Everything You Need to Survive the Apocalypse

by Lucas Klauss

Phillip’s sophomore year is off to a rough start. One of his best friends ditches him for a group of douchebags. His track coach singles him out for personalized, torturous training sessions. And his dad decides to clean out all of the emergency supplies from the basement, even though the world could end in disaster at any moment... and even though those supplies are all Phillip has left of his dead mom. Not that he wants to talk about that.

But then Phillip meets Rebekah. Not only is she unconventionally hot and smart, but she has seriously great boobs. And she might like him back.

As Phillip gets closer to Rebekah, he tries harder and harder to turn himself into the kind of person he thinks she wants him to be. But the question is, can he become that person? And does he really want to?

Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Realistic Fiction, Fiction, Teen, Religion

402 pages, Hardcover

First published January 3, 2012

About the author

Writer and dad living in North Carolina. Author of Surprise Dinosaur!, illustrated by Mike Moran, and Everything You Need to Survive the Apocalypse. Represented by Kate McKean at Howard Morhaim Literary.

Reviews

[Vinaya]

I have the same sort of relationship with God as I do with Customer Service representatives. I don't really think of Him much until I have a problem, but when I do, I expect Him to answer my call, take down my complaint and solve it immediately.

I cannot in all fairness give this book a rating, because I am far from being the intended audience for a book of this sort. Firstly, I am an agnost. Secondly, I am made severely uncomfortable by religious literature of any sort. Thirdly, even the mention of evangelism brings me out in hives. And fourthly, I am not, and never will be, a proponent of Christianity.

Unfortunately, I had no inkling when I went into this book, that it was going to deal with matters of faith and religion. I'm actually a little indignant about this because I would have liked to have had at least an indication of what this book was really about. The blurb, I notice, very carefully makes no mention, even in passing, of the MC's struggles with his religious beliefs, which is weird, because that is the core of this book.

Everything You Need To Survive The Apocalypse started off on a GREAT note. The first few chapters were charming and funny and quite frankly adorable. Lucas Klauss has a great voice and he deals beautifully with the travails and trauma of adolescence and first love. In fact, if you don't mind a discussion of religious themes in your YA novels, I would definitely suggest you read this book, because it is a great example of a well-written character-driven novel.

Phillip Flowers has been raised by his 'enthusiastically atheist' father all his life. His mother is dead, and her death appears to have left him with a strange obsession with the apocalypse. He collects books about the end of the world, and apart from an interest in drawing mushroom cloud hearts they are his only other interest.

All this changes when he meets Rebekah Joseph. She's "unconventionally hot" and when she rescues him from an awkward situation with his running coach, he inadvertently ends up agreeing to go to a Youth group at her church. As his relationship with Rebekah progresses, he immerses himself deeper and deeper in her religion, trying to find the faith that sustains her, and looking for the answers to questions of faith that have troubled him all his life.

The book is a beautiful exploration of what it means to suddenly find religion in your teenage years. At sixteen, Phillip's life is changing all around him. His two best friends, Asher and Mark, seem to be drifting further and further away. His relationship with his father is complicated and occasionally painful. His romance with Rebekah seems to hinge on his ability to prove to her that he is good enough for her, that he can be as much of a 'real Christian' as she is.

Teenage friendships, first love, parental pressure and adolescent upheavals are all handled with a delicate, sympathetic hand. Klauss makes you really feel Phillip's confusion, his doubt and his desire to find the answers that elude him time and again. His relationship with Rebekah is also handled with sensitivity, a real and moving, if sometimes frustrating portrait of a teenage relationship that requires work and isn't all about the happily-ever-after.

But I must also warn you that the tone of the first few chapters differs completely from the tone of the rest of the book. When I first started reading this book, I expected a completely different story from the one I got. This is not a bad thing, necessarily, but I can't help but wish I'd gotten the book that matched those first chapters. I could have enjoyed that one whole-heartedly.

Now here's the reason I can't rate this book, despite my acknowledgement of the author's talent, and my admiration of the character development. This book made me so uncomfortable, I wanted to go wash myself. Religion, especially religion that goes hand-in-hand with plot lines about evangelism, hell-and-damnation and the greatness of Christ, makes me batshit crazy. I was completely unable to sympathize with Phillip's desire to find religion. I hated the fact that his newfound faith hinged on a girl, and yet he tried so hard to submerse himself in that faith, going so far as to announce that he was a 'real Christian' and even trying to brainwash his brother into his beliefs. It's a strange thing when you find yourself sympathising with the parent in a YA book, instead of the MC. I did actually think the church he belonged to was sort-of fundamentalist, and the fact that they tried to get a sixteen-year old boy to distribute pamphelets about how only Christians go to heaven, and told him how homosexuality is a sin, and tried to get him to go out and preach the Word of God to random passing strangers on the street... it all felt strange and brain-itch-inducing.

I also didn't like the fact that some very important questions were left so open-ended. The fact that Phillip is still trying to determine his eventual path is understandable, but I didn't like the fact that he never reflects in any depth about the less acceptable messages his church is sending. Even after he realizes that his father and friends might go to hell for not believing in Christ, he still ends up going to the Christian Youth Conference. He allows Ferret to brush off some very important questions about salvation, and the ending of the book provides little by way of resolution regarding some very important theosophical question, which in my opinion, undermines the point of the whole book!

So basically, this is a book about a teenage boy's struggles with religion and faith, and if someone had been so kind as to mention that on the blurb, I would have stayed far, far away from it. I didn't hate the book, it was too well-written to hate, but I can't say I enjoyed it either. In conclusion, all I can do is reiterate, once more, that this book is definitely not meant for people like me, but if you aren't quite so uncomfortable with the themes of this book, you should give it a try. If Lucas Klauss writes a more secular book, you can bet your ass I'll be lining up to buy it!

This book was provided to me by the publishers for review purposes. Everything You Need To Survive the Apocalypse will be released on January 3rd 2012. If you're on Galley Grab, you can download the galley here.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is everything you love about contemporary YA combined with everything you thought you'd never get in a contemporary YA. It's raw, razor-sharp, and completely original. I feel incredibly lucky to be one of its early readers, and I think Klauss is absolutely a writer-to-watch. Get ready for topics you haven't seen treated in ways you'd never expect, and for everything you thought you knew about teenagers' relationships with religion, grief, close friendships, and dating to be turned on its head. Really a phenomenal book.

