White Pine Award Nomination for The End Of The World As We Know It

Lesley's Young Adult novel "The End of the World As We Know It" has been nominated for a 2008 White Pine Award.

Click here for more information about this prestigious award.

"Author Lesley Choyce has filled his latest book with quirky yet complex characters, and his adept portrayal of one teen's inner struggles - struggles that are not fuelled by extreme poverty, abuse, or neglect or any other external provocations - is at once profound and utterly realistic. Carson's story of subtle growth and quiet transformation will resonate with a wide range off readers. It is a beautifully honest book tinged with sadness, but ultimately filled with optimism and hope."
-- Atlantic Books Today (Halifax)

Book Description

"I hate the world and everything in it. And that includes me."

Asked to write something for English class that expresses who he really is, 16-year-old Carson takes pleasure in blistering the page with hate for everything in his life. Stuck in a private school for kids who have repeatedly flunked out elsewhere, Carson knows he's got nowhere lower to sink to. "Flunk Out Academy" is the last resort for Carson and his classmates, in a small town where its deeply troubled students are decidedly unwelcome.

Then Carson meets someone who is even less optimistic than he. Christine struggles to get by, living in a trailer by herself, abandoned by her mother and father, so desperate that she has become almost immune to the pain and loneliness.

Confronted by her deep sadness, Carson starts to care for her and she for him. Once focused on someone other than himself, he begins to notice the world around him and realize that there is beauty as well as hopelessness, love as well as hate. Together the two teenagers struggle to work out how they are going to live in an imperfect world. There are no easy happy endings, but somehow the journey eventually makes the pain worthwhile.

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Red Deer Press; 1 edition (May 31, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0889953791
• ISBN-13: 978-0889953796
  

If you like, you can order your copy from many online and bricks & mortar book sellers. Here are a few links for your convenience:
Chapters.ca || Amazon.com