Izzy at the End of the World Review

I received this book in exchange for an honest review and am so glad that I had this opportunity. While middle grade scifi isn’t my usual go to, I was drawn by the amazing art, the promise of a well written autistic main character, and a heart wrenching story with a happy ending. It was everything promised and more.

Content Warnings:
Death, cancer, suicide, lost child, children and dog in danger.

The Last Kids on Earth meets Margaret Peterson Haddix in this middle grade adventure about fourteen-year-old Izzy, an autistic girl surviving the end of the world who must team up with her loveable dog to uncover the hidden truth behind her family and the rest of humanity’s disappearance.
Ever since Izzy Wilder’s mom died, she’s wanted life to feel normal. She plays video games with her little sister, helps her grandparents around the house, and takes care of her best dog, Akka. But losing her mom is far from normal, and for Izzy, who is autistic, it feels like the end of the world.
When mysterious lights flash across the mountains outside Izzy’s house one night, and suddenly everyone except her and Akka seem to have disappeared in an instant, Izzy is more alone than ever. But Izzy is a fighter and she won’t lose anyone else in her family, even if it means battling terrifying gray, ugly monsters and decoding cryptic messages that seem a lot like her mom talking to her from beyond the grave.
In the face of disaster, Izzy and Akka embark on an epic adventure filled with nail-biting suspense, unexpected allies, and life’s greatest mysteries as they uncover the true endurance of the human spirit and save the world.

I cried in the best way at the end of this book. It broke my heart, mended it, and broke it again and repeat. As an autistic AFAB person, I saw a lot of myself in Izzy, especially from when I was younger. There were so many times this book felt like a hug with a whisper, ‘you are seen.” Thank you.

The characters are well fleshed out, the story is gripping and immersive, the relationships are so real. There are indeed some very corny moments but I loved them for their corniness.

If I could give this book 6 stars, I would. A must read for scifi, coming of age stories. Be mindful of the content warnings, of course (also thank you for those).