[Jessie Leigh]

No rating because I could tell by page 150 this was just not a book for me. I was mislead by the blurb and all the focus on religion, finding God, etc. is just not something I care to read about for hundreds of pages.

So, sorry Everything You Need to Survive the Apocalypse: it's not me, it's you. I have far too many books to read, so you are now part of my "unfinished" or "couldn't finish" history. Better luck elsewhere.

[Yohoni Torres]

Everything You Need to Survive the Apocalypse by Lucas Klauss is a book I really enjoyed! It was a book that grabbed my attention, not only the book title and cover, mostly because it had to do with a teenage boy trying to figure out his life. I really liked how he made it from a first person, teenage boy point of view. Now something that really came out, that really popped out and just made me think was the way that the author made Phillip (main character) have flashbacks and talk about his past life. Just for the fact that is was very well organized; she managed to organize the flashbacks with is present life with a nice constant flow.

Phillip is the teen facing a year full of decision making. Figuring out what to do with his life, who he is trying to become, and other problems problems most teens these days face. He finds a beautiful girl, falls in love. But his main problem is him trying to become someone he isn't just so that he can get with Rebekah. Another major problem is his father; you see his father is a raging atheist and Rebekah is a Christian. Now Phillip doesn't know what to do, and that is tearing him apart. So if you are looking for a book full of some real life scenes, but that fiction. Everything You Need to Survive the Apocalypse by Lucas Klauss is the book for you because it surely was the book for me.

[Meredith Klauss · Rating 5 out of 5]

Please do yourself a favor and read this book! I it was so thoughtful and funny and touching, and just different from anything I've read, in a good way. There were moments when I laughed out loud, moments where I got choked up, and moments where I thought- I have felt EXACTLY that way before. I loved it!

[Janie · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of the largest problems with this book is that it's BORING. The title doesn't really have anything to do with what the book is actually about, and the characters were really flat and disinteresting. I already forgot the main character's name and returned it to the library, so I'll just call him Angst.

Angst and his buddies are just existing, drinking, running, and whatnot, when he meets some girl named Rebekkah or whatever. She's a super-Christian, and he starts to read the Bible and go to church to somehow impress her or something. Well, that part isn't really explained. He is constantly fighting with himself about his beliefs. Why? Rebekkah is hot, his mom used to be a super-Christian herself (before she died) Side note: Even his mother’s DEATH freaking has no point in this story. Why was she dead? Is Angst torn up about it? Is his father? Not really. She is established as dead very early on as Angst says that he’s over it, but at the very end he says “I miss her”. Like that line was supposed to make me feel like bottling up the fact that he was missing her was the underlying root to all his indecision and angst. Angst is just a dumb angsty teen. His mother dying had nothing to do with it. If the author was trying to make Angst a deep character by making him sensitive or tough and that the answer to all his problems was finally admitting that he missed his mother, that didn’t work at all. He was never established as an angry character, and there really isn’t any character development at ALL. But I digress., and his Dad is a super-Atheist. There is no reason for this story to revolve around this stupid stupid plot thread. Angst is boring and his self-questioning "am I faking it? I'm sort of getting into it..." never get resolved. His final conclusion? Well, I'm not sure. Time to get on with that cocktease romance again!

One bizarre quality about Angst is that he is likes the idea of the Apocalypse and loves this one book about it. If he was written to be, like, obsessed with the Apocalypse the book delves into why and how he gets over it, than we might have a more interesting story that actually sort of kind-of fits with the title. But no.

What irritated me most about Angst is the fact that he's so hypocritical. I wonder what the author was trying to get across in the book. I can't tell if he views Christianity as a good thing or a bad thing. My main issue with this book is the plot. The only thing that that kept me reading is the question "is Angst going to convert?" Even so, he gets into the church thing, attending service, going to a Christian Leadership Conference for crying out loud, and he NEVER prays to God, which is one of the most important aspects of Christian faith. On top of his irritating unresolved faith crisis, there's of course that ANNOYING "romance". Which leads us to Rebekkah.

Rebekkah, the love interest, is irritatingly on-again off-again with everything she does. Is she interested in Angst? His buddy? Pleasing her absent missionary father and not dating anyone outside the faith? WHAT? Even her faith is irritating. Not the fact that she's totally into it, no, the fact that she is constantly switching back and forth on that too. Is she a super Christian? Does she really care about Angst or him coming to the faith? I never truly felt at any moment in the book that she actually cared about her faith. She sings in church, does service work, etcetera, but her freaking side-character friend seems more legitimate to me. She gives Angst "reading assignments", being the teacher, while never displaying aspects of Christianity herself. And again, for crying out loud, that ROMANCE. That was not romance. That was not young love. That wasn’t even “first love”. Angst has a crush on her, they both end up admitting to mutual liking, they share some unbearably corny moments, and two days later they’re broken up. And then semi-together. Misunderstandings, “I forgive you”, “Are you really part of my faith?” It all comes together in one giant MESS. And then finally after Angst took a knife to her dad’s BIBLE vandalizing her tome of worship in one fell swoop of mean-spirited idiocy, she still comes back with a “maybe” two days after she freaking blows him off when HE comes begging forgiveness to HER when HE realized what an idiot he was. But still that resounding maybe. For crying out loud GET OVER EACH OTHER. This much conflict and stupidity isn’t a sign of a healthy relationship. . But I digress.

This book was boring, long, and not worth my time. The characters were undeveloped, boring, and just irritating. The plot plods on with no real conflicts that I even cared about, and a disappointing end. I don't recommend it.

[Miss Bookiverse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lang und breit
Ein Wort: Mogelpackung. Everything You Need To Survive The Apocalypse ist nicht das, was man erwartet, wenn man sich die Verpackung anschaut. Weder Cover, noch Titel oder Inhaltsangabe sind ein Indikator dafür, worum es in diesem Buch geht. Es ist keinesfalls ein Endzeitroman und viel mehr als eine Coming Of Age Geschichte. In Everything Everything You Need To Survive The Apocalypse geht es viel mehr um Religion und was es eigentlich bedeutet ein Christ zu sein.

