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A review by thebooknerdscorner
The Apocalypse of Elena Mendoza by Shaun David Hutchinson
4.0
"The Apocalypse of Elena Mendoza" is a quirky read about a sixteen-year-old girl by the name of Elena who just happens to hold the entire fate of the Earth in her hands; no pressure, of course.
Elena has always been a bit different. She was born of a virgin birth (a process known as parthenogenesis), she's heard mysterious voices for as long as she can remember, and is a social outcast in almost every situation. Despite being an oddity, she's still shocked when she is able to heal her crush, Freddie, from a devastating gun wound in the Starbucks parking lot with nothing but her hands and her mysterious abilities. As Elena begins to perform more miraculous acts, she begins to wonder who has bestowed these miraculous powers upon her, and to what lengths she is willing to go to save the world.
I couldn't help constantly comparing this one to the only other one of Hutchinson's novels that I had previously: "We Are the Ants." I loved that book so much and it is hard not to view Elena's story as a bit of an off-brand version of Henry's story. Despite this, I still did enjoy the characters, the bizarre plot, and the overall odd scenarios that went down in this book.
Something that I wasn't expecting at all in this one was allusions to Hutchinson's other books. When Henry from "We Are the Ants" showed up, I practically shrieked aloud. The only other one I consciously picked up was Tommy from "At the Edge of the Universe," but I have only read two of Hutchinson's books, so I'm sure there were other references that I missed. I think that these Easter eggs are really cool and seeing Henry again made me immediately perk up while reading.
I really like the themes present throughout this story. My personal favorite has to be the one about making choices for oneself. All of the other things covered in this book really packed a punch, too. This book was filled to the brim with topics such as teenage crushes, alcoholism, suicide, sexual identity, mental and physical illness, and so much more.
The quirkiness of this book and the humor surrounding it was also top tier. Between the talking objects that took shapes such as a Gandalf LEGO, a baby Cthulhu plushie, and a snappy My Little Pony with colorful language, all of Elena's companions were quite the entities. The back and forth comments between the main characters was also quite entertaining and realistic.
The final thing I want to comment on is the diversity. I think almost every identity that is part of the LGBTQIA+ community was touched on in this book. The young characters were really discovering their sexual identities in this one, and I really appreciated the inclusion of the fact that some of the characters might be asexual. Other aspects of diversity are also top tier in this book with Elena being a Latina and her best friend Fadil being Muslim.
Overall, "The Apocalypse of Elena Mendoza" is a strange story that tackles some tough topics, spreads some important messages, and allows one to really think about the mortality of humans and the possibility of the world ending. I didn't love it nearly as much as I love "We Are the Ants," but it was still a great book with complex characters, realistic scenarios, and bizarre science fictional happenings. I must say, reading this one makes me really excited to read more of Hutchinson's books, especially "At the Edge of the Universe." If one enjoys urban science fiction books with a bit of an odd side that also tackles important issues, I cannot recommend Hutchinson's books enough!
Elena has always been a bit different. She was born of a virgin birth (a process known as parthenogenesis), she's heard mysterious voices for as long as she can remember, and is a social outcast in almost every situation. Despite being an oddity, she's still shocked when she is able to heal her crush, Freddie, from a devastating gun wound in the Starbucks parking lot with nothing but her hands and her mysterious abilities. As Elena begins to perform more miraculous acts, she begins to wonder who has bestowed these miraculous powers upon her, and to what lengths she is willing to go to save the world.
I couldn't help constantly comparing this one to the only other one of Hutchinson's novels that I had previously: "We Are the Ants." I loved that book so much and it is hard not to view Elena's story as a bit of an off-brand version of Henry's story. Despite this, I still did enjoy the characters, the bizarre plot, and the overall odd scenarios that went down in this book.
Something that I wasn't expecting at all in this one was allusions to Hutchinson's other books. When Henry from "We Are the Ants" showed up, I practically shrieked aloud. The only other one I consciously picked up was Tommy from "At the Edge of the Universe," but I have only read two of Hutchinson's books, so I'm sure there were other references that I missed. I think that these Easter eggs are really cool and seeing Henry again made me immediately perk up while reading.
I really like the themes present throughout this story. My personal favorite has to be the one about making choices for oneself. All of the other things covered in this book really packed a punch, too. This book was filled to the brim with topics such as teenage crushes, alcoholism, suicide, sexual identity, mental and physical illness, and so much more.
The quirkiness of this book and the humor surrounding it was also top tier. Between the talking objects that took shapes such as a Gandalf LEGO, a baby Cthulhu plushie, and a snappy My Little Pony with colorful language, all of Elena's companions were quite the entities. The back and forth comments between the main characters was also quite entertaining and realistic.
The final thing I want to comment on is the diversity. I think almost every identity that is part of the LGBTQIA+ community was touched on in this book. The young characters were really discovering their sexual identities in this one, and I really appreciated the inclusion of the fact that some of the characters might be asexual. Other aspects of diversity are also top tier in this book with Elena being a Latina and her best friend Fadil being Muslim.
Overall, "The Apocalypse of Elena Mendoza" is a strange story that tackles some tough topics, spreads some important messages, and allows one to really think about the mortality of humans and the possibility of the world ending. I didn't love it nearly as much as I love "We Are the Ants," but it was still a great book with complex characters, realistic scenarios, and bizarre science fictional happenings. I must say, reading this one makes me really excited to read more of Hutchinson's books, especially "At the Edge of the Universe." If one enjoys urban science fiction books with a bit of an odd side that also tackles important issues, I cannot recommend Hutchinson's books enough!