Let's Call it a Doomsday tackled a few pretty tough topics, and overall handled it quite well. Ellis has an anxiety disorder, which she is in therapy for. She's of the Mormon faith, trying to figure out what her actual beliefs are. She has a rocky relationship with her parents, especially her mom, though they definitely love her tons. She is also a doomsday prepper, complete with supplies stocked away, emergency kits, the whole shebang.
Enter Hannah. Hannah claims to know when the world will end, and she knows this because she's dreamt it. Including Ellis's role in it. And that, in a nutshell, is how Ellis meets Hannah and her friends. What unfolds next is the fun part, the part I won't deprive you of, but it helps to have some context for when I talk about the stuff I liked!
- •Complicated family dynamics. Oh, Ellis's mom. She's kind of the bane of my existence, because frankly, my own family has acted like her a time or twenty. To be fair, not at her level, and not always, but it's still very relatable. Ellis's Mom wants to know what she talked about in therapy. If Ellis talked about her. And to be quite frank, Mom sees Ellis's anxiety as a big ol' inconvenience. Like you know what Ellis's Mom? It's a true burden for Ellis. Not you. You're the mom, the caretaker. Get over yourself. Ellis's Dad tries, but not hard enough if you ask me. There is growth throughout the book though, and I can live with it. The bottom line is, it opens the door for a lot of discussion about families of people dealing with mental illness and I am here for it.
- •Complicated friendship dynamics. At times, I really didn't know if Hannah and Ellis's relationship was healthy? And I think we're supposed to feel that way! Hannah's other friends even bring it up. But Ellis really is good hearted, and I think Hannah needed someone like her. And through Hannah, Ellis finds a whole group of people who are in her corner, which I loved. Also, they're super fun people.
- •Awesomely diverse (and swoony, and realistic) relationships. Oh, I don't even want to tell you about this because I wasn't 100% sure who the love interest would be for awhile! So I won't. But there are a lot of characters with differing identities, and it was awesome. And also when the romance did happen, I was a very big fan.
- •Religious discussion. Mormonism seems to be a tough road for a lot of young people. In most of the stories I have read about being Mormon (both fiction and non-fiction), there's a fairly strict code of conduct. And often, a person's beliefs aren't going to fit all the categories of this (or any other, really) religion. And I think so often, this aspect of young adulthood is overlooked in books, when there are probably a lot of people questioning their beliefs and values at this time of life. So kudos to the author for taking on some of these challenging questions!
- •A few semi-ridiculous things that end up being really heartwarming. Okay some of the story is a wee bit bananas, but in such a fun and loving way that it didn't bother me one bit. But that's all I'll say on that.