The End Of Time by Gavin Extence @GavinExtence @HodderBooks

Book Description:

Beneath the stars, on a stony beach, stand two teenage brothers.

They are wearing lifejackets that are too big for them and their most precious belongings are sealed in waterproof bags tucked inside the rucksacks on their backs.

Turkey is behind them and Europe lies ahead, a dark, desperate swim away.

They don’t know what will come next, but they’re about to meet a man who does. He calls himself Jesus, the Messiah. He is barefoot, dishevelled and smells strongly of alcohol.

And he doesn’t believe in chance meetings. He believes he has information about the future – information that will change three lives forever . . .

My Thoughts:

The cover and blurb really intrigued me with this book so when the opportunity arose to read it, I jumped at the chance.

The story starts off with two brothers taking a leap of faith, not knowing what the future holds or whether they will even make the hard journey that is ahead of them. I couldn’t wait to read on just to see what exactly life did have in store for these two.

As a parent, I could never imagine sending my children out into the big wide world, not to embark on the journey that Mohammed and Zain are about to embark on anyway, even though they are of similar age to the characters. Then again I count my blessings every day that I live in a country that I should never have to do that. I totally understood the reasoning’s why, not that it makes in any easier to stomach. I really felt for these two brothers as well as the parents that they bravely leave behind.

The author takes us on an informative journey of just how someone would flee a country and how they get around border controls. Also what life is like in the camps that the boys find themselves in as well as the huge risks they undertake. Alongside this though, we see the pair make an unlikely friendship with another refugee, Jesus and a bond grows between the three.

Jesus is a bit of an underdog in this story. Whilst Mohammed is the main character in the story, the more I got to know about Jesus, the more I was intrigued and the more I grew to like him. At first he comes across as some crazy alcoholic but by the end I have to admit he stole a bit of my heart.

The End Of Time was an informative and in part, emotional read. It did take me a little while for the story to fully grab hold of me but when it did, I was well and truly captivated. It certainly gives the reader food for thought and hopefully will make people more understanding of the plights of refugees. A story of hope, brotherly bonds and an unlikely friendship that will pull on the heart strings.

My thanks to Hodder and Stoughton for an advanced readers copy of this book. All opinions are my own and not biased in anyway.

The End Of Time is available to purchase from Amazon. (Please note that link used is an affiliate link.