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This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkampx
Pages: 288
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire, an imprint of Sourcebooks
Source: Netgalley
Rating: ☆ ☆ ☆
Summary:
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.
Pages: 288
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire, an imprint of Sourcebooks
Source: Netgalley
Rating: ☆ ☆ ☆
Summary:
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.
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My Review
I liked this book but it was a slow like. At first I was like "oh no". The book is in alternating pov. This is fine when it is just two characters but when it is more it can become confusing. It also has a lot of flashbacks. Once you get into a rhythm it easier to keep track of the characters. Still it takes some getting used to and is an effort to maintain. I also did not feel fond of any of the characters. I think that is a result of the alternate pov. You never get a chance to stay in any one character's head.
Claire is a track runner. She isn't in the school during the shooting. She takes charge to try to get the other who were with her to find phones and get help. Really I didn't see much need for her to be in the story other than her being the ex-girlfriend of the shooter.
Tomas is the hero of the novel. His love for his sister makes him refuse to just walk away and wait for help. With his friend Fareed at his side, he works to open the exits. His and Far's bravery and quick thinking were the light in a darkness.
Sylvia is the partner of Autumn. She has had her own unfortunate run in with the shooter. A run in that most people know of but none of them know about. She is the person that Autumn leans on the most (though Autumn hardly ever leans on anyone). She is also Tomas twin sister.
Autumn also has a relationship with the shooter. She is the person who were are suppose to feel some type of emotion for. She is stuck in an understandable depression after a previous tragic event changed the dynamic of her family. I applaud the author for making her a lesbian main character in a region that is still homophobic. Her lost and her underlying guilt makes it understandable as to why she became so withdrawn. Her family life makes it understandable as to why she has stayed that way.
Those are the main pov. We do not know what is going on in the head of Tyler. Tyler is the shooter. I am guessing but I think that she wanted the novel to be about the victims. I think that it would have made for better understanding of his character had he had is own pov though. We are given reasons as to why he was there but it was too predictable too superficial.
Still things ended up being a good read. One part of the ending surprised me. I think this is a good attempt at creating a Columbine type situation. I wanted a deeper connection to the characters. At the end of the day, characters are what makes me fall in love with a book.
I liked this book but it was a slow like. At first I was like "oh no". The book is in alternating pov. This is fine when it is just two characters but when it is more it can become confusing. It also has a lot of flashbacks. Once you get into a rhythm it easier to keep track of the characters. Still it takes some getting used to and is an effort to maintain. I also did not feel fond of any of the characters. I think that is a result of the alternate pov. You never get a chance to stay in any one character's head.
Claire is a track runner. She isn't in the school during the shooting. She takes charge to try to get the other who were with her to find phones and get help. Really I didn't see much need for her to be in the story other than her being the ex-girlfriend of the shooter.
Tomas is the hero of the novel. His love for his sister makes him refuse to just walk away and wait for help. With his friend Fareed at his side, he works to open the exits. His and Far's bravery and quick thinking were the light in a darkness.
Sylvia is the partner of Autumn. She has had her own unfortunate run in with the shooter. A run in that most people know of but none of them know about. She is the person that Autumn leans on the most (though Autumn hardly ever leans on anyone). She is also Tomas twin sister.
Autumn also has a relationship with the shooter. She is the person who were are suppose to feel some type of emotion for. She is stuck in an understandable depression after a previous tragic event changed the dynamic of her family. I applaud the author for making her a lesbian main character in a region that is still homophobic. Her lost and her underlying guilt makes it understandable as to why she became so withdrawn. Her family life makes it understandable as to why she has stayed that way.
Those are the main pov. We do not know what is going on in the head of Tyler. Tyler is the shooter. I am guessing but I think that she wanted the novel to be about the victims. I think that it would have made for better understanding of his character had he had is own pov though. We are given reasons as to why he was there but it was too predictable too superficial.
Still things ended up being a good read. One part of the ending surprised me. I think this is a good attempt at creating a Columbine type situation. I wanted a deeper connection to the characters. At the end of the day, characters are what makes me fall in love with a book.
About the Author
Marieke Nijkamp was born and raised in the Netherlands. A lifelong student of stories, language, and ideas, she is more or less proficient in about a dozen languages and holds degrees in philosophy, history, and medieval studies. She is a storyteller, dreamer, globe-trotter, geek. Her debut young adult novel This Is Where It Ends, a contemporary story that follows four teens over the course of the fifty-four minutes of a school shooting, will be published by Sourcebooks Fire in January 2016.
She is the founder of DiversifYA and a senior VP of We Need Diverse Books. Find her on Twitter.
Marieke Nijkamp was born and raised in the Netherlands. A lifelong student of stories, language, and ideas, she is more or less proficient in about a dozen languages and holds degrees in philosophy, history, and medieval studies. She is a storyteller, dreamer, globe-trotter, geek. Her debut young adult novel This Is Where It Ends, a contemporary story that follows four teens over the course of the fifty-four minutes of a school shooting, will be published by Sourcebooks Fire in January 2016.
She is the founder of DiversifYA and a senior VP of We Need Diverse Books. Find her on Twitter.
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