Mixtape for the End of the World

By: Andrew J Brandt

Narrated by: Andrew Gibson

Length: 5 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

It's August 1999, and the world will end in less than four months.

At least, that's what high school sophomore Derrick Townsend hears on the television as the coming Y2K apocalypse grows nearer every day. On top of that, he's now the new kid in town, having moved to Mount Vernon a week before school starts for the next semester. Music-obsessed, he creates mixtapes of his favorite songs to help him cope with - and escape - this new, unfamiliar world.

As Derrick navigates music, love, and the end of the world, he and newfound friend AJ start a band in order to compete in the school's talent show. Derrick, however, also wants to impress Haley, the beautiful girl next door, who is also reeling from her own personal drama.

With Y2K approaching, the teenagers, contemplating the future and what it may hold, also cope with changing family dynamics and the drama of small-town life.

A nostalgic trip back into the late-'90s, Mixtape for the End of the World is a "heartfelt and heartwarming look back at being a teenager. It will make you miss the good ol' days." (Readers' Favorite)

©2021 Andrew J Brandt (P)2021 Andrew J Brandt

Critic reviews

"A coming-of-age story that strikes all the right notes. Brandt has crafted lovable characters and a story full of heart and genuine passion. For anyone that's old enough to have made a mixtape, this nostalgia trip will be every hug your parents forgot to give you." (Derek Porterfield, author of The Mute-Cat Chronicles)

"Mixtape for the End of the World is a heartfelt and heartwarming look at being a teenager. Full of late-'90s nostalgia and young romance, it will make you miss the good ol' days." (Readers' Favorite)

Loved it!

This was an excellent story about coming in to your own at a young age. Took me back to the music I grew up on.
Friendship, love and trust are featured in this story. Very clean for young teens and adults. Narration by Andrew Gibson was perfect.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Go ahead, give it a listen!

Fun story with great character development. Reminded me of years gone by. Very impressive narrator/story-teller.

Blast From the Past!

I laughed, smirked, gasped and cried…this book took me right back to 1999! I don’t listen to fiction but now I am hooked with this author!

The characters were exactly as we were back then. All the descriptions of life in a small town were so accurate.

I felt connected with each person in the book!

The author paints a perfect picture of how it was to be a young kid back in the 90s and especially things that go on in a small town.

I could go on and on but this author is outstanding because he evoked so many emotions in me and reminded me of a time in my life that wasn’t always easy but was filled with so many great memories!

A Heartwarming Coming-of-Age Story

Although I’m several decades past my young adulthood, I still gravitate toward the coming-of-age tale. I acquired ‘Mixtape for the End of the World’ as a free review copy audiobook that I requested, and the following are my honest thoughts on it.

Today’s YA landscape seems filled with supernatural, paranormal and dystopian worlds. While I’ve spent my fair share of time reading in those genres, I have recently been more drawn to stories based in our reality. That’s part of why I love this book.

Fifteen-year-old Derrick is a regular high school sophomore at a new school. He’s hoping to fit in, make life-long friends and find his true self. He’s very serious about music and his guitar. Dreams of rock stardom are never far from his thoughts. The book’s action takes place within a short timeframe, but Derrick does a lot of growing up in just a few months. The ending is open-ended but doesn’t feel incomplete. Andrew Brandt gives readers a wonderful glimpse into Derrick's young life.

I love that Brandt uses songs as chapter titles. Remembering the bands from that era add a great layer of nostalgia to the entire book. It provides a feeling of connection to Derrick as, I too, love the music he loves.

Andrew Gibson is a new-to-me narrator that I’ll be on the lookout for in the future. He truly brings Derrick to life with his great performance.

Highly recommended.

Really enjoyed it.

Really like this book, a little heavy handed on the 1999 references and I did feel like the the main character had some flip floppy emotions but he was a teenager and the references help set the tone. So over all all my complaints are meaningless. Check out this book it’s a fun one. Could see it being a movie one day.