Review: This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp
Title: This Is Where It EndsPublished: Jan. 5, 2016
Publisher: SourceFire Books
Pages: 288
Genre: Teens/ YA
Review: ebook provided by NetGalley and publisher
Buy Links: Amazon, Amazon.uk
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
The auditorium doors won't open.
10:05
Someone starts shooting.
Told over the span of 54 harrowing minutes from four different perspectives, terror reigns as one student's calculated revenge turns into the ultimate game of survival.
I received this book via NetGalley to give an honest review.
Wow is about all I can really say. You hear about school shootings almost all the time and it breaks your heart. With this story it is told over the span of 54 minutes from different points of views.
Those 54 minutes seem to go by so slow it seems for those that are affected that you know they are wondering when will help arrive?
Now I am okay with different P.O.V's but it took me a while to finally get all the characters right and remembering who was related to who and what not. I like to wrap my head around it from the get go not 30% in but that is just me. There were a few things that I was a bit confused in a way about. The Adventures of Mei I didn't understand what that had to do with anything. I assume that it was a teacher's child? but I wasn't 100 percent certain. The text messages though they were very few I didn't know who was sending them and I may have missed it but I didn't think I did. Was it from the student doing the shooting or someone in the school?
So the different P.O.V.'s are Autumn (which by the way is such a cool name), Sylv, Tomas and Claire. They each play an important role from helping save those that are being held, to standing up to the shooter, to even getting help. They also each have something in common with each other they all know the shooter in a different way then some of their classmates.
The author did a great job with describing the scenes and what the characters were feeling and going through from the beginning to the end and you learn why the shooter did what he did but it is still heartbreaking that it went that route.
This is a very touchy subject and one that makes you want to hug your children a bit tighter when you let them walk out the door because you never know what might happen. In Opportunity, Alabama it was a normal day to all those that went to school but they had no clue what the rest of the day would ensure.
There is hope, courage, love, strength, heartbreak all wrapped up within this story. The story felt real and raw.
Marieke is a storyteller, dreamer, globe-trotter, and diversity advocate. She holds degrees in philosophy, history, and medieval studies, and wants to grow up to be a time traveler.
In the midnight hours of the day, Marieke writes stories full of hope and heartbreak. Her debut YA novel THIS IS WHERE IT ENDS will be out from Sourcebooks Fire in 2016.
NOTE: While I love Goodreads, I don't spend a lot of time here, so I'm dreadfully slow in responding to questions or requests. You're always welcome to tweet or email me though!
NOTE, PART TWO: I so appreciate everyone taking the time to read and discuss my book! I do not respond to reviews, but whether you love or hate my book, thank you for sharing your thoughts! <3
Comments
Post a Comment