This Is Where It Ends
Marieke Nijkamp
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.
Note: I got this as an eARC from NetGalley.
I don't think I've cried this much because of a book in a long while.
I don't think I've been impacted by a book for a long while.
I don't think I've read a book that might change my life in a long while.
This book isn't at all what you may think it is.
You may think it's another survival story.
It's not. It's this magical piece of work about these kids as they try to survive.
And it was beautiful. I started to cry at the end.
They just wanted to live. And protect their loved ones. And be noticed. And help. And