''Where the World Ends'' is a 2017 young adult novel by
Geraldine McCaughrean
Geraldine McCaughrean ( ; born 6 June 1951) is a British children's novelist. She has written more than 170 books, including ''Peter Pan in Scarlet'' (2004), the official sequel to ''Peter Pan'' commissioned by Great Ormond Street Hospital, t ...
and illustrated by
Jane Milloy. It won the 2018
Carnegie Medal.
Reception
''Where the World Ends'' was positively received by critics, including starred reviews from ''
Booklist'',
''
Kirkus Reviews
''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...
'',
and ''
Shelf Awareness''.
Reviewing the book, ''Booklist''
's Maggie Reagan wrote, "McCaughrean ... slips into the cracks of the human soul, dissecting with compassion the many paths that a person might take when confronted with such a challenge. The design of the book is as austere as its subject ... and, in an afterword, McCaughrean describes the tragic true story that inspired her own. Though this story is desperately sad at times, it glistens, too, propelled by the notion that where there is life, there is always, always hope."
''Kirkus Reviews'' called the novel "a masterpiece," highlighting how "McCaughrean takes the bones of a real event, wraps it in immersive, imaginative detail and thoroughly real emotion, and creates an unforgettable tale of human survival.
Writing for ''Shelf Awareness'', Emilie Coulter highlighted how ''Where the World Ends'' "stuns with its dark narrative and haunting visual imagery."
She further commended McCaughrean's decision to include "illuminating back matter, like a glossary, and an illustrated list of the birds of 18th-century St. Kilda," which helps readers to "
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what happens when the everyday-ordinary turns disastrously extraordinary."
Awards
''Where the World Ends'' is a
Junior Library Guild book. ''Booklist'' included it on their 2020 "Top 10 Historical Fiction for Youth" list.
References
{{S-end
2017 children's books
British children's novels
British historical novels
Children's historical novels
Novels set in the 18th century
Novels set in Scotland
Children's books set in Scotland
Children's books set on islands
Carnegie Medal in Literature winning works