The World Ends in April

by Stacy McAnulty Narrated by Jessica Almasy

Overview

Is middle school drama scarier than an asteroid heading for Earth? Find out in this smart and funny novel by the author of The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl.

Every day in middle school can feel like the end of the world.

Eleanor Dross knows a thing or two about the end of the world, thanks to a survivalist grandfather who stockpiles freeze-dried food and supplies--just in case. So when she reads about a Harvard scientist's prediction that an asteroid will strike Earth in April, Eleanor knows her family will be prepared. Her classmates? They're on their own!

Eleanor has just one friend she wants to keep safe: Mack. They've been best friends since kindergarten, even though he's more of a smiley emoji and she's more of an eye-roll emoji. They'll survive the end of the world together . . . if Mack doesn't go away to a special school for the blind.

But it's hard to keep quiet about a life-destroying asteroid--especially at a crowded lunch table--and soon Eleanor is the president of the (secret) End of the World Club. It turns out that prepping for TEOTWAWKI (the End of the World as We Know It) is actually kind of fun. But you can't really prepare for everything life drops on you. And one way or another, Eleanor's world is about to change.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

10/28/2019

Elle’s grandfather is a “prepper” who stages drills and stockpiles food and supplies to survive unspecified, inevitable cataclysmic events. The seventh grader becomes a convert to his cause after embracing online posts by a sacked Harvard astronomer who predicts that an asteroid will soon destroy Earth. Elle convinces her kind and witty best friend, Mack, who is blind, to help her launch a clandestine survival club at school, and she also teams up with her snippety former nemesis, Londyn, to publish the Doomsday Express newsletter to prepare their peers for the imminent Armageddon. Though the overwrought, single-thread plot begins to strain credibility and patience, McAnulty (The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl) adds substantial layers to the story with insights into her emotionally vulnerable protagonists’ credence in the pending apocalypse: Elle reasons it will save her from braving school without Mack, who is transferring to a school for the blind; Londyn hopes it will reunite her separated parents. Throughout, snippets of sly humor lighten the novel’s potential darkness, as when Elle muses, “I think asteroids have a way of wiping out middle school drama. It’s one of the plus sides of the end of the world.” Ages 8–12. (Sept.)

From the Publisher

Praise for The World Ends in April:

 "A smart, funny and emotionally candid book."—Shelf Awareness, starred review

“The novel has an exceptional grasp of melancholy that leaves an impact even after its philosophical ending.” —Bulletin

“ A well-paced, engrossing plot with endearing characters."—Booklist

Praise for The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl: 

"Unique and utterly satisfying."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"Prepare to fall in love."—School Library Journal, starred review

"Lucy's journey is beautifully authentic in this debut brimming with warmth, wisdom, and math."—Publishers Weekly, starred review

“McAnulty’s well-drawn cast of characters grapple with the difficulties of middle school, friendships, and life. An engaging story, full of heart and hope. Readers of all ages will root for Lucy, aka Lightning Girl. No miscalculations here!” —Kate Beasley, author of Gertie’s Leap to Greatness

"Fresh story, great characters, a winner!" —Barbara O'Connor, author of Wish

"The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl is calculated to steal your heart!" - Alan Gratz author of Ban This Book and Refugee

School Library Journal

08/01/2019

Gr 3–7—Eleanor's grandfather is a "prepper," a person who takes preparing for disasters to a new level. She doesn't enjoy participating in her grandfather's emergency drills as much as she once did—that is, until she comes across a website run by a former Harvard professor that forecasts a devastating asteroid collision that will cause The End of the World As We Know It (TEOTWAWKI) in just a few months. Her grandfather's influence makes it easy for Elle to become obsessed with preparing for the impact despite her father's objections. Her mother died several years ago, so she can't talk to her about it. It's hard to tell if her best friend Mack believes her, but he goes along with her plans. Elle starts a club at school and writes a newsletter to teach fellow students survival skills. They drink toilet water through a filtration straw, pack Bug-Out Bags, and learn about edible plants, but when even Mack and new friend Londyn don't take her warnings seriously enough, Elle ratchets up her efforts and lands in big trouble. The author does a good job of matching the pace of the writing to Elle's state of mind; the more frantic and anxious Elle gets, the more quickly the action moves. It eventually becomes clear that each member of Elle's covertly named "Nature Club" has a reason for wanting the world to end. Readers will be eager to see if TEOTWAWKI comes true (spoiler: it doesn't) and how Eleanor handles returning to school after her alarming predictions fail to come true. VERDICT A fast-paced story that deals with grief, loss, and mental health through the lens of middle school catastrophe. Recommended.—Julie Overpeck, Holbrook Middle School, Lowell, NC

