The Plot Thickens: It’s the End of the World and I’m in My Bathing Suit

Craig of the Creek meets This Is the End in this hilarious middle grade novel by Justin A. Reynolds. 

Much of childhood feels like it goes unrecognized for the genius presented during this period. For Eddie, the main character of It’s the End of the World and I’m in My Bathing Suit, this summation defines precisely how he feels as a twelve year old with under-appreciated ideas. The main injustice he encounters in this book? Why, his mother grounding him from the biggest beach day event of the summer all because she fails to venerate the strategy Eddie developed for getting through the summer without being stuck in the creepy basement every week. You see, the basement is a no man’s land where things linger in the dark and Eddie wants to spend as little time there as possible. So when his mom leaves him in charge of taking care of his needs throughout the summer, he decides that he will wear every article of clothing he owns, which should last him through the beach day—when all he’ll have left is his swimsuit. Then he’ll take care of all of his laundry before school starts. What’s not to love in the plan, right? Sadly, his mom does not see it his way and Eddie is forced to work through his loads of laundry before his step-dad will return to pick him up for the festivities. Which is a fine compromise until the power goes out, leaving Eddie’s clothes half-washed and him scrambling to assemble a team of friends from the neighborhood to get through a disaster outside of their making. 

You should know by the title that this is a humorous book and Justin A. Reynolds delivers throughout the full book. From the reasoning of why the chapters are labeled by the hundreds rather than your regular-shmegular system, to how Eddie and his best friend, Xavier, joke on each other, this book tackles a scary situation with joy and care. There is much about Eddie’s life—from coping with the loss of his father and the issues stirred by having a step-father, to keeping on top of his ADHD med schedule—that could make this story unapproachable for reluctant readers. However, the level of humor and insight into each of the characters in this story makes It’s the End of the World and I’m in My Bathing Suit a read I cannot wait to introduce to the young readers in my life.