Anyone else love end of the world books and movies? Scholastic is releasing You & Me at the End of the World by Brianna Bourne in July 2021. Read on for a You & Me At The End of the World review, a book about love and surviving in an empty Houston.
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ABOUT YOU & ME AT THE END OF THE WORLD
This is no ordinary apocalypse…
Hannah Ashton wakes up to silence. The entire city around her is empty, except for one other person: Leo Sterling. Leo might be the hottest boy ever (and not just because he’s the only one left), but he’s also too charming, too selfish, and too devastating for his own good, let alone Hannah’s.
Stuck with only each other, they explore a world with no parents, no friends, and no school and realize that they can be themselves instead of playing the parts everyone expects of them. Hannah doesn’t have to be just an overachieving, music-box-perfect ballerina, and Leo can be more than a slacker, 80s-glam-metal-obsessed guitarist. Leo is a burst of honesty and fun that draws Hannah out, and Hannah’s got Leo thinking about someone other than himself for the first time.
Together, they search for answers amid crushing isolation. But while their empty world may appear harmless . . . it’s not. Because nothing is quite as it seems, and if Hannah and Leo don’t figure out what’s going on, they might just be torn apart forever.
Book REVIEW:
At the start of You & Me At the End of the World, high school student and ballet dancer Hannah finds herself in a book store in Houston. It’s been five days since she woke up to find herself completely alone in the city. Confused and still trying to process what happened, Hannah finds comfort in the bookstore that was owned by a friend of the family. While in the bookstore she hears music coming from the shop next door and peeks in to see a classmate, Leo Sterling, playing guitar. Hannah is scared and then intrigued to see another person.
Hannah and Leo bond while trying to navigate their attraction to each other in a stressful situation. They explore empty Houston by cruising around in Leo’s car, but it’s not all fun and games because right away they notice strange things happening. Shadows lurk in corners, the weather is unusually violent and a heavy feeling of instability cover both of the teenagers.
I’m already a huge fan of any post apocalyptic stories and I really enjoyed the twist at the end of the novel. However, the twist isn’t what makes this book so special. The slow buildup of the romance between the two teens is not only realistic but handled really delicately. Falling in love in the middle of what looks like a world changing event may not be on the minds of most but I think author Brianna Bourne lets the story unfold naturally. Bourne also weaves teenage anxiety in the story with Hannah obsessively dancing every time a scary event happens. As the tension in the book builds, Hannah finds herself questioning everything about her own life and interests as it relates to what people expect her to do compared to what she actually wants to do. You & Me At the End of the World is an entertaining novel that shows just how young love and a brief encounter can transform a life.
Note: This is a young adult novel and there are mentions of marijuana use and Hannah shows signs of OCD with her dancing.
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