Review: This is the Way the World Ends, Jen Wilde

I absolutely LOVE Jen Wilde’s YA contemporary books, so when I learned she was writing a YA mystery, I knew I had to read it. Now that it’s done, let’s see what I thought about it all in my review, shall we?

This Is the Way the World Ends by Jen Wilde
Published by Wednesday Books on May 9, 2023
Genres: mystery, young adult
Format: ARC
Source: Edelweiss, Wednesday Books
Buy on Amazon, Bookshop, Blackwell's
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You are cordially invited to spend one fateful night surviving an elite private school’s epic masquerade ball
As an autistic scholarship student at the prestigious Webber Academy in New York City, Waverly is used to masking to fit in—in more ways than one. While her classmates are the children of the one percent, Waverly is getting by on tutoring gigs and the generosity of the school’s charming and enigmatic dean. So when her tutoring student and resident “it girl” asks Waverly to attend the school’s annual fundraising Masquerade disguised as her, Waverly jumps at the chance—especially once she finds out that Ash, the dean’s daughter and her secret ex-girlfriend, will be there.
The Masquerade is everything Waverly dreamed of, complete with extravagant gowns, wealthy parents writing checks, and flowing champagne. Most importantly, there’s Ash. All Waverly wants to do is shed her mask and be with her, but the evening takes a sinister turn when Waverly stumbles into a secret meeting between the dean and the school’s top donors—and witnesses a brutal murder. This gala is harboring far more malevolent plots than just opening parents’ pocketbooks. Before she can escape or contact the authorities, a mysterious global blackout puts the entire party on lockdown. Waverly’s fairy tale has turned into a nightmare, and she, Ash, and her friends must navigate through a dizzying maze of freight elevators, secret passageways, and back rooms if they’re going to survive the night.
And even if they manage to escape the Masquerade, with technology wiped out all over the planet, what kind of world will they find waiting for them beyond the doors?

I received this book for free from Edelweiss, Wednesday Books in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

☂️ TRIGGER WARNINGS: (click to reveal)

violence, murder, blood, vomit, racism, alcohol consumption, anxiety, panic attacks, classism, ableism, chronic pain.

There are no spoilers in this review.

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I ENJOYED…

☂️

• I feel like one of Jen’s Wilde strongest suit as an author is the way she creates her characters. I always end up caring for them and loving them, a lot, so, thank you for that! In This is the way the world ends, our main character, Waverly, is a queer, autistic teenager living in Queens with her parents and attending this prestigious school in Manhattan. I loved her from the very beginning, loved seeing how much she cared about her friends, how flawed she could be, yet so real. I can’t personally speak for the autistic representation, but I found it so nice to see it included in a story like that – a mystery, where, let’s say it, a whole lot of sh*t happens.
• Another highlight of this story were the friendships. I adored Pari, Waverly’s best friend. She’s an absolute badass dealing with chronic pain, she’s fierce and just I loved her no-bullshit, let’s go kind of attitude. She was such a fantastic addition to the story! I also really enjoyed how we got to know other fun characters (and new friends!) during the story.
• The setting and overall atmosphere of the book were great, as well. You know me, I’m a sucker for all kinds of fancy schools settings. I also loved the way one of the main settings of the story was described. A gigantic place with so many secrets, so many rooms… so mysterious and exciting to read.

• This is the way the world ends was definitely fast-paced and I had no time to get bored, at all. There’s action and mystery and *things* are happening. I found this to be really entertaining and flew through the pages in no time.

I HAD A HARD TIME WITH…

☂️

• I feel like the book ended too early? I won’t spoil you anything here, but I still have a lot of questions by the end of the last chapter.
• I wasn’t totally on board with the romance part. Honestly, it had all the ingredients to be a romance I’d fall for, but it fell a bit short, for me. Maybe I missed some more moments between the characters to fully feel the chemistry and understand everything, as well.

OVERALL

☂️

If you’re looking for a fast-paced mystery with a great cast of characters and an apocalyptic twist (no spoilers, I mean, this is the book’s title), I recommend This is the way the world ends. While I wasn’t entirely satisfied by its ending, I had fun reading this overall!

FINAL RATING : 3,5 stars!

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Did you read This is the way the world ends, or do you want to? Any YA thriller/mystery recommendations for me? Let me know in comments!

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