Blog Tour & ARC Review: Things to Do Before the End of the World by Emily Barr
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Series: None
Author: Emily Barr
Published May 6th 2021 by Penguin
Goodreads Synopsis
Timely and powerful; the new coming-of-age thriller from the bestselling author of The One Memory of Flora Banks.
One minute you're walking in the park, hiding from a party. Then you discover that the next nine months will probably be your last. Everyone's last. You realise that you happen to be alive at the time when your species becomes extinct.
You have to decide whether to go with it meekly like you usually do, or to do something brave, to live your last months with all the energy and bravery you can muster, to rage against the dying of the light.
Olivia struggles to live her real life as fully as she wants to. She plans out conversations and events in her head but actually doing them and interacting with other people is hard. When the news breaks that humans have done such damage to the earth that there's only nine months of safe air left everybody makes bucket lists and starts living their best lives - everyone, that is, but Olivia who is still struggling to figure out who she wants to be.
Then out of the blue comes contact from a long-lost cousin Olivia didn't even know exsisted. Natasha is everything Olivia wants to be and more. And as the girls meet up for their last summer on earth Olivia finds Natasha's ease and self-confidence having a effect on her. But what if Natasha isn't everything she first appears to be . . . ?
Goodreads
Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.
Have you ever wondered what you would do if you knew the world would end of a specific date? Well Olivia Lewis - better known as Libby - had never really considered it, but on the 12th December, the truth is revealed - humans have destroyed the planet so much, than the permafrost will have completed melted by September 17th, and will release toxic fumes in the air that will kill everyone and everything. Now that she knows about 'the Creep', Libby is determined to live her best life - including performing as Juliet on stage, and telling the girl she likes the truth. But, when a long lost cousin comes out of the woodwork, and wants to meet up in Europe before it's too late, will Libby trust her gut that not everything about Natasha seems right, or has she gone too far?
Alright, so I hadn't heard anything about this book until the blog tour invite came in, and I was intrigued. I'm not a lover of thrillers, but I guess I enjoyed it this time around. Libby was seventeen, and discovering that life for everyone would be over in just nine months times was a shocker to say the least. She starts to shake off some of her more introverted aspects, and branch out - especially when it came to her acting - and I loved seeing her growth in that way. That being said, I never really grew to love Libby, so wasn't overly invested in the story if I'm telling the truth. The idea of the world ending on a specific date was compelling, as was the explanation; we all know climate change is killing the planet, and the permafrost is hiding some pretty nasty things, so I appreciated the way Barr incorporated this into the story, but because of Libby's characterisation, she wasn't really looking into the scientific aspects of the 'Creep', and I would've liked more of that. Her family, especially her mother and step-father, who took her to Spain for the summer, were lovely, and though her dad wasn't as hands on - partially because he had two little ones at home to keep an eye on - he really came through for her at the end when she needed him.
Now, turning to Natasha, it was clear from the started that something was up with her, and I never trusted the story she came out with. I also didn't like the way she pushed Libby, nor the way she was adamant they needed to pretend to be sisters - or rather twins. It was clear this was going to come to bite them later on, and Libby was a little too naive to be caught up in it all. I can understand why she was, but she needed to trust her gut a lot more than she did in reality. Also, the speaking with spirits, and fleecing strangers for money bit, always felt like an act for me, and was another way I really disliked Natasha. All in all, this was an okay read, though I wanted some more meat to the story if I'm truthful. It had all the building blocks, but was lacking something for me to give it more than three stars.
Dates Read:
May 2-3, 2021
Rating
3 Stars
I started out working as a journalist in London, but always hankered after a quiet room and a book to write. I managed, somehow, to get commissioned to go travelling for a year, and came home with the beginnings of a novel set in the world of backpackers in Asia. This became Backpack, a thriller which won the WH Smith New Talent Award, and I have since written eleven more novels for adults, one novella, and three book for Young Adults, published in the UK and around the world. I live in Cornwall with my husband Craig and our children.
LINKS: Website | Goodreads | Twitter
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