I loved the movie Deep Impact more than Armageddon is the same reason I loved this book. The plot focuses not on the disaster itself but on the people that are being affected by it. Lots of times people think they have all the time in the world, others know they have a limited time they just don't know the exact date.

In the case of these plots everyone knows when they're going to die and it will be the same day. So this book makes you think what would you do if you were in this situation.

Personally I would visit as many places here in the US I haven't seen like the Grand Canyon and the Pacific Ocean. I would stop by and pick up my cousins Matt and Mike and my friend CK that I haven't seen in years and have them road trip with me. I would spend my last days with them making up for as much lost time as possible.

I should do that asap anyway.

The End was such a beautifully written story. The story is told from the point of view of two characters who are going to die when a meteor called Foxworth strikes the earth. The whole world is on countdown. I loved the switching back and forth between Lucinda and Simon, both characters were so well written. The story is so intense because you know that the world is coming to an end for these people. There is a mystery thrown in the mix which was a solid whodunit. I felt like I was holding my breath through the last part of the book. I did not want it to end. This is such a great book.