Review: VIVIAN APPLE AT THE END OF THE WORLD by Katie Coyle

Doomsday cults are a thing of legend here in America — it’s something we’ve seen over and over again, often resulting in tragedy. In Vivian Apple’s world, it’s gone beyond tragedy. It’s a revolution that she can’t wrap her head around. Church of America leader Beaton Frick has convinced almost everyone that the apocalypse is nigh, and that in order to be saved they must follow his gospel: The Book of Frick.

HMH Books for Young Readers, January 2015.

In VIVIAN APPLE AT THE END OF THE WORLD, Vivian and her best friend Harp are first thrown for a loop when their parents are raptured — like, actually disappeared without a trace. As chaos descends on their community, Vivian ends up in the custody of her grandparents in New York while Harp holes up with her older brother and his boyfriend. But when a terrifying hurricane threatens  to hit the east coast, and Vivian receives a strange, hang-up phone call, she steals her grandfather’s car, picks up Harp in Philly, and sets off on a mission to see if she can figure out what Frick & Co. are really up to. Vivian doesn’t believe, and she isn’t ready to watch the Believers destroy the America she once loved.

This book dares to tackle sensitive topics — most specifically, religious fundamentalism– and does so in a way that is both insightful and entertaining. Vivian’s story could be anyone’s really, and that’s part of what makes her an enjoyable character. VIVIAN APPLE AT THE END OF THE WORLD is indubitably patriotic, which is something I love in a novel — especially a novel that challenges so many core values that we consider American. The added mythology of Frick and the Church of America just ups the ante. This is not a love story — it’s a story of identity, friendship, and heroism, and I cannot wait to see where Vivian and Harp take us in the forthcoming sequel. Way to go, Katie Coyle. I’m hooked.