At The End Of Everything is a young adult contemporary novel about a group of teens stuck in a juvenile treatment center during an outbreak of a deadly disease. This novel is told in alternating POVs between several of the inmates of the Arkansas “Hope Juvenile Center” which was meant to be a place of rehabilitation and turns into a nightmare as the guards and staff leave and never return. The inmates quickly discover that the world is in the middle of a deadly and highly contagious plague and they’ve been left to fend for themselves. As the group of teens try to contact the outside world, gather their dwindling food supplies and treat the sick they reflect on the various circumstances that got them where they were. These aren’t inherently bad kids but smart and sensitive children abandoned by their families and then once again by a system paid to care for them. Although the author made attempts to give each character their own voice (Emerson the religious non-binary musician, Logan the twin with mutism, Grace the former foster youth that dreams of finding her biological father) I still struggled identifying each one as I read. And what should have been a gripping and tense read sometimes fell flat with a lot of details about finding food, digging graves and inner dialogue. It also could have used a little more zing with more action and snappier dialogue. Every student is just so earnest and woebegone the the injection of a little “gallows humor” could have gone a long way. Overall this was a thoughtful read and many readers will recognize similarities to the Covid crisis but I needed a little more oomph. 3 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️