Title: It’s the End of the World and I’m in My Bathing Suit
Author: Justin A. Reynolds
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Publication date: April 5, 2022
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Summary
Eddie has the perfect plan in order to avoid his least favorite chore all summer: laundry. Laundry is the worst. In order to do it the least amount of times, he has decided to wear every single piece of clothing he owns. Even if it doesn’t fit with the weather. Doing that means he’ll only have to do laundry once over the summer.
However, on the day of the very anticipated Beach Bash, Eddie’s mom finds his pile of laundry in his room. Now, he’s stuck doing laundry instead of celebrating with his friends. Unfortunately, in the middle of his first load, the power goes out. So, he sets out in the neighborhood to figure out what’s going on. But it seems that all the adults have disappeared. And Eddie and his friends might be the only ones left.
Review: It’s the End of the World and I’m in My Bathing Suit
Thanks to Scholastic for sending me an advanced copy of this to review! Right off the bat, Reynolds sets the humorous tone for the rest of the book. Eddie is such a snarky narrator, and his descriptions of laundry are hilarious. As are his views on a lot of things!
Middle grade readers will definitely relate to Eddie’s trials as a kid just trying to have fun for the summer. After all, who really wants summer to be taken up by chores? What will really draw readers in is Eddie’s descriptions of laundry, of his life, of his neighborhood. Reynolds really nails the voice, right from the beginning.
However, the plot itself does take a bit to get going. About the first half of the book is Eddie filling in readers with his family drama, which might make some middle grade readers lose interest. However, it is a first book in a series, so there’s plenty to hook readers into wanting to continue with Eddie’s story.
All in all, this is a funny, down to Earth middle grade novel I think readers will thoroughly enjoy.
4/5 stars