Just over a month--that's how long humanity has left before a comet named Foxworth collides with the Earth. Simon wants to spend his remaining days beside his ex-girlfriend, Tilda, who dumped him in favor of experiencing life before their final day arrives. Simon, however, can't seem to let go while Tilda sheds her old self more than ever, indulging in drugs and random hookups like most of their doom-conscious peers. Things are strained at home, where Simon tries to avoid the rising tensions between himself and his moms, exacerbated by the return of his pregnant older sister. Then Tilda turns up dead and everyone suspects Simon, including Tilda's former best friend, Lucinda. Lucinda chronicles the chaos around her, as well as memories of her deceased friend, via an app. But as Simon and Lucinda uncover secrets from Tilda's life, they become obsessed with solving her murder. A sprawling, at times meandering tale, bestselling author Strandberg's latest moves a day at a time, an uneasy crawl toward the inevitable. Set in Sweden, the novel offers glimpses of turmoil abroad through pointed sociopolitical commentary and oblique observations on race. Although the trite murder mystery threatens to derail the narrative's emotional impetus, strong character development brings it all together in the end. Most characters are White; Simon is biracial (his biological mother is Black from Dominica and his moms chose a White sperm donor). Messy, flawed, but utterly brilliant in its humanity. (Fiction. 14-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Scandinavian noir meets YA in a jam-packed novel that's part whodunit, part romance, part end-of-the-world narrative. With only a month to go before the approaching comet Foxworth renders life on Earth extinct, Swedish teen Simon attempts to reconnect with his ex-girlfriend Tilda. Meanwhile, Tilda's former best friend Lucinda, having discontinued her cancer treatment, transcribes her thoughts into an app intended to leave behind a human legacy for potential alien explorers. When Tilda is murdered, her body found behind a factory, prime suspect Simon teams up with Lucinda to clear his name and find the killer. As their investigation runs up against humankind's impending deadline and people's true natures, Simon and Lucinda must decide what matters most. Adeptly translated by Kiros, Strandberg's (Blood Cruise, for adults) introspective mystery captures the heightened circumstances and resulting existential concerns. The meandering narrative occasionally gets stuck in its own sense of futility as it attempts to encompass the full range of reactions to the crisis, but the teen protagonists' complex stew of emotions and grief prove moving as they navigate love and loss up to the last minute. Ages 14--up. Agency: Grand Agency. (Oct.)

Gr 9 Up--With the looming threat of a comet arriving that will completely decimate the Earth, Swedish teens Simon and Lucinda must learn to cope with their quick end. Simon, whose mother is from Dominica, is desperately trying to hold onto his broken relationship with ex-girlfriend Tilda. Lucinda, who distanced herself from her best friend Tilda when she was diagnosed with cancer, tries to reconnect with those she'd stepped away from. When Tilda is found murdered, Simon and Lucinda come together to prove that Simon was not the one who killed her and discover the truth behind her death. This book illuminates the best and worst of humanity in its reaction to "the end," and creates a world not so different from our own. The emotions are raw and pure, the ending heartfelt, and readers will experience what the characters are feeling. This is not just a murder mystery, but a coming-of-age novel, each character learning to face the unknown in their own way. The novel is beautifully character-driven, each character relatable and so utterly human in their own way. It explores how it does not matter what you do in your final days of life, but rather, who you were with. VERDICT A stellar work of fiction that will cling to readers' minds and take hold of their hearts. A novel that tackles the world's reaction to the literal end of our planet in a way that is relatable and eerily foreseeable.--Shayna Chapman, Chapman University, CA