When is paradise no longer paradise? 
 The Islands at the End of the World is a unique dystopian/apocalyptic story set on the isolated islands of Hawaii. The novel starts on the big island of Hawaii near Hilo and follows sixteen year old Leilani. She is an epileptic, a condition which shattered her dreams of training as a gymnast, and the daughter of an island native mother but mainlander father. These two facts shape her viewpoint quite critically throughout the novel, as she struggles to find a place in which she belongs and is completely accepted. Leilani is a smart, strong, authentic and pragmatic main character and absolutely relatable. I genuinely liked her as a lead and completely felt for her struggles, and respected her for her questions about faith, culture, spirituality and morality. 
 I have to admit that at first the Hawaiian setting felt incongruous for a dystopian story and the interspersed cultural and spiritual legend references initially felt a bit stilted. However, once the story gets moving and picks up pace it all starts to mesh more effectively and instead creates a very haunting and realistic setting and adds to the depth of the main characters experience (so I would recommend persisting if this novel doesn't quite hook you from the start). The world building in this novel is slow, creating a gradual snowballing effect that gathers speed towards disaster. As the story picks up pace Leilani and her father head to Honolulu for an epilepsy study, leaving the rest of their family behind. The tension gradually builds as strange things start to happen, meteor strikes, an odd celestial anomaly, sporadic disruptions to communications networks and loss of technology. Initially, life continues despite these disruptions. It doesn't take long, however, for everything to start spiralling completely out of control. And that is where this novel really hits its stride. 
 The story from here on out essentially follows Leilani and her father's struggle to survive. Lacking any sort of information despite hundreds of questions, chaos and confusion quickly erupts. People turn on each other and social structures rapidly deteriorate, with warring factions rising up in the chaos. The main characters are isolated from everything they known and love, completely cut off with just their own wits and courage to survive and a burning desire to return home, despite a great ocean and a huge number of insurmountable obstacles. It is a powerful study in humanity in the face of the loss of social order and the viciousness and cruelty that develops is completely believable (which sadly says something about us). However, interspersed between the horrific moments Leilani is forced to witness and the extreme fear and chaos and loss she is surrounded by, there are also moments of great sacrifice, courage and honour that remind you that we all have the ability to choose how we respond in awful situations. 
 I loved the focus on familial bonds, rather than romantic love, that drives this novel forwards. It is a rare thing for the young adult genre, but no less powerful. I loved Leilani's father, and it was interesting to watch their relationship change and mature throughout the story. It was also interesting to read a story in which the main character is dealing with a medical condition like epilepsy. Leilani's countdown day by day as she steadily runs out of seizure medication further adds to the momentum and tension of the story. 
 I think the biggest downfall for this book, and the reason for my slightly lower star rating (in fairness, I'd probably give 3.5 stars if I could), is that I couldn't quite buy into the explanation for the apocalypse. It just felt a bit silly. I think I would have preferred to never find out a 'why', because that would have felt more realistic to the situation. Up until that point I was just enjoying the thrill-ride of dystopia and completely immersed in the story. The 'plot twist' at the end pulled me right out and left me a bit disappointed. That being said, the overall journey was still definitely worth it for me. I liked the setting, the writing was easy to read despite dealing with several mature themes and I needed to find out whether Leilani and her father made it home and, if they did, what was waiting for them when they got there. 
 TL;DR version, I would recommend this if you're a fan of post-apocalyptic survival stories filled with plenty of action and adventure. It's a good page turner with solid characterisation and world building and an oddly beautiful setting for dystopia.