The End of the World Is Bigger than Love: Winner of the 2021 CBCA Book of the Year for Older Readers

June 21, 2021
Set in a near, internetless future in which a pandemic turns the skin of the infected gray before quickly resulting in death, Bell’s (All the Ways to Be Smart) novel centers 15-year-old white twins Summer and Winter. Residing in an abandoned church on a remote island, the two live a relatively bucolic existence, reading through their deceased mother’s library and eating from a stockpile of canned goods that was left by their father before he was kidnapped due to his part in the global catastrophe. When a stranger arrives on the island, however, he drives a wedge between the two that shatters their carefully constructed reality. In alternating chapters, the siblings describe the often-traumatic events that led to their solitary existence; interestingly, the two portrayals often diverge, communicating vastly different understandings of the world. For Summer, the strange newcomer is a bear cub that grows to a dangerous height and strength; for Winter, meanwhile, he’s a brown-skinned human boy come to claim her heart. Though many of the threads introduced—including the fate of the girls and the world—remain frustratingly unresolved, frequent flashbacks referencing recent cultural icons, such as President Obama and Taylor Swift, skillfully ground the novel’s setting while hinting at the truth behind the dueling narratives, and asking which might be the more reliable. Ages 12–up.

September 1, 2021

Gr 9 Up-In this perplexing work of speculative fiction, identical twins Summer and Winter, who are white and 15 years old, are living an isolated life in a church on an island, without their parents. Their mother is deceased and their father was taken away because of his participation in the cataclysm that led to the loss of the Internet, a pandemic called The Greying (which causes a person's skin to turn gray, killing them quickly), and a climate crisis. Summer and Winter believe they are secluded. One day a brown-skinned boy, Edward, is found on the island. Summer describes Edward as "the bear" with animal-like features, while Winter describes Edward as a human boy with whom she falls madly in love; he is not a fully developed character and serves more to further the girls' story. This story is told in alternating chapters, in which the distressing circumstances of their past and how they came to be alone on the island intersect and conflict, forcing readers to take sides and examine which version of events is the truth. Bell's poetic prose draws out the progression of this elaborate story about grief and the challenges of romance. The atmospheric tone places the teens in a vivid setting that plays an intricate part in the mystery of these complex and introspective sisters. Their love of reading, inherited from their mother, as well as pop culture references such as Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off," will bring a familiarity to readers. VERDICT A puzzling, atmospheric novel that will require multiple reads.-Kharissa Kenner, Bank Street Sch. for Children, New York City

Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 2, 2020
Davina Bell’s first young adult novel is unlike anything else written for the target audience. This becomes clear almost immediately upon beginning the book, when the identical twin protagonists, Summer and Winter, address the reader with a compelling directness. The End of the World is Bigger Than Love takes place in a future ravaged by global warming and cyberterrorism, and the setting is drawn using rich language and eerie imagery. The novel is populated with a slew of strange and intriguing supporting characters, from a mysterious bear-like creature to a talking whale. Resounding themes of grief and love are explored to mesmerising effect, with enough adventure and suspense to draw readers in, while literature, sibling affection and appreciation of nature are all celebrated with a sense of urgency and pathos. This novel could be likened to a young adult version of Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel, with lashings of creativity and magic realism a welcome addition to the more disturbing elements of the narrative. The End of the World is Bigger Than Love is a departure from Bell’s previous work for children and middle-graders yet is sure to be just as successful. This novel heralds the arrival of an ingenious new talent writing for the teenage readership. Karys McEwen is the library manager at Prahran and Richmond High School and the president of the CBCA VIC Branch