It Begins with the End

By Samira Ahmed

Gripping and poignant, It Begins with the End is a profound novel-in-verse about memory, resistance, and hope during WWII- from New York Times bestselling author Samira Ahmed.

It begins with an execution.

April 1944. Khursheed Khan, a young spy for the British Armed Forces, has been captured by the Nazis. She's about to take her last breath. But to her, it's not how her life ends that matters. It's how she lived it.

What matters is the memory of her childhood in India and the lessons she learned from her resilient grandmother. What matters is her friends and family in Paris, whose lives are threatened by Nazi forces. What matters is the boy she wanted to love forever.

What matters is hope and resistance and the fight.

Written in moving and nuanced verse, It Begins with the End travels backward and forward through time as Kursheed recalls her life in the moments before it ends--reminding readers of all we must fight for when the worst of humanity threatens to steal everything and everyone we hold dear.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0316579343
• ISBN13: 9780316579346
• Release Date: September 2026
• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
• Length: 400 Pages
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 5.8" x 8.5"
• Age Range: 13 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 8 to 12