How to Pack for the End of the World by Michelle Falkoff
Published by HarperTeen on November 10, 2020
ISBN: 0062680269
Pages: 320
Genres: Realistic Fiction
Format: Chapter Book Fiction
Goodreads

Ever since her synagogue got set on fire, Amina has been having nightmares and obsessing over potential and past disaster in the world. She spends hours researching topics like the Holocaust and surviving a disaster. Fed up, her parents send her to a private school in Vermont known for its rich and preppy students. As a scholarship student, Amina worries she won’t make any friends.  Surprisingly, she meets some seemingly like-minded students right away and they begin a club based on teaching each other survival skills and playing games.  The book misses a little bit on character development and the movement of the storyline.  We get small pieces of characters’ backstories, but never enough to understand why they do what they do.  A small mystery presents itself, though the answer seems fairly obvious. The end is a bit anticlimactic, but it ends on a positive note.  This may be of interest to anyone who’s into protests and social justice topics.  Recommended for ages 14+. 

Reviewed by Kara Reiman, Maine State Library