Aber von vorn. Das Buch fängt super an. Die Geschichte wird aus Philips Sicht erzählt, ein durchschnittlicher, leicht dorkiger Teenager. Philip verbringt gern Zeit mit seinen Freunden Asher und Mark, verknallt sich in das Mädchen Rebekah, fühlt sich von seinem Sportcoach tyrannisiert und liest gern Endzeitromane. Interessant an ihm ist außerdem seine Familiensituation, er lebt nämlich allein mit seinem Vater und seinem jüngeren Bruder. Seine Mutter ist tot und er will nicht weiter darüber reden.
In diesen ersten Kapiteln habe ich mich ein wenig in Philips Erzählerstimme verliebt. Er ist ehrlich und prägnant, authentisch und frech. All das ändert sich aber als er Rebekah kennen lernt und sie ihn zur Jugendgruppe ihrer Kirche einlädt. Ab da dreht sich das Buch plötzlich in nahe zu jedem Kapitel ums Christentum. Das hat mich aus dem Konzept gebracht, denn weder Titel noch Cover und nicht mal die Inhaltsangabe weisen auf diesen existenziellen Teil des Romans hin.
Ab da wurde mir auch Philip leider immer unsympathischer. Erst steht er der Kirchengruppe eher skeptisch gegenüber, aber sein Verlangen Rebekah wieder zu sehen ist größer und nachdem er ein paar Treffen der Jugendgruppe mitgemacht hat, scheint ihm plötzlich die große Erleuchtung zu kommen und er bezeichnet sich von heute auf morgen als Christ. Nie wird richtig erklärt welche Gedanken ihn dazu gebracht haben, was ihn überzeugt hat. Es wirkt alles oberflächlich und ich hatte Angst, dass aus diesem Anfang mit dem tollen Schreibstil eine belehrende Moralpredigt wird.
Ganz so einfach hat der Autor es sich zum Glück nicht gemacht. Viel mehr hat er Philips Entwicklung für den Leser greifbar dargestellt. Philip ist nämlich eigentlich genauso ratlos und überfordert mit seiner plötzlichen Entscheidung wie der Leser. All seine Zweifel kommen aber erst nach und nach zu Tage und bis dahin wird man kräftig mit Kirchentreffen und Zeugengängen eingerieben.

Rebekah, das Mädchen, das Philips Herz höher schlagen lässt, ist eine Figur, mit der ich mich nicht anfreunden konnte. Sie war mir nie unsympathisch, aber alles was sie sagt und wie sie handelt, war mir fremd. Ihre Gespräche mit Philip habe ich besonders irritiert verfolgt. Meistens musste ich über beide den Kopf schütteln. Es ist nicht so, dass ihre Dialoge unlogisch waren, aber sie haben ständig Sachen gesagt, die ich nicht wirklich nachvollziehen konnte. Ich konnte nicht verstehen, wie Rebekah ihr Leben so von einem Vater bestimmen lassen kann, der nicht mal anwesend ist oder was genau sie eigentlich von Philip will oder nicht will.
Philips Freund Asher hingegen mochte ich sehr gern. Er scheint während Philips Lebenskrise als einziger einen kühlen Kopf zu behalten, auch wenn Philip ihm das nicht immer dankt. Außerdem ist es schön zu sehen, dass Asher als Dunkelhäutiger ohne Handlungsschwerpunkt in die Geschichte integriert worden ist.

Trotz des unerwarteten und recht kontroversen Inhalts muss ich dem Buch zu Gute halten, dass es mich zum Nachdenken gebracht hat. Ich respektiere jede Religion, solange sie niemandem schadet oder irgendwen unfairerweise benachteiligt. Ich fand es gar nicht so leicht herauszufinden, wie ich den Aussagen des Romans gegenüber stehe, inwieweit ich mit manchen konform gehe und welche ich für absoluten Blödsinn halte.
Hier hat mir übrigens sehr gut gefallen, dass der Autor keine strengen Gebote predigt. Homosexualität wird mehrmals angesprochen und Philip gibt klar zu verstehen, dass er diese Neigung nicht für krank oder unnormal hält.

Kurz und knapp
Wenn man dieses Buch lesen möchte, sollte man wissen, dass es hier nicht um eine tatsächliche Apokalypse geht. Der zentrale Konflikt dreht sich um das Thema Christentum und Glaubensfindung. Viele Aspekte haben mich zum Nachdenken angeregt, aber ich wünschte ich hätte vorher gewusst, worauf ich mich einlasse.

[Shay · Rating 3 out of 5]

First things first, I put this on the Christian shelf, but let me clarify. This is not "Christian" in a typical sense. It's kind of like Life of Pi in that it studies religion from a distance. Unlike The Life of Pi, Everything You Need to Survive the Apocalypse is cynical, and the character leaves the book almost as confused as he started.

If I had an Anti-Christian board, I would put this book on both the Christian and Anti-Christian boards at the same time. How come? Well if you read it, you'll understand.

The book isn't about Phillip becoming a Christian and converting, in fact I can't ruin the ending, so I won't tell you how that goes. Phillip is a normal teenage boy, trying to recover from the loss of his mother. His mother was a somewhat fanatical Christian, and his father was an atheist. Phillip has no idea what he is.

The whole book is about his confusion of identities, and his "conversion" to impress a girl named Rebekah. But ultimately, it's about Phillip trying to overcome the loss of his mother, and about learning to forgive people.

If you read typical Christian novels, this won't be for you. It's full of cussing and alcohol, and Phillip views Christianity from an outsider's perspective. He can be cynical and harsh sometimes, but accepting and warm at others.

I actually kind of liked it, Phillip's confusion is understandable. I like the writing. The cynical view of Christianity does a Christian good to sit back and read every once in a while.

If you're not a Christian you'd probably put this book down after the first few chapters just because it's religious. But as I said, it's more of a religious study and a story of Phillip overcoming his mother's death than anything else. (If you want a religious study, I'd just read The Life of Pi.)

