Overview

Fans of One of Us Is Lying and The Hazel Wood are cordially invited to spend one fateful night surviving an elite private school's epic masquerade ball in Jen Wilde's debut thriller, This Is the Way the World Ends. As an autistic scholarship student at the prestigious Webber Academy in New York City, Waverly is used to masking to fit in--in more ways than one. While her classmates are the children of the one percent, Waverly is getting by on tutoring gigs and the generosity of the school's charming and enigmatic dean. So when her tutoring student and resident ""it girl"" asks Waverly to attend the school's annual fundraising Masquerade disguised as her, Waverly jumps at the chance--especially once she finds out that Ash, the dean's daughter and her secret ex-girlfriend, will be there. The Masquerade is everything Waverly dreamed of, complete with extravagant gowns, wealthy parents writing checks, and flowing champagne. Most importantly, there's Ash. All Waverly wants to do is shed her mask and be with her, but the evening takes a sinister turn when Waverly stumbles into a secret meeting between the dean and the school's top donors--and witnesses a brutal murder. This gala is harboring far more malevolent plots than just opening parents' pocketbooks. Before she can escape or contact the authorities, a mysterious global blackout puts the entire party on lockdown. Waverly's fairy tale has turned into a nightmare, and she, Ash, and her friends must navigate through a dizzying maze of freight elevators, secret passageways, and back rooms if they're going to survive the night. And even if they manage to escape the Masquerade, with technology wiped out all over the planet, what kind of world will they find waiting for them beyond the doors?

Full Product Details

9781250827975

Table of Contents

Reviews

Intrigue is threaded throughout...[a] thought-provokingly relevant thriller. -Kirkus Reviews Quickly grabs your attention and doesn't let go. It's a bold move to set the story over a single night and it pays off in dramatic fashion. Jen Wilde has written a thrilling tale about privilege, power, and the different routes our future may take, depending on who has the controls. -Vincent Ralph, New York Times bestselling author of Lock The Doors Propulsive, unique, and a main character that jumps off the page. I needed to know what happened next. --Goldy Moldavsky, author of The Mary Shelley Club A wild, anxiety-ridden ride through New York's elite prep school scene. Dark academia turns sideways in this compelling, suspenseful, romantic thriller. -Wendy Heard, author of She's Too Pretty To Burn A dark, twisted Cinderella story featuring the most spunky, lovable heroine. You'll finish these pages long before the clock strikes midnight. -Julia Lynn Rubin, author of Trouble Girls Praise for Jen Wilde: Seeing girls and women uplifting, protecting, and loving each other is extremely powerful...deals head on with issues of mental health, body shaming, sexuality, and internet celebrity, handling them with a delicate and skillful touch. --Teen Vogue on Queeks of Geek This is the geeky, queer book of our dreams. --Seventeen on Queens of Geek [Wilde] adeptly captures the essence and confusion that young people may go through when trying to figure out their identities...Perfect for collections seeking high drama and romance. -- School Library Journal on The Brightsiders

""[This] YA thriller with Secret History-meets-7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle vibes features a lovable and badass queer autistic heroine caught between the glitz of her prestigious school's gala, a gruesome murder, and a global tech blackout."" -Autostraddle ""An apocalyptic thriller that involves posh teens, a ten thousand dollar-a-seat masquerade ball, and a global blackout that leaves all their technology useless and may be a harbinger of societal collapse. Worth it for the wild premise alone."" -Paste ""This thriller set in a world of extreme privilege with a compelling autistic heroine and her circle of friends trying to save everyone will appeal widely."" -Booklist ""Intrigue is threaded throughout...[a] thought-provokingly relevant thriller."" -Kirkus Reviews ""Wilde fashions a claustrophobic atmosphere that heightens the cultish horror happenings.. [a] hair-raising dystopian chiller."" -Publishers Weekly ""Quickly grabs your attention and doesn't let go. It's a bold move to set the story over a single night and it pays off in dramatic fashion. Jen Wilde has written a thrilling tale about privilege, power, and the different routes our future may take, depending on who has the controls."" -Vincent Ralph, New York Times bestselling author of Lock The Doors ""Propulsive, unique, and a main character that jumps off the page. I needed to know what happened next."" --Goldy Moldavsky, author of The Mary Shelley Club ""A wild, anxiety-ridden ride through New York's elite prep school scene. Dark academia turns sideways in this compelling, suspenseful, romantic thriller."" -Wendy Heard, author of She's Too Pretty To Burn ""A dark, twisted Cinderella story featuring the most spunky, lovable heroine. You'll finish these pages long before the clock strikes midnight."" -Julia Lynn Rubin, author of Trouble Girls

Quickly grabs your attention and doesn't let go. It's a bold move to set the story over a single night and it pays off in dramatic fashion. Jen Wilde has written a thrilling tale about privilege, power, and the different routes our future may take, depending on who has the controls. -Vincent Ralph, New York Times bestselling author of Lock The Doors Propulsive, unique, and a main character that jumps off the page. I needed to know what happened next. --Goldy Moldavsky, author of The Mary Shelley Club A wild, anxiety-ridden ride through New York's elite prep school scene. Dark academia turns sideways in this compelling, suspenseful, romantic thriller. -Wendy Heard, author of She's Too Pretty To Burn A dark, twisted Cinderella story featuring the most spunky, lovable heroine. You'll finish these pages long before the clock strikes midnight. -Julia Lynn Rubin, author of Trouble Girls Praise for Jen Wilde: Seeing girls and women uplifting, protecting, and loving each other is extremely powerful...deals head on with issues of mental health, body shaming, sexuality, and internet celebrity, handling them with a delicate and skillful touch. --Teen Vogue on Queeks of Geek This is the geeky, queer book of our dreams. --Seventeen on Queens of Geek [Wilde] adeptly captures the essence and confusion that young people may go through when trying to figure out their identities...Perfect for collections seeking high drama and romance. -- School Library Journal on The Brightsiders

Author Information

Jen Wilde (she/they) is the queer, disabled author of QUEENS OF GEEK, THE BRIGHTSIDERS and GOING OFF SCRIPT. They write unapologetically queer stories about unlikely heroes, awkward romantics and chosen families. Jen's books have been praised in Teen Vogue, Buzzfeed, Autostraddle, Vulture and Bustle. Their debut, QUEENS OF GEEK, made the 2018 Rainbow Book List and the Amelia Bloomer List. Originally from Melbourne, Australia, Jen lives in Brooklyn, NY, with her wife, where she collects books, candles and foster cats. When she isn't writing, Jen spends her time shouting about queer books on TikTok. Connect with her online or visit her website.

Tab Content 6

Countries Available