A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World

by C. A. Fletcher

Overview

A "suspenseful, atmospheric tale. . .punctured by a gut-punch twist" (Entertainment Weekly), A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World is a story of survival, courage and hope amid the ruins of our world.

My name's Griz. I've never been to school, I've never had friends, and in my whole life I've not met enough people to play a game of football. My parents told me how crowded the world used to be, before all the people went away. But we were never lonely on our remote island. We had each other, and our dogs.

Then the thief came.

"This unputdownable story has everything -- a well-imagined post-apocalyptic world, great characters, incredible suspense, and, of course, the fierce love of some very good dogs." -- Kirkus (starred review)

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316449472
Publisher:	Orbit
Publication date:	04/23/2019
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Sales rank:	54,599
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

C. A. Fletcher has children and dogs. He lives in Scotland and writes for a living.

Editorial Reviews

04/01/2019

Teenager Griz, his two dogs, and the rest of his family live on a small island off the west coast of Scotland. His family has been there since the Baby Bust, a global epidemic of infertility that left the earth almost entirely depopulated. They lead a simple life of farming and fishing until a traveler arrives to trade scavenged equipment for food. The family is suspicious but lets the man ashore. Griz wakes up the next morning from a drugged sleep to see the stranger's vessel sailing off with their supplies and one of his dogs. Griz and his remaining dog Jip leap onto his small boat and give chase. But things don't go quite as expected, and he and Jip end up on the mainland of Britain, which is not as empty of people as he'd been led to believe. Griz is still determined to get his dog back, however, and the many dangers and surprises might slow him down but won't stop him. VERDICT Less violent than Harlan Ellison's classic A Boy and His Dog or Adrian Walker's more recent The Last Dog on Earth, this latest by Fletcher (The Oversight) still provides plenty of excitement and danger in a well-developed posthuman world that isn't quite devoid of hope (or dogs) yet.—Dan Forrest, Western Kentucky Univ. Libs., Bowling Green

Library Journal

"Fletcher's suspenseful, atmospheric tale imagines a near future in which our world is in ruins... An adventure saga punctured by a gut-punch twist."—Entertainment Weekly

"[A] heart-and gut-wrenching tale of a post-apocalyptic world....A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World takes a memorable journey of loyalty and love and transforms it into an unraveling mystery of self-discovery and exploration....This is the story of trust and loyalty within a family, and finding your own pack-even if they're different from the pack you were born into."—Bookpage

"The hunt for Jess propels this story forward like a rocket, and Fletcher does a masterful job keeping the stakes high and the suspense crackling while still creating plenty of space for readers to get to know Griz and explore this fascinating not-quite-empty world. This unputdownable story has everything-a well-imagined post-apocalyptic world, great characters, incredible suspense, and, of course, the fierce love of some very good dogs."—Kirkus Reviews (starred)

"Fletcher writes with an elegantly descriptive style, one that brings this melancholic world to bittersweet life....Whether it's the rusting remains of an amusement park, or the dusty floors of a tucked away sanctuary, Fletcher makes the reader feel like they're standing there, right beside Griz, desperate to find out where to go next."—Lightspeed

"A sharp, meditative exploration of family, loyalty, and humanity amid the lonely but beautiful wilderness of the end of the world-but with a gut punch you'll never see coming. You'll remember A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World long after you finish reading."—Peng Shepherd, author of The Book of M

"If you read one book this year, I beg you that this be the one. A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World will break your heart in all the right ways."—Nerd Daily

"Epic in scope, enthralling, and full of human warmth."—M.R. Carey, author of The Girl With All the Gifts

"This novel has everything I love about a story: fully realized characters, beautiful writing, and utterly believable, even frightening, world-building. I promise you're going to love it."—Louisa Morgan, author of A Secret History of Witches

"Fletcher's narrative...has a propulsive and engaging rhythm and should please fans of postapocalyptic dystopias, young adult and adult alike."—Booklist

From the Publisher

05/01/2019

Since the Gelding rendered most humans infertile, the global population has dwindled to a mere few thousand. Griz has never had neighbors or been in a crowd, though he and siblings Ferg and Bar are familiar with the concepts from photographs, homeschooling, and handed-down stories. Griz directly addresses readers about his family, his dreams, and life on an island, somewhere near what might have once been England. "In my whole life, I haven't met enough people to make up two teams for a game of football," says Griz, who scavenges and explores on land and sea. When a stranger steals Jess, one of Griz's beloved dogs, what's to be done but go after them? Griz is comfortable taking care of himself, though he is grateful to encounter John Dark, who speaks a different language and helps Griz after a nasty encounter with a boar. Action builds as Griz closes in on Jess, the stranger, and other "Baby Bust" survivors. While not as tightly crafted as Cormac McCarthy's The Road, this tale may gain traction with similar readers. Griz's casual acceptance of a depopulated world makes the plot believable, though the pacing early on may feel slow to some readers. VERDICT For high school libraries seeking independent teen heroes in dystopian settings.—Maggie Knapp, Trinity Valley School, Fort Worth, TX

School Library Journal

★ 2019-02-04

At the end of the world, what matters more than loyalty?

Teenage Griz is one of only a few thousand people left in the world after the "soft apocalypse" of the Gelding, a mysterious event that left the vast majority of the world's population unable to have children. Scattered families and other small enclaves live on, but most days, out on their tiny island off the coast of Scotland, Griz's family sees nobody but themselves—and their dogs. Griz's dogs are Jip and Jess, and when a strange traveler with long red hair shows up and snatches Jess in the middle of the night, Griz doesn't even stop to think before going after them with Jip. The hunt that begins that night will take Griz and Jip through the ruins of the old world and bring them face to face with the best and worst of humanity—what it was and what it still is even after civilization has ground to a halt. Fletcher's debut novel paints an engrossing picture of our familiar world after it's been left to crumble and populates this haunted landscape with thoroughly compelling characters. The hunt for Jess propels this story forward like a rocket, and Fletcher does a masterful job keeping the stakes high and the suspense crackling while still creating plenty of space for readers to get to know Griz and explore this fascinating not-quite-empty world.

This un-put-down-able story has everything—a well-imagined post-apocalyptic world, great characters, incredible suspense, and, of course, the fierce love of some very good dogs.

Kirkus Reviews