Official Review: The Joke at the End of the World

[Gabrielle Sigaki]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Joke at the End of the World" by Scott DIkkers.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Patrick Stoodle is a twelve-year-old boy who has a simple life in Cordial Falls in the 1950s. He lives with his father named Mason, and he helps a lady called Mrs. Cummings with her daily chores. However, Patrick always feels that something is wrong, that the children he knows don't like him, and that his dad hides something from him. On Patrick's twelfth birthday, Mason told him that he would take the boy to the 2020s in a time machine. In this travel, the young boy gets to know the COVID-19 pandemic, the Black Lives Matter movement, the smartphones, and the fact that his father was hiding more secrets than he thought.

The Joke at the End of the World by Scott Dikkers is a unique sci-fi novel that brings the themes of racism, COVID-19, faith, homophobia, gender, and sexuality questions. The author talks about some issues with seriousness, but he also uses humor to make the novel lighter.The story's narrator is Patrick, so the reader sees every scenario from the perspective of a curious and wary boy who was discovering a new reality.

My favorite aspect of this book was the character development. Dikkers created realistic personas with different viewpoints. For example, Patrick is always worried about how his life will end, and we see his concerns when he overthinks or imagines the future. Nevertheless, the characters also try to conscientize the reader about the importance of masks and social distancing in the pandemic. For instance, Patrick talks about the symptoms and the consequences of the COVID-19 on the human organism.

There is nothing to dislike in this novel. It seems professionally edited, well-written, and I found only a few errors that didn't disrupt my reading. Besides, the author constructed a structured story that is hard to put down, with an unexpected turn of events, and that catches the readers' attention until the end.

Therefore, I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. Dikkers created an exceptional narrative full of twists, mystery, engaging stories, and well-developed characters. I recommend it to those readers who are interested in reading a unique sci-fi or young adult novel, but also for those people who need hope or optimism in pandemic times. However, I don't recommend it to people who aren't interested in fiction books that talk about technologies, time travel, or aliens. This volume also contains a few profanities, so I don't recommend it to children, but they didn't disturb me.

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The Joke at the End of the World
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[MsH2k]

The title of this book caught my eye. This sounds like a clever storyline. I wonder what the father’s secrets are—I guess I will have to find out. Thanks for your thorough review!

[Devika Rajesh]

It really sounds fun. I have always liked the idea of time travelling. I am curious about the father's secrets, though.

[Alice Ngugi]

This sounds fun! Imagine living in what was someone's distant future! I am now seeing what it would have been like for someone to have time travelled to such a time as this. It is an interesting book, with an interesting title and equally creative concept. Great review

[NetMassimo]

Probably I'm too old for this novel, but this seems nice for young readers who can read about important issues. Thank you for your great review!

[ValeriaU]

It sounds like a fun book, I'm not a fan of time travel so I probably won't read it but it sounds like a good book. I'm interested in the fact that they included mayors events of 2020.

[Rukitejevbo02]

This sounds like a wonderful book and I would love to read it. I love time travel books, and the fact that the narrator went to the 2020s just makes it even better. Thanks for the review.

[GianKosi77]

I have read your great review and I agree that the book deserves a full rating. The author has addressed critical and rare issues in the society. Thank you.

[Mutumba94]

I feel like I am too old for this book but I would read it anyways. I love science fiction books and the themes you stated really caught me. Will definitely read this one, hope it won’t disappoint.