We’re thrilled to be revealing the cover for Justin A. Reynolds upcoming middle grade novel It’s The End of The World and I’m In My Bathing Suit! Releasing on April 5th 2022 from Scholastic, this new release is Justin’s first foray into middle grade fiction and it asks: What happens when five unsupervised kids face the apocalypse under outrageously silly circumstances?
Read on to discover the synopsis and cover, plus It’s The End of The World and I’m In My Bathing Suit is now available to pre-order through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop, and Indiebound.
Twelve-year-old Eddie Gordon Holloway has concocted his most genius plan ever to avoid chores… especially the dreaded L-A-UN-D-R-Y. If he can wear all the clothes he owns, he’ll only have to do the laundry once during his school break. On the day of the highly anticipated Beach Bash, Eddie’s monstrous pile of dirty laundry is found by his mom. And Eddie’s day has just taken a turn for the worst. Now he’s stuck at home by himself, missing the bash, and doing his whole pile of laundry. But midcycle, the power goes out!
With his first load of laundry wet and the rest of his stuff still filthy, he sets out to explore the seemingly empty neighborhood in his glow-in-the-dark swim trunks, flip-flops, and a beach towel. He soon meets up with other neighborhood kids: newcomer Xavier (who was mid-haircut and has half his head shaved), Eddie’s former friend Sonia (who has spent her entire break trying to beat a video game and was mid-battle with the final boss), and siblings Trey and Sage (who are dealing with major sibling drama).
As they group up to cover more ground and find out what happened, they realize that their families aren’t coming back anytime soon. And as night falls, the crew realizes that they aren’t just the only people left in the neighborhood, they might be the only people left… anywhere.
Here’s what Justin had to say about his new novel and its fun cover:
“When I was writing BATHING SUIT, I knew it was going to be an awesome adventure story filled with lots of laughs, a ton of action, and a strange mystery. But it’s also a story about friendship; namely, what happens when an unlikely group of kids join forces to save their neighborhood (and you know maybe the world). So when I saw this brilliant cover art, which perfectly captures each of those key elements, I was beyond thrilled. Seriously, you should definitely judge this book by its cover!”
Cover Artist: Juan Useche (Instagram / Twitter) | Cover Designer: Stephanie Yang (Instagram / Twitter)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Justin A. Reynolds has always wanted to be a writer. Opposite of Always, his debut novel, was an Indies Introduce selection, a School Library Journal Best Book, has been translated in 17 languages, and is being developed for film with Paramount Players. He hangs out in northeast Ohio with his family and likes it, and is probably somewhere, right now, dancing terribly. His second novel, Early Departures, published September 2020. You can find him at justinareynolds.com.
