*I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Title: Postscript
Author: Cory McCarthy
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication Date: February 16, 2026
ISBN: 9780593618240
Synopsis:
On the far side of a swift and unknowable apocalypse, a few sapiens are surviving off the last scraps of humanity. No longer recognizable as Cape Cod, the dunes of their archipelago are empty apart from regrets and ruins—until West blows in like a storm.
West is a prophet of instinct, the last amateur anthropologist, ever aware of being present in life. He can’t help but move through Ani’s rage, Karen’s anxiety, and Emil’s immense longing with curiosity and care. West’s unbridled love and grief challenge the survivors to defy extinction with the most beautifully human thing imaginable: a family. He may even impress Death.
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I’ll be honest, in the beginning I nearly didn’t finish Postscript, not hooked by the first chapters, under certain if the narrators voice would keep me engaged. But gosh, am I glad that I kept reading. Postscript is a hauntingly beautiful story, and an incredibly easy read, set in a post-apocalyptic, coastal landscape, with a character who appears simple and broken, but is so much more.
West may not be the first character to impress, but he has a way with people, connecting those who have been torn apart in grief and loss, getting to the root of who each person is and exposing their vulnerabilities (and with that, their hearts) with surprising ease. His simple and honest way of viewing and experiencing the world creates a thread of instant trust with those around him, and he becomes the tie that binds the survivors together. At the end of the world, through West, a family is formed and hope for some kind of a future amid the devastation that they are all surviving.
It’s an artful and unique depiction of the post-apocalyptic world, tackling this issue as an exploration of survival and human connection. Postscript shows that even amid the utmost devastation, purity and beauty can emerge, sparking hope and bonds in the most unlikely of places.
This is a short and quick read, and not at all what I thought it would be, in the best possible way.
Happy reading!
Worn Pages and Ink 