SEPTEMBER 2019 - AudioFile

Narrator Jessica Almasy expresses the annoyance and frustration of middle schooler Elle, whose Grandpa Joe runs drills all too often to prepare for the end of the world. Then Elle discovers a credible scientist who predicts an asteroid will hit earth in a few months. Almasy emphasizes the tension in the story’s timeline, increasing the intensity with Elle’s growing fears. Almasy is gifted at portraying Elle’s many relationships—her unease with the conflict between her grandfather and her incredulous father, her distrust of a frenemy, and her fear of losing her friendship with Mack, whose blindness seems much less a disability than Elle’s discomfort with peers. Almasy’s strongest portrayal is of Elle herself. To become a leader, she must learn to speak up for herself. S.W. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

2019-06-10
It's so annoying that Elle's survivalist grandfather makes her do all these prepper drills—until she learns about the asteroid headed for Earth.

Elle's widowed father loves his dad but can't stand the way Grandpa Joe pulls Elle and her kid brothers into all his survivalist planning. Elle barely tolerates the surprise drills, the inspections of her bug-out bag, the insistence that she eat disgusting MREs. But one day, she comes upon a scary website in which a Harvard astrophysicist explains that an asteroid is going to hit the planet in the spring. Maybe all of Grandpa Joe's training will come in handy after all! She enlists the help of her best (and only) friend, but Mack is the opposite of loner Elle, and he brings other students into their survival planning. With Mack, Elle finds herself leading the Hamilton Middle School Nature Club, teaching a few of her fellow students about water filters and heirloom seeds. But while Elle wants Mack laser-focused on the apocalypse and on her, he's distracted by the swim team—and worse, by his possible transfer to the Conrad School for the Blind. Mack is both kind and adventurous, but it's unfortunate the didactic descriptions of his assistive tools lack accuracy in this context. Elle and her family are white, Mack's black, and their classmates are racially diverse. Watching these kids spiral into paranoia, fueled by a fraudulent internet tale of conspiracies, makes for compelling reading.

A page-turner. (author's note, bibliography) (Fiction. 11-13)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169182064
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	09/03/2019
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

Read an Excerpt

Mack Jefferson, my best—and only—friend, reads to me from his Braille edition of The Outsiders. I’m spread out on the floor of my bedroom with my dog, Bubbles, running my hand through her soft belly fur and wondering if we have any pudding cups in the pantry. Also wondering if Mack will notice if I slip out for a few minutes. Probably. I’ve tried in the past.
 
“Elle, are you even listening?” he asks.
 
“Of course. Always. I love this book.”
 
“Lies. All lies.” Mack uses a ridiculous accent like he’s a vampire from Transylvania, when actually he’s a black, blind twelve-year-old kid from North Carolina.
 
“Just keep reading.” I pull Bubbles into my lap.
 
“Dude, I finished the chapter.”
 
“Oh, good.” That means our language arts homework is done. Mack’s a good student. I’m a student. “Do you want to—”
 
A loud knock interrupts me. Bubbles jumps up, barks once, and then hides under my bed.
 
“Go away! No one is here!” I’m expecting one of my brothers.
 
But the door opens, and it’s Grandpa Joe in his camouflage pants, an army-green T-shirt, and a matching cap. His cheeks are red and his eyes flash with excitement.
 
“Hey, what’re you doing here?” I ask. Even though he lives only ten minutes away, he rarely just stops by.
 