For me, it was sweet and well written, but I'm not sure it was worth the 400 pages.

[Rogier · Rating 2 out of 5]

My thoughts

Cover:I really like this one.The cover i mean. Its simplicity and eye catching appeal drew me in.I like collage like covers.It seems like warmth is spreading.

Book: It was in my galley grab and i looked it it up. A YA debut so I thought''cool i'm so reading this for my DAC of 2012'' which is hosted by Kristi @ the story siren

First I have to say I know writing is hard work "cough"cough"my writing sucks"cough so far. Practice means perfect. Second I do not bash authors and only share my feelings in a polite and mannerly fashion.

The title is misleading! It's not a dystopian or apocalyptic but rather a contemp. I've started to love contemp. But EYNTSTA[acronym for Everything...need..apocalypse] was rather disappointing for me. But he that's me, i read gr8 reviews on goodreads, amazon and blogs. People differ.

It has religious/christian undertones. No biggie for me at all. But it was boring and long. I finished it.^_^. The characters did nothing for me; meaning i did not get to know them like ''real people''. Was a tad preachy ; that was a bit iffy i have to say.

I did not like the characters in EYNTSTA except Rebecca, the romantic interest.Who was likable.

Philip our protagonist. I did not like him at all. He acted like a real like teenage dude, a real life jerk. He was annoying at times.

And his friends; Mat and Asher. Did not know why they were buddies.They scold and humiliate each other.My dude friends hit each other till their fists turn red.[hurts] but not that.

The writing was likable and this is told in 1st person narrative.

[Brittany Rehage · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a little confused after finishing this book. I liked parts of it and couldn't wait for other parts to get over. Mostly, I'm a little annoyed with the deception I felt while reading this book. I got no warning about what the majority of this book would be about and I feel like I could have saved myself the read.

Most of this book was great, and it was a very well-written book that did an amazing job of showing character development. The growth and maturity the main character exhibits throughout the book was fantastic, and if you don't mind religious themes, then this is a great character-driven book for you to read.

It boils down to me having faith, but not practicing a religion. And religion is a large part of this book. I don't look down on others for what they believe, however, I tend to avoid books that rely heavily on religion to get a point across because it makes me very uncomfortable and occasionally frustrated. Despite how amazing the writing was, it was hard to look past the religion, especially when it started to get into the hell and damnation and greatness of Christ and God. I didn't like how Phillip started his search for religion because of a girl and tried so hard to completely cover himself in it all that he started to lose who I thought he was.

Basically, this is a wonderfully well-written book about something I can't really handle reading about. If you don't mind the reliance on religion to drive the plot, give this book a read. However, if you're like me and prefer a more secular book, I'd pass on this one.

[Dejuan Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everything You Need To Survive the Apocalypse by Lucas Klauss is a contemporary fiction novel about a teenage boy named Phillip Flowers who is in his sophomore year of high school, and is having a rough time. Then he meets a girl that he really likes named Rebekah who comes into the story and turns Phillip’s life around. Throughout the book Philip had to make a lot of hard choices whether it was to obey his father’s orders or whether it was to pick either one of his friends side during the argument that they had.
There are many things that I loved about this book. it was interesting the whole way through, it is really a book that a lot of people can relate too, and it also is just overall a good book. This is the best book that I have ever read by far, and I look forward to there being a second book that is just like this one. One thing that I didn't like about this book was the lack of character development for the other characters besides the main character, but other than that there isn’t really that much that I would say could improve this book because it is already an amazing book.
I would recommend Everything You Need To Survive the Apocalypse to anyone I no that is in or has past their sophomore year in high school because if they are in or have past that year then they would be able to relate to Phillip as he goes on all the adventures that he goes on. If people like books that they will have them up all night reading then this is definitely the book that they would want to read.

[Sherrie Petersen]

This book surprised me in so many ways.

The writing is practically perfect. The characters, I loved. Watching the MC struggle with questions of religion and atheism and respecting his parents as he falls in love, grows apart from his friends and deals with betrayals -- it's all in there and written with such honesty and humor. Once I started reading, I didn't want to stop. And when I did have to step away to cook or pick the kids up from school, I couldn't stop thinking about it. I read it in a day.

You can read my more "official" review at Shelf Awareness for Readers.

[Cara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was on a streak of crappy books, to the extent that I was beginning to wonder if it was me. But this book is good! So those other books must have been legitimately crappy. Yay!

This is the sweet story of Phillip, who grew up atheist plus there was some complicated shit with his mom and Christianity, but he falls in love with this girl and starts going to her church, and ends up having to think everything through to figure out who he is and what he believes. Obviously, he doesn’t get it all figured out by the end of the book, but I enjoyed walking along on his journey and listening to his questioning (and the parts where maybe he could have been doing more questioning).

Most of the people I grew up with were handed religious beliefs at birth, but I wasn’t. I had to figure out my own way. So this story resonated with me. I don’t see a lot of people talking or writing about what that feels like.

And of course, there’s the whole falling-in-love thing besides. That gets complicated, especially when it’s tangled in with your spiritual seeking. Especially when you’re in high school. I did the same thing myself. It’s only as I’m writing this that I’ve noticed exactly how similar my experience was.

Anyway, this is a well-written book with a good story and likable characters who grow through their experiences. I enjoyed it.

[Gabby · Rating 2 out of 5]

Let me start off by saying that the title of the book has nothing at all to do with the contents. There are some vague mentions of preparing for something that could happen, but it's not the central plot. In fact, this is a story about a teen boy navigating his first relationship. There's also quite a bit about religion that comes in around the first third of the book and then dominates the rest. I am a religious person, but parts of this made me uncomfortable.

But, ultimately, I was annoyed. Annoyed because I would have liked some fun, crazy teen book about the end of the world, and sure, I would have taken the angsty teen and his girl-crazy thoughts. But ... this is not what I got. So, there ya go.

TO NOTE: I got this book as part of a mystery bundle from my local library. I did not choose it myself.

