The Apocalypse of Elena Mendoza
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers · Paperback · May 21, 2019
A Junior Library Guild Selection “Surreal, brainy, and totally captivating.” —Booklist (starred review) “Provocative and moving.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) “Hutchinson artfully blends the realistic and the surreal.” —School Library Journal (starred review) From the critically acclaimed author of We Are the Ants and At the Edge of the Universe comes a mind-bending, riveting novel about a teen who was born to a virgin mother and realizes she has the power to heal—but that power comes at a huge cost.
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- Who it’s for
- A teen’s healing power puts science, first love, and apocalypse in uneasy company.
- Themes
- Miraculous healing, Apocalyptic threat, Unexplained phenomena
- Genres
- YA Apocalyptic Fiction, YA Romance - LGBTQ+, Magical Realism for Teens
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Start with this bookAbout this book
A Junior Library Guild Selection “Surreal, brainy, and totally captivating.” —Booklist (starred review) “Provocative and moving.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) “Hutchinson artfully blends the realistic and the surreal.” —School Library Journal (starred review) From the critically acclaimed author of We Are the Ants and At the Edge of the Universe comes a mind-bending, riveting novel about a teen who was born to a virgin mother and realizes she has the power to heal—but that power comes at a huge cost.
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Sixteen-year-old Elena Mendoza is the product of a virgin birth. This can be scientifically explained (it’s called parthenogenesis), but what can’t be explained is how Elena is able to heal Freddie, the girl she’s had a crush on for years, from a gunshot wound in a Starbucks parking lot. Or why the boy who shot Freddie, David Combs, disappeared from the same parking lot minutes later after getting sucked up into the clouds. Other things that can’t be explained are the talking girl on the front of a tampon box, or the reasons that David Combs shot Freddie in the first place. As more unbelievable things occur, and Elena continues to perform miracles, the only remaining explanation is the least logical of all—that the world is actually coming to an end, and Elena is possibly the only one who can do something about it.
Miracles, Unexplained
A teen’s healing power puts science, first love, and apocalypse in uneasy company.
Come here for
- A longtime crush amid impossible events
- Science beside the inexplicable
Expect
- Miracles with a steep cost
- Surreal turns and end-of-the-world questions
Where it sits
| Magical Realism for Teens | 72% |
|---|---|
| YA Apocalyptic Fiction | 53% |
| YA Romance - LGBTQ+ | 36% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- YA LGBTQ+
- YA Science Fiction
- Depression for Teens
- Authors
- Shaun David Hutchinson
- Publisher
- Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
- Published
- May 21, 2019
- Format
- Paperback
- Theme
- Miraculous healing · Apocalyptic threat · Unexplained phenomena
- Reading lane
- YA LGBTQ+