BUY THIS BOOK FROM 7 STORIES PRESS OR YOUR LOCAL INDIE
Join us for book tour events!
Past events:
February 19-21: I will do a couple events with Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee!
Feb 18: Reading at 7 PM at The Octagon in the gay woods
Reading Feb 20, 2024 at Vanderbilt University! 6PM!
October 11: Astoria Bookshop, Queens NYC (MOVED from original date of Oct 10)
October 25: Browser’s Bookstore, Olympia WA 6-7 PM
October 26: University Bookstore, Seattle WA 6-7 PM
Reading with Max Graves, January 18, 2024, 7 PM with Pilsen Community Books, Chicago, Illinois
PRAISE
“How to Get over the End of the World would have been phenomenal and necessary even without the science-magic: queer and trans teens, playing in bands, falling in love, raising hell, fighting and friending and living radical lives. But, there is science-magic. Aliens and telepathy and vibes. This is the book we need right now.”
—Michelle Tea, author of Black Wave
“Hal Schrieve has proven hirself a virtuoso of vital, immediate trans storytelling. How to Get over the End of the World is a brave salvo against anodyne trans YA, richly populated by messy, earnest, colorful characters. You’ll love them, loathe them, and fall in love with them all over again. Trans kids are under attack. How to Get over the End of World will show them how to fight back.”
—Peyton Thomas, award-winning author of Both Sides Now
“How to Get over the End of the World feels wholly original—a punk rock opera that finds a way to blend sci-fi, coming-of-age, and inspiration that maybe we can fix this messed up world. No one writes the contemporary teen voice better than Hal Schrieve.”
—Colleen AF Venable, author of the National Book Award Longlisted Kiss Number 8
“Growing up and being trans and aliens, oh my! How to Get over the End of the World is one of those rare novels that combines razor-sharp wit with a courageous and tender heart. With pitch-perfect accuracy and fearless honesty, Hal Schrieve evokes the raw wild magic of queer and trans adolescence with characters that are at once astoundingly realistic and delightfully larger than life. Ferociously intelligent and relentlessly authentic, this book has all the makings of a queer cult classic.”
—Kai Cheng Thom, author of Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars: A Dangerous Trans Girl’s Confabulous Memoir
“A story exploding with voice and vulnerability, How to Get over the End of the World is electric and soft and honest and powerful and left me buzzing. I’ve never read such a raw depiction and reflection of my trans and queer identities, and I’m beyond excited for young readers who’ll get to read this book and feel seen by Hal’s words. Simply magical. Very gay.”
—Kacen Callender, author of the National Book Award-winning King and the Dragonflies and the bestselling novel Felix Ever After
James is a goth teen whose queer youth group is failing to make rent after losing government funding, and his best friend Opal insists that this problem has to be solved via a rock opera fundraiser gala. Meanwhile, James’s crush Ian/Monique has just dumped Straight Swimmer Boy and started the best and brightest queercore band ever to grace the stage of Goat Mansion: Monique Fatigue and the Dusties. Out-of-town homeschooler Orsino is at the first show. He’s been hearing alien messages in his dreams for years, but when the venue catches fire, local punk star Jukebox seems to share a frightening, intense vision with him. Jukebox insists the shared vision heralds the arrival of a new moment of revolution– if the youth of Olympia can live up to it.
How To Get Over the End of the World is Hal’s newest YA novel. It was released Oct 10, 2023 from Seven Stories Press.
Queer teens navigate breakups, familial challenges, and personal tragedy amid surreal apocalyptic visions in this frenetic speculative offering from Schrieve (Out of Salem). James Goldman, a transgender teen who describes himself as “neurotic and feral and gay,” distracts himself from his oppressive small-town high school environment by participating in the local punk scene and volunteering with Compton House, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing support to the LGBTQ community. After a fire breaks out at a well-known venue, devastating the music scene and further imperiling Compton’s already strained finances, James and his found family of fellow queer friends endeavor to stage a rock opera to raise money. In the process, the teens reckon with the bizarre and terrifying visions they’ve experienced ever since meeting Orsino, a mysterious trans guy with apparent telepathic powers. Meandering plot points and stilted pacing sometimes distract from the important messaging of this slice-of-life read. Still, Schrieve’s zingy dialogue shines, and the novel’s punk-rock energy makes the many discussions of gender and sexuality feel punchy and vital. Ages 13–17. (Oct.)
Listen to my interview with Tuck Woodstock about this book and other topics here!
Hal Schrieve 