[emily ☁️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm conflicted with this book. On one hand, this is such a sweet book but on their other hand, I didn't love the ending. It was good, but it wasn't what I expected.
Although, I really liked the theme of religion in this book. As a Christian, I appreciated Rebekah's character and how she was presented. My religion is something I'm proud of and talk about, but it's never in the books that I read and I didn't realize that, until I read this book. It was really comforting seeing that part of me represented in a book that I read.
I also really liked Phillip's storyline with him trying to figure out what he believes. I think it was done in a way that doesn't feel as if the author was pushing one side or the other and that isn't something that I read a lot in books with a topic like religion. It felt very realistic to being a teenager and trying to figure everything out.
Mark also sucks, by the way.

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read some reviews of this before reading and decided to give it a shot anyways. I thought it was quite interesting for a while, but ultimately a bit disappointing. I think had the last 100 or so pages wrapped the story up better I would have liked it more. But I can see why it doesn't have the greatest reviews. I enjoyed a good amount of it, but didn't love the ending. It's just one of those frustrating books that had potential but ultimately was a let down.

[Chelsea Fought]

A few warnings before the real review:

First Warning: This book is most definitely about the apocalypse, just not in the literal sense. And… if I'm honest I thought it was going to be, in the literal sense, and that's why I originally picked up the book.

Second Warning: In my review policy I say I'm not interested in fiction with religious undertones, and that is exactly what this book has (even if there is more to it)… so this was actually kind of a difficult read for me.

Third Warning: I'm trying to be objective… I can say I'm probably not the intended audience for this book, and I had a lot of struggles getting through it.

This novel follows Phillip -- a sophomore in high school. His best friends aren't getting along, his track coach is riding him - providing him with ridiculous training routines, and his dad has started getting rid of this emergency supplies kit his mother put together in case of the apocalypse. Out of the three things listed there, it's the last that is the spur of this novel -- this emergency kit? It's the last thing Philip has of his mom. At the beginning he's just a kid going through some crap, an athiest kid I may add, and then he met Rebekah. She's the "unconventionally hot" catalyst of his transformation from being agnostic to Christian to sort of somewhere in-between (I'll touch on that later).

Now, as for characters (because I love writing about the characters) I find that I really enjoyed Phillip and following him through his coming of age story (even if I personally struggled with how he went from Point A to Point B due to my personal beliefs). My struggle with him, though, was how quickly he was ready to throw his feelings and opinions out the door -- then again I felt a lot of his opinions had been thrust upon him by his dad. In a sense his transformation was necessary -- he needed to explore his opinions and thoughts, more specifically develop some of his own, and figure out what he believed. Not what he was told to believe or think.

Rebekah, however, she honestly bothered me. This "evaluation" is more in regards to how she handled everything that did not have direct relations to her church. How she handled Asher (Phillip's best friend), or fighting with Phillip… it just felt like am awkward struggle (which perhaps was intended… but because I'm me I'm normally a fan of stronger female characters, which is why I liked Rebekah's best friend, Amanda, so much more).

The other struggle I had with this novel, because of my personal beliefs, was definitely the religion. While reading this novel I had to pretend Rebekah and members of her church were real people, because I had to enforce my normal "you are allowed to believe what you believe, just don't force it on to me," stance. And then witnessing happened in the book. I can't stand people who do this -- there are groups that show up on my campus that pass out bibles and try to talk to you about everything you're doing wrong, and informing us we're going to hell for this, that, and the other (they are breaking my "just don't force it on me" rule). I've been told I'm going to hell just because my nose is pierced. So, I very much struggled reading through these parts, but it all led me to a scene I believe is one of the best scenes I've ever read (and it also more or less saved my opinion on the book). If I write about it, I would ruin the book… but I like it so much that if you don't want to be spoiled skip the next paragraph.

Skip Now:

What felt so good about reaching this part of the book is that, finally, the idea of "doubt" is allowed. Phillip realizes he doesn't know what he does or doesn't believe… and Amber talks him through it, helping him realize that's okay. I want to quote her:
Doubt is a huge part of faith. … It doesn't sound like it makes sense. But think about it. Don't you understand something better if you read about it and think about it and question it and listen to different opinions on it? … It's better than just listening to one person, whether it's somebody else or yourself, and deciding thatchy know everything and you'll believe whatever they tell you. That's just lazy and ignorant.
In the end it's her words that "save" Phillip, but not perhaps in the way those who witness want to. This is the pinnacle moment in the novel where Phillip is finally "allowed" to realize life is not in absolutes. You don't have to be atheist, and you don't have to be a religious extremist.

Stop Skipping.

Phillip ultimately has the same issues with religious beliefs that I do, particularly the extreme ones where this person is going to hell for these arbitrary reasons. It reminds me of this article I just read "I'm Christian, Unless You're Gay". If you have time to read it, you should. Slowly this review is turning from a review to an opinion piece so I believe I'm going to just end it here.

To really conclude this review, when being objective, everything about this book was "okay" to me. Perhaps my beliefs are too strong to write an unclouded opinion… and I apologize for that. And I'll be honest when I say I would not recommend this book for everyone. I wouldn't have even recommended it for myself. There are far too many moments where I felt uncomfortable with what I was reading, even if the scene above sort of redeemed the novel (for me) as a whole.

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it, but I didn't really like Phillip, which is kind of frustrating. I waffled throughout the book on whether or not I was rooting for him, tho I always found myself rooting for Rebekah. Toward the end I just found myself wanting the the book to end - it had about 10 more chapters than it really needed. I enjoyed this book, but I wasn't over the moon for it.

[Hector Macias · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was an interesting and heartwarming story, I enjoyed the character's struggles with his family and friends. the story is relate able and I can understand and agree with the main characters actions and reactions .

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book was fine, but nothing like the title or jacket made it sound like. It was really heavy handed with Christianity and being saved for like 200 pages. I did like that he finally stepped back and realized he was looking for answers in the wrong way, but in general, the story was a slog.

[Brian O'Leary · Rating 1 out of 5]

YA junk, cliche after cliche, absolutely nothing new

[DinaB · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm sorry. Too much religion, not enough content.
Try writing more about an actually story and less about conversion.

[Brevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good book that touches in on all the good topics: Romance, Survival, Friendship, loss, Greed, Spirituality, SUPER GOOD!

