The Islands at the End of the World by Austin Aslan

The Islands at the End of the World (Islands at the End of the World)

by Austin Aslan

In this fast-paced survival story set in Hawaii, electronics fail worldwide, the islands become completely isolated, and a strange starscape fills the sky. Leilani and her father embark on a nightmare odyssey from Oahu to their home on the Big Island. Leilani’s epilepsy holds a clue to the disaster, if only they can survive as the islands revert to earlier ways. 
   A powerful story enriched by fascinating elements of Hawaiian ecology, culture, and warfare, this captivating and dramatic debut from Austin Aslan is the first of two novels. The author has a master’s degree in tropical conservation biology from the University of Hawaii at Hilo.

Praise for Islands at the End of the World:

“A riveting tale of belonging, family, overcoming perceived limitations, and finding a home.”--School Library Journal, Starred

"Aslan’s debut honors Hawaii’s unique cultural strengths--family ties and love of home, amplified by geography and history--while remaining true to a genre that affirms the mysterious grandeur of the universe waiting to be discovered."--Kirkus Reviews, Starred

"Aslan’s debut is a riveting tale of belonging, family, overcoming perceived limitations, and finding a home."--School Library Journal, Starred

Reviewed by leahrosereads on

3 of 5 stars

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When I first started reading THE ISLANDS AT THE END OF THE WORLD, I really was enjoying it.

I liked that the setting was unique to me, taking place in Hawaii, and I liked that Leilani, the 16 year old protagonist, seemed like a fun, laid back gal with a medical condition, that was unfortunately, defining her.

Leilani has epilepsy, and she and her father leave their home on Hilo (the Big Island) to Oahu, for Leilani to take an experimental drug to help with her epileptic seizures. While on Oahu, the lights of Hawaii go out and mass chaos ensues.

No one knows why the lights have gone out or why technological devices have seemingly turned off. Leilani and her father are stuck in a tourist-y area, but they want to make it home to Hilo. And so they try.

Of course, Leilani, being an epileptic, and forced to go back on her regular medication vs. the experimental, has seizures that slow her father and her down in their journey. Also, everyone goes batshit crazy in Hawaii.

Seriously, society devolves so quickly and so thoroughly, it was absolute insanity to read. And I guess that’s where I started feeling ‘meh’ about the whole story. If this where to happen, I absolutely see some of society going this route.

Absolutely, no doubts in my mind, there would be militias and gangs popping up for turf, but it felt like these groups in the book were organized way faster than I think is natural.


Maybe not. And then, there was a lot of farfetchery going on with the plot itself. What’s causing Hawaii and all of the planet to lose power and everything else, well, Leilani says it’s pretty much like a galactic sea turtle, having come to Earth’s atmosphere to breed and raise its young. How does a 16 year old know this? When she has a seizure, she can hear what it’s thinking, and it told her. ...Yeah...that’s a thing in this book.


This ended up being a miss for me. Maybe the second book will be better, especially with all of the human conflicts surely to arise from this, but I don’t think I’m going to end up finding out.

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  • Started reading
  • 23 August, 2014: Finished reading
  • 23 August, 2014: Reviewed