Stevie and her best friend Ray agree that nothing exciting ever happens in the street they live in. In fact World’s End Close ‘is the dullest place on Earth’. At least until Stevie finds a dead body in her coal shed.

Luckily the body she’s found isn’t dead but asleep. This body belongs to a teenager called Anna. She won’t give them her full name, but does tell them she needs to stay hidden. There are people after her. Dangerous people.

With Stevie’s mum away on a Conflict Resolution course and her Nan coming to stay to care for her and her big sister Bev, the chances of keeping a stranger in their coal shed a secret is very slim. Caught up in the excitement of finding Anna, Stevie and Ray look for another hiding place.

World’s End Close isn’t the only place where things are changing. America and Cuba are glaring at each other and Russia is coming to Cuba’s aid. Both have nuclear weapons and the threat that they will use them has swept the world. Ray’s dad is American, and although now living in the UK, he has family right in the firing line in the US. The increasing tension between the superpowers has seeped into their homes, school and community.

Stevie’s Dad was a soldier in the UK army, and Nan loves to talk about him when she visits. Stevie enjoys this as her mum hardly mentions him at all. Losing him to a terrible illness years before is too hard to think about. When Stevie learns more about her Dad in a letter, events around her become clearer.

But what to do with Anna? Is she really in danger? How will they keep her safe? Who is she looking for and why? All this and worries for the future whirl round in Stevie’s head. Suddenly, the excitement of harbouring a fugitive becomes a little scary.

Another great novel from this accomplished author,  focusing on a moment in history . There are many threads and themes to The Week at Worlds End. Readers will learn about a time where nations threatened each other with terrible weapons while the world watched and waited with trepidation.

This novel is set over the space of a week, beginning on Tuesday 23/10/1962 with The Daily Times headline to The Weekend Times headline on Sunday 28/10/1962.

Main characters Stevie and Ray have a lot to deal with during this week, when they are usually used to the boring routine of family household life and school, and not much in between.

They are suddenly responsible for hiding a teenage girl running from danger, caring for Stevie’s beloved terrier Flea who has been bitten by a large stray dog, and trying not to catastrophise the possibility of a nuclear war. Like all of Carroll’s characters, Stevie is well-rounded with hopes and fears and family revelations. And like any 11 year old, she is easily caught up in something that seems exciting at the time,  but unfortunately is life-threatening in reality.

The world building of the early 60’s is rich with the music of The Beatles, and US artists Little Richard and Elvis. There is the competition between the Mods and the Rockers, and 60’s clothing and hair styles are modelled by the character’s older siblings. There is also the racism of the times (in the US) woven between the lines. Not only a Great Read, but would make a great class read aloud when studying this time in history around the world. 

Author – Emma Carroll

Age – 11+

See a Q & A with Emma Carroll about The Week at World’s End here

(2022, Allen & Unwin, 1962, Cuba Crisis, President John F Kennedy, Russia, Nuclear Bombs, Uncertainty, Tension, Danger, Hiding, Cold War, Action, Animals, Conflict, Family, Friendship, Growing up, Historical, Mystery, Secret, War, Protest, Bunker, Airbase)