[Paige · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everything You Need to Survive the Apocalypse , I think, is one of those books that you really either love or hate. If you're interested in more religious themes, like questions of religious identity and faith, this book will be a good read for you. If you aren't interested in such themes and shy away from faith, this book probably won't be a good fit for you. I think what will mostly determine the book's popularity is how many people are interested in such a faith-focused narrative. Just something to keep in mind, if you're deciding whether to read the book or not.

I will say, first, that I am interested in such religious themes and contexts. And I will say that I did enjoy this book.

Phillip is attempting to get through the school year. He runs cross country with his friends, but his tough relationship with the coach (who he has nicknamed Ferret) and the fact that he and his friends are growing apart makes running tough. He is obsessed with the apocalypse and his family is attempting to recover from his mother's death. Phillip meets a girl named Rebecca and they start a relationship. Rebecca is extremely religious and asks Phillip to join her youth group and participate in other church activities. As he gets more and more engrossed in the religious community, hoping to cultivate his relationship with Rebecca, Phillip must decide if he wants to turn into the person she wants him to be.

The plot was pretty good. It curved and twisted, and the revealing of Phillip's mother's story was carefully layered and made sense. The story was poignant and interesting and it seemed to be going well for a while. But it reached almost a spot of predictability, where everything suddenly seemed to be turning predictable. I guessed the ending about fifty pages before the end, and I wasn't surprised at all by the overall conflict resolution. The religion aspect, the part of the book people always seem to want to know more about, was handled well. Klauss does mention some of the negatives of being an evangelical Christian and following their beliefs (several topics are discussed, including gay marriage and whether someone should go to hell if they don't believe in Christ) but he showed respect to the religion and its followers. So the plot was really going fine for a while, but it became predictable towards the end. The ending was sweet, though, and left open a brighter future, in a happy, open ending.

The thing that I felt really redeemed the book, and made me push up the rating a few stars, was the characters. Klauss' biggest strength seems to be in his characters. Phillip really developed, turning from an insecure teenager to someone much stronger; Rebecca's relationships (with her father, etc) really improved; Phillip and Ferret's relationship changed; his relationship with his friends changed. This book is really developed around relationships, and how they change and grow. The characters interacted very well and the dialogue sounded like how teenagers speak, which is a pretty good accomplishment. Some of the characters' relationships did end on an unsurprising note, but they had been so well developed I didn't mind; I wanted for them to have their happy endings. I applaud Klauss for writing relationships well; it seems to be one of his strengths as a writer.

Now, onto the writing. I was thinking hard about the writing as I read. In a lot of the critical reviews (think Kirkus et al), they mentioned that the writing was clipped and hard to read. I kept an extra eye out on the writing, looking for any issues. I didn't really find much of any. Sometimes the writing was clipped, but the majority of the time the writing sounded good. The writing sounded like a teenage boy would, and do teenage boys sometimes think and speak in clipped and fragmented sentences? Yes. So I applaud Klauss for once, again, writing a good story that sounded like a real teenage boy.

This definitly was a strong debut, though if you are disenterested in religious themes it probably is not for you. If you don't mind religious themes and are interested in contemporary, I would add this to your reading lists.I'll look for Klauss' next book. A strong, smart, and fresh debut.

[Chrissy · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, I feel it is only fair to preface this review with the disclaimer that I am currently, both at the time of the review and at the time of the actual reading of the book, under the influence of high doseages of pain medication -- after a mishap with my wisdom teeth removal. I'm told, by my loving boyfriend, that I tend to repeat myself and make strange, paranoid statements while I'm under the influence of such medication, and while I'm not entirely positive he's not fishing for control of the remote today (ugh, more football), I may as well include the warning just in case I do back and read this later and get confused at my own stupidity.

Moving on.

First off, EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO SURVIVE THE APOCALYPSE, oddly enough, really has very little at all to do with the apocalypse. If you're picking this up expecting a teen dystopian or an end-times thriller, stop before you embark any further because this novel is pure and true realistic fiction, without a doubt. This isn't one of those novels where a ton of things happen, with loads of plot twists and cliff-hangers that leave you flipping ahead pages to learn more. However, it is a pretty decent look at the inner dialogue of an awkward teenage boy as he struggles to find himself, his faith, and the meaning of his life after the death of his mother. (Not quite as exciting, at least for what I was looking to read while riding the pain-killer high, but if I knew what I was getting into, I'm sure I would have appreciated it a bit more, for sure).

So, Phillip is a semi-nerdy high school sophomore who sticks pretty closely with his two best semi-nerdy friends in a low-key high school kind of life. Everything changes for Phillip when he meets Rebekah, an "unconventionally hot" Christian girl who seems to actually be interested in him, as more than a friend.

Phillip doesn't have a lot of experience with religion, except that he remembers his mother had become nearly fanatical into church before her death, prompting her outspoken atheist father to become even more adamant that his children escape indoctrination. Not only does Phillip want to start going to church to impress this new girl, he also has to hide his new interest from his father, to avoid further problems at home.

As Phillip gets further involved with Rebekah and with his newly discovered church life, he begins to question everything about himself, his faith, his family, and his friends. Is this new interest in church really about God, or is it only about trying to keep a girl who may or may not really be interested in him as more than a conversion project? Does Phillip really know who he is at all, and is church really going to be the place to "find himself?"

I think the novel really did start out strong, sucking me in almost immediately with its wit and honesty. Phillip was a realistic character, I think, working through teenage doubts and insecurities in ways that might make sense for a high school sophomore, even if my twenty-something self shakes my head in disbelief a time or two.

As the story progressed, though, it almost felt like it things started to fall apart -- unless, of course, these are the narcotics speaking -- which I admit, may be the case at least a little. Whereas the first half of the book had me excited to flip ahead, by the end I can't deny that I was cheating a little -- skimming sentences a time or two hoping to get on with things to see what finally happened. Granted, I've never been a teenage boy before. Maybe life really is this disjointed for them? Could be. Who am I to judge?

If you're looking for an introspective character-driven novel about a boy working through his personal confusions with regards to religion, family, and friendship, give this one a chance. I didn't find the ending to be entirely gratifying, but I can't deny that the author has a certain charm in his story-telling that would definitely make me consider reading more from him in the future.

