Series: N/AAuthor: Marike Nijkamp
Genre: young adult, contemporary, thriller, LGBT, mystery, crime
Published: January 5, 2016
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Purchase: Amazon | B&N
10:00 a.m.
The principal of Opportunity, Alabama's high school finishes her speech, welcoming the entire student body to a new semester and encouraging them to excel and achieve.
10:02 a.m.
The students get up to leave the auditorium for their next class.
10:03 a.m.
The auditorium doors won't open.
10:05 a.m.
Someone starts shooting.
This explosive, emotional, page-turning debut about a high school held hostage is told from the perspective of four teens—each with their own reason to fear the boy with the gun.
Marieke Nijkamp is a storyteller, dreamer, globe-trotter, geek. She holds degrees in philosophy, history, and medieval studies, and is an executive member of We Need Diverse Books, the founder of DiversifYA, and a founding contributor to YA Misfits. She lives in the Netherlands. Visit her at mariekenijkamp.com.
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OVERALL, This is Where It Ends is a psychological and heartbreaking novel. While I was not immediately pulled in because of my struggle with the multiple POVs, I still fell in love with it particularly because of the ending. It really moved me.
Four POVs: Autumn, Sylv, Clare, and Tomas.
I read multiple POVs books. In fact, I like multiple POVs. I like reading through the thoughts of multiple characters. I like getting to know everyone personally. But This is Where It Ends and I landed on a wrong start. BUT don't worry, we certainly did not ended up the wrong way. This is Where It Ends made up with me in the end :)
I can't say it's a slow start because there was already something going on in the beginning. There was tension. There was that feeling something would go wrong. It's what the characters were going on about. It's the atmosphere Nijkamp already set up by writing the time in the beginning of each chapter. Yet, it did felt so slow for me.
The character establishment felt really rough for me. I had a hard time remembering everyone's connection with each other and with Tyler, 'the boy with the gun.' It took me three to four chapters to finally decide to map out their connections as to not forget who's who. Despite that, I have to take note of each character's story and relation to Tyler. I like how they slowly tell their story. How they slowly reveal to the reader why Tyler is broken. Why he's perhaps doing what he's doing.
Did it moved me? Yes, it did. This is Where It Ends is that kind of book. I was not strongly attached to the characters, unfortunately, but I LOVE Tomas. He was the one that really stuck to me. Sadly, I did not shed a tear for this novel although I do feel that I should have. The ending really moved me - the things they did, the words they said. It was really painful.
I read multiple POVs books. In fact, I like multiple POVs. I like reading through the thoughts of multiple characters. I like getting to know everyone personally. But This is Where It Ends and I landed on a wrong start. BUT don't worry, we certainly did not ended up the wrong way. This is Where It Ends made up with me in the end :)
I can't say it's a slow start because there was already something going on in the beginning. There was tension. There was that feeling something would go wrong. It's what the characters were going on about. It's the atmosphere Nijkamp already set up by writing the time in the beginning of each chapter. Yet, it did felt so slow for me.
The character establishment felt really rough for me. I had a hard time remembering everyone's connection with each other and with Tyler, 'the boy with the gun.' It took me three to four chapters to finally decide to map out their connections as to not forget who's who. Despite that, I have to take note of each character's story and relation to Tyler. I like how they slowly tell their story. How they slowly reveal to the reader why Tyler is broken. Why he's perhaps doing what he's doing.
Did it moved me? Yes, it did. This is Where It Ends is that kind of book. I was not strongly attached to the characters, unfortunately, but I LOVE Tomas. He was the one that really stuck to me. Sadly, I did not shed a tear for this novel although I do feel that I should have. The ending really moved me - the things they did, the words they said. It was really painful.
OVERALL, This is Where It Ends is a psychological and heartbreaking novel. While I was not immediately pulled in because of my struggle with the multiple POVs, I still fell in love with it particularly because of the ending. It really moved me.
* * *
What I Like: (1) its thrilling pace, (2) how each character's connections and stories are slowly revealed, (3) the multiple POV - it let's you in to the thoughts of each characters - their fears, their guilt over what happened to Tyler
What I Didn’t Like: (1) the multiple POV - it initially confused me, (2) I wasn't exactly attached to the characters (except for Tomas, I guess but that happened later on in the novel.. around 70% or 80% in), (3) how unreasonably short the time frame (the time indicated) per chapter is - I don't know about this but that's what I've been wondering about. They don't feel like 2 or 3 minutes for me. They felt like 5 or 6. Yes, the additional couple of minutes matters to me (sorry).
~I received this book in exchange for an honest review~
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