[Book Review] The Summer the World Ended by Matthew S. Cox

As far as Riley McCullough is concerned, her best friend getting ‘dragged’ off to Puerto Vallarta for the first two weeks of summer vacation was the end of the world―at least until the bombs fell.

Life in suburban New Jersey with her mother has been comfortable, not to mention boring, to an introverted fourteen year old. As if her friend’s surprise trip wasn’t bad enough, her expectations for the ‘best summer ever’ disintegrate when she gets sent across the country to stay with a father she hasn’t seen in six years. Adjusting to a tiny, desert town where everyone stares at them like they don’t belong proves difficult, and leaves her feeling more isolated than ever. To make matters worse, her secretive father won’t tell the truth about why he left―or what he’s hiding.

Her luck takes an unexpected turn for the better when she meets a boy who shares her interest in video games and contempt for small town boredom. In him, she finds a kindred spirit who might just make the middle of nowhere tolerable.

Happiness is short lived; fleeing nuclear Armageddon, she takes shelter with her dad in an underground bunker he’d spent years preparing. After fourteen days without sun, Riley must overcome the sorrow of losing everything to save the one person she cares about most.

1 STAR

This was a complete miss for me, unfortunately. A friend of mine loved this book and was nice enough to gift it to me.  From the reviews a lot of readers seem to love it, but I am just not one of them. Because my friend was so hyped for me to read it I dived in as soon as I could and one positive thing was that it was an easy read to fly through. 

The characters were okay but I didn't feel any emotional connection to any of the characters. I definitely felt for Riley, especially in the first few chapters, but other than that I wasn't invested in the characters. Riley has a main love interest we see for a very small portion of the book and their relationship was the definition of insta-love. The love interest also came with a group of friends that he introduces Riley to and they're a bit forgettable. I couldn't tell you their names or any distinct qualities to make them stand out other than their genders. They're not fleshed out at all so I didn't care about them at all. The one character that surprised me with how much I disliked him, was Riley's dad. He made a lot of weird sex jokes and comments about her body that honestly made me uncomfortable. It didn't seem like stuff a dad would say, especially not one that hasn't seen his daughter in six years. And her reactions seemed out of place. She reacted like he was being a typical embarrassing dad and not a super creepy guy. Side note: also I am completely over the "dad with the guns intimidating his daughter's date" trope. It's misogynistic and gross. 

The plot was the best part of the book. It's the only thing that motivated me to keep reading despite not liking the characters or writing (more on that later). The last act of the story is the strongest part of the book. And although I do have issues with a part of it, it definitely kept my interest. However, it wasn't good enough to warrant a better rating. I guessed the twist about half way through the story and I honestly was hoping I'd be wrong because it's a trope I am really not a fan of. I will make a small spoiler-y section talking more about it. I just think the whole execution of this book wasn't well done, at least for me. 

The writing isn't bad but it wasn't great either. Like I said earlier, if I wasn't interested in what was going to happen with the plot the characters and writing would have been far enough reason for me to stop reading. The dialogue is stiff and often not natural and at first I assumed it was stiff and formal because Riley and her father hadn't seen each other for so long that it was done purposely but as I kept reading I realized it was just stiff. From Riley, her love interest, and his friends they read like an adult author is writing dialogue the way they think kids actually speak. It's cheesy and a bit cringy to read. Overall there are moments where humor and I found myself even smiling in a few moments. So like I said the writing isn't the worst ever, but I think a few more edits may have made the dialogue easier to read. 

*SPOILERS* This a spoilery section about the twist at the end of the book. DO NOT READ THIS SMALL PARAGRAPH IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BE SPOILED! I am not a fan of writers using mental illness as a plot twist in books, especially when it's done as a plot device and not to bring awareness to or educate. It rubs me the wrong way. I used to not mind it as much just a couple years ago but the more I have been reading stories with mental illness being the forefront of the story and dealing with my own mental health I have realized over the last year or so that I find it problematic. This does happen in this book, and because it's done poorly it was the nail in the coffin for me enjoying this book. *END OF SPOILERS*

Overall, I cannot say I recommend this book. I don't think that the characters, writing, or plot are written well enough to push through this book. However, like I said earlier, from the ratings online I seem to have an unpopular opinion when it comes to The Summer the World Ended. Because so many people seem to love it, if the synopsis sounds interesting enough I say give it a shot. I just personally cannot see myself recommending this book to anyone. 

Thanks for reading!