[Marina · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Scoop:
Phillip is your typical teenage boy. He runs. He has couple of good friends. He has a girlfriend (he thinks). He draws mushroom clouds topped with little hearts (among other things). And he's got a basement full of survival rations (including dirt, fertilizer, a generator and water). Phillip's mother has also recently died and he feels lost in his place in the world. Along comes Rebekah offering him a path to God and, not knowing (or having) his beliefs in place he follows her to youth group, church and even a youth religious conference. On his path to enlightenment Phillip learns more about his father, his friends and himself.

My Thoughts:
Well, this book wasn't what I thought it was going to be. I knew that it wasn't going to be dystopian or zombies (even though the title implied that a bit, which was a-ok by me--sometimes you need a dystopian break) but I didn't realize how "churchy" it was going to be. And while that isn't something that I mind, per se, it isn't usually my cup of tea and it wasn't what I was expecting going into the book and so it threw me off on how I was expecting to interpret the story. I think this all goes back to my high school days where the popular kids were all part of "youth group" and they talked about what they were doing and, uh, well, you know, it's just me projecting typical high school issues all relating to not being part of the popular crowd on a book that wasn't even part of it--no biggie. But, it's not like I wanted to be a part of that--oh, you know, I think that's enough of my embarrassing high school memories.
Anywhoo, Phillip seemed like a typical teenage boy--concerned with how others (his friends, peers and girlfriend) seemed to view him and not very confident in what he believed for himself and how others should be allowed to believe on their own terms. And, of course, like most stories where one of the parents dies Phillip believes it is his fault and he is trying to cope with that internal struggle. I guess he was really looking for somebody or something to show him a way and to truly believe in while he was feeling all adrift in his life--his mother's death, his father wanting to sell her stockpile of survival stuff, one of his best friends was pulling away from him and the constant pushing of his running coach in a mostly negative way. I can see how somebody such as Phillip with all of that weighing down on him would be looking for something--just something. I think also, because his mother was returning to church just before she was killed he probably saw it as a way to connect to her and maybe find the answers that she was also searching for.
And, honestly, I didn't find this book bad, offensive or even judgmental or trying to preach the story of God (although some of the characters were a little more "pushy" than I would have liked--um, Ferret, I'm speaking to you) it just wasn't what I was looking for when I was reading the synopsis. And while I think Philip had a break-through in his relationship with God and his focus on what he wants to believe in I didn't really feel that his personal relationships (with his dad, Rebekah and friend, Mark) made any remarkable steps or that his emotional journey towards the acceptance of his mom's withdrawel, depression and eventual death really made any forward progress. So that was a little disappointing to be reading this book where Phillip's emotions touched on all those points but essentially only really resolved one aspect with the conclusion of the book.
But, I do have to give the book extra points for such an outstanding cover (which I was able to see even on my e-reader). I loved the bright colors and the paper cutout of what I believe is reminiscent of Phillip's mushroom cloud/heart drawings.

I received an advanced copy of this book from Simon and Schuster for a fair and honest review. This book is now available.

[An Abundance of Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Featured at An Abundance of Books

By the third chapter this is what you think you know:
1) Phillip's mother was obsessed with the end of the world.
2) She has died.
3) Phillips father is a raging atheist.
4) Phillips cross country coach is a bully.
5) The only way Rebekah will like Phillip is if he becomes a Christian.

At this point you think you've got the book figured out. There will be some growing pains, some self discoveries, girls, and an angry father. You keep on reading because Klauss is a great writer, Phillip is a relatable and witty character, and the story is good.

And then you start to realize that this book isn't as predictable as you thought it was. In fact, it's not doing anything you were expecting.

Reading Everything You Need to Survive the Apocalypse was a lot like Phillip's growing awareness of the people around him: nothing is what it seems, nobody is what we expect.

Phillip is a bit apathetic about the world around him, he's just going through the motions, not really making choices for himself. He doesn't really obsess about the end of the world, it's like an old habit left over from his mother, something he picked up from her. The loss of his mother has isolated his family from each other, and Phillip wants to talk, but he doesn't know how. While becoming a Christian wasn't his original goal, events seem out of his control because he keeps doing what he thinks Rebekah and his coach want. Christianity forces him to start thinking and asking questions, not just about whether or not he agrees with the teachings of a fundamentalist church, but opening up to his dad, forgiving friends (and himself) and letting other friends go. It's essentially a book about growing up and making some of the hard choices that go along with that.

Klauss writes a really good teenager. His characters curse (but not tons, it's natural and not overdone), they drink, party, and want to meet girls. Phillip and is friends are typical teenagers who run into the typical problems: growing apart, trying new things, jealous, new friends, etc. Everything You Need to Survive the Apocalypse was a witty book filled with multi-dimensional characters. Characters didn't do what you expected them to do, because like real people, you don't know their whole life, just the face they show you/Phillip.

In the end, I don't think this book was about religion, or evangelizing, or even spreading the Word to readers. I saw the religious aspect of the book more of a vehicle to force Phillip to confront some things in his life. At every point characters are telling Phillip he needs to think about what he's doing or saying he believes in. He wants answers, he wants things fixed, he wants to be comfortable and accepted, and he thinks religion will give him this. Then he learns that he's actually supposed to be thinking about his "faith" and then he starts questioning how the Bible is interpreted by this particular denomination, and he's forced to actually make some decisions about his life.

Verdict:
I was totally caught up in Everything You Need to Survive the Apocalypse, I hated having to put it down for irritating things like sleep or work. I enjoyed Phillip and his struggle to make connections and figure himself out. I think it's a great contemporary YA book, especially since it's unpredictable. It's a different type of read, and I highly recommend it, but you might want to try it from the library first.