“Private Eleanor Dross, it’s time. We have to bug out. Now!” He smiles but quickly covers his grin with his hand.
 
“What?” I say, as if I don’t know what he’s talking about. But I totally do. Grandpa Joe is here for one of his drills. He spends his days getting ready for catastrophes. And whenever he can, he drags me and my brothers along for practice.
 
“We can’t,” I tell him. “I have a friend over.” I motion to Mack in case Grandpa Joe missed him.
 
“We’ll take Private Mack with us. But we gotta roll now. Giddyup!”
 
“What’s happening?” Mack rocks in his seat.
 
“Get moving, soldiers. I’ll explain in the truck.” He claps his hands three times.
 
“Grandpa Joe, stop. You’re scaring Mack.”
 
“I’m not scared,” Mack says, smiling.
 
Bubbles wriggles out from under the bed and jumps back into my lap. She must sense that this is not an emergency.
 
I look at the time on my phone. “It’s almost six. Dad’s going to be home any minute.” And he has no patience for these drills.
 
“Your daddy is gone,” Grandpa Joe says, and for a second I feel sick, as if he just told me Dad was gone gone.
 
“Stuck in Columbus on business. Called to ask if I could look after y’all tonight.”
 
I understand now. Grandpa Joe has decided to seize the moment.
 
“I don’t have time for a drill,” I whine. “I have homework to do.” And Netflix to watch.
 
“Who says this is a drill?” Grandpa Joe puts his fists on his hips and puffs out his chest. “Grab your bug-out bag. Be in the truck in two minutes. I’ll round up the boys.” He backs out of my room.
 
“Cool,” Mack says as he stands and unfolds his cane. “Drill or not, I’ve always wanted to bug out.” Mack’s one of those people who like everything. If he were an emoji, he’d be the smiley face. Me, I’d be the eye-roll emoji.
 
Some grandfathers bowl, play golf, or build model airplanes. At least in movies. Mine is a prepper—someone who spends their time and money preparing for the apocalypse.
 
“Trust me. This is just a stupid drill.” Then I get an idea. “And you’re my ticket out. Tell him you can’t go with us. Tell him to take you home, and I’ll escape with you. Please.”
 
“No, Elle. I want to do this. I’ve heard you complain about these drills forever. I want to experience the torture.”
 
“Thanks for nothing.” I pull myself to my feet and set Bubbles on my bed. “You’re the only one who understands me, girl.”
 
My bug-out bag—or BOB—is packed. Mostly. Grandpa Joe gave me all the supplies years ago. I dig it out from the bottom of my closet, under clothes and stuffed animals that I can’t seem to throw away. The bag flips over. Everything spills out.
 
“Shoot!” I grab handfuls of whatever and shove them into the bag.
 
“One minute, Team Dross!” Grandpa Joe hollers.
 
My brothers crash through the hallway like a herd of acrobatic elephants. They’re in elementary school and still think this is fun.
 
I yank on sneakers. I wore sandals once for a bug-out drill, and the lecture lasted longer than the exercise.
 
“Darn. I can’t find my flak jacket.” It’s army green and has about a thousand pockets. Instead, I slip on a purple cotton hoodie and pull my blond hair into a ponytail. This isn’t going to end well.
 
“What do I need?” Mack asks. He wears the same thing every day: jeans, sneakers, either a black or gray T-shirt, and dark glasses.
 
“Nothing. You’re fine.” There’s no chance Mack will disappoint Grandpa Joe. Me, on the other hand—it’s pretty much guaranteed.
 
The lights go dark for a few seconds and then come back on. I assume Grandpa Joe has hit the main power breaker to the house. He’s done it before.
 
Mack grabs his own backpack. It’s filled with normal stuff like schoolwork, his iPad, and a lunch bag.
 
“Come on, Mack.” I lead him to the stairs and place his hand on the railing. Mack knows my house well. He ought to; we’ve been friends since kindergarten.
 
Bubbles tries to follow us out the garage door. I have to stop her from escaping. She’s small (only fifteen pounds) and sweet, and she’d be totally useless in an emergency situation. Real or imaginary.
 

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