Read full review HERE

[Chapter by Chapter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok, so to start things off, this book is absolutely not about the actual apocalypse, so if you think this is going to be an end of the world, survival, zombie infestation type book...it's not, BUT this book was a pleasant change from zombies, vampires, werewolves and everything else supernatural. We follow the main character, Phillip Flowers, as he attempts to figure out who he is and what his beliefs are. Told in first person view (my personal fav, as you all know), Klauss has incorporated humour into a novel that deals with issues that have plagued many teens, whether it be religion, or relationships with family and friends. Klauss’ writing style made me feel like the character was really talking to me, confiding in me…even opening up to me. I really enjoyed his telling of this story in a teen’s perspective. Klauss did a fantastic job of writing how Phillip, a male teen, expresses his feelings and thoughts. For example, it was interesting to see Phillips point of view when it came to asking out girls, and with dealing with his emotions. One of my favorite aspects of the novel was how some of the chapters Klauss writes were lengthy and detailed with events and conversations, where other chapters are very short and to the point, but was written with so much emotion.
Klauss introduces us to a cast of unforgettable characters, and allows the reader to experience the emotional ups and downs of friendship and love. You can see that Klauss has put in so much personality into these characters, that there is no way that they cannot make an impact on the reader. We are lucky to experience Phillip’s first kiss, his inner conflict with religion, how and where he draws his strength to continue on the path he chooses, and how he deals with the many revelations revealed to him along the way. You can feel the emotion and confusion and pain Phillip goes through when the ones he trusted the most, betray him.
I felt that Klauss wrote with so much raw emotion, that I could not put this book down. There were points in the novel where I would put the book down, look back on my life…back to when I was a teenager, and reflect on the decisions I had made, and what the consequences were. But on the flip side, as a parent, I also reflected on the decision I make now with my kids, and how that will influence them when they grow up. I found that it was the littlest details that kept me intrigued. You are told in the synopsis that Philip’s mother is dead, but Klauss allows the reader the tiniest of teases throughout the book without revealing how it happened until the end.
Not necessarily my type of book, but I do recommend this to anyone who enjoys contemporary YA novels, who enjoy a good coming of age story mixed in with a little humour, and a lot of heart. Scheduled for release January, 2012 by Simon & Schuster.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars!


Sophomore year has a rough start for Phillip. His friends quit track and leave him to deal with the “Ferret” on his own. One friend ditches him completely to hang out with some douchebags. All the while Phillip still hasn’t come to terms with his Mom’s death…and his Dad keeps trying to get him to talk about it.

Then Phillip meets Rebekah…the “unconventionally” hot girl running track with him. She invites him to a youth group meeting at her church, which he goes to, to see her again. And continues to go to youth group, but is Phillip going to see Rebekah? Or is Phillip going because Christianity is starting to resonate with him? Oh and did I mention Phillip’s Dad is a rather staunch Atheist? Makes for some interesting conflict…wouldn’t you say?

Honestly, had I known going into this book, how Christianity driven the storyline would be I would have skipped it. Having said that though, I did read it and had kind of a love/hate thing with the book. At times the story was rather “preachy”…I hate being preached at! But there were other aspects to the story that I wanted to find out about. For example…interspersed throughout the book were reflections on the last year of Phillip’s Mom’s life…leading up to her death. I wanted to know what happened there and when it was revealed, it was a total let down after all the build up. It was another one of those times when I would have thrown the book across the room had I not been reading on my kindle.

The Christian church in the story is non-denominational, which to me is usually all inclusive, but this one was more fundamentalist. I strongly disagree with a lot of fundamentalist tenants! So the book preached to me about things I strongly disagree with…LOL…Like I said, a bit of a love/hate relationship with this one.

I did love Phillip’s Dad…While staunchly Atheist, he did come around to allow Phillip to be honest in his feelings about church and becoming a Christian. I think it was hard for the Dad to support Phillip but his love for his son won out over his beliefs. Another positive, was Phillip finally questioning everything he’d learned…throughout most of the book he’d taken on everyone else’s beliefs and never stopped to think or question anything, prior to that point he was a little parrot regurgitating everything he’d been told by people he assumed knew more than himself.

While I wasn’t a fan of the subject matter I can’t argue that the book makes a person think and examine their own beliefs, hence my very strong reactions while I was reading. But do take this as a warning, if you are a non-Christian reading this book, you will be offended! The book and Phillip will be redeemed by the end, so don’t totally give up on him.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally posted on my blog, here: http://a-librarians-library.blogspot....

If you pick this book up expecting it to be about the apolcalypse, then you are in for a shock. Because though this novel talks a lot about Earth's impending doom (or at least the theories and ideas behind it), the Earth is not, in fact, destroyed throughout the course of this novel. One teenage boy's ideas about life, however, are a different story.

This novel features Phillip, a quirky sophomore in high school who runs cross country with his two best friends by day and is obsessed with the end of the world by night. When he twists his ankle at practice and hides behind a mailbox to avoid his coach's wrath, he meets a girl. And her name is Rebekah. And yeah, she kind of likes him, which doesn't tend to happen to a quirky high school boy.

So the basic premise of this story is a boy likes girl, girl likes boy, boy wants girl to like him more story that ends up revolving a lot around Rebekah's church. Phillip, whose father is an professed athiest, does not really know what to do when Rebekah invites him to her youth group on Wednesday night. So, with his Indian friend Asher in tow, he sets out on a journey: the search for something to believe in--though Phillip doesn't know it yet.

His search for something to believe in takes him through the many ups and downs of life in high school--losing a friend to "the cool crowd"; getting in fights with other friends over silly things, like girls and being too self-absorbed; and doing anything and everything to get the girl you like to continue to like you back. Oh, and I guess I should mention lying and sneaking around to avoid his atheist father's anger, and sorting through your basement stash of "everything you need to survive the apocalypse." Phillip's nemesis cross-country coach becomes his spiritual advisor of sorts, and Phillip is stuck in this whirlwind of too many new experiences at the same time that most every teenager goes through.

Now, while this spiritual journey centers around Christianity, I did not get the feeling that this book is trying to tell readers to convert to Christianity. It just so happens that the church is the setting Klauss uses to show the thought processes and self-discoveries of Phillip in this story, which is a realistic setting for a story like this, especially for a high schooler. Phillip's story goes way beyond "converting to Christianity"--it is about him finding some way to believe in something outside of himself, period. A way for him to find out somethings he did not know about himself before. And that is what high school is all about--learning to think, act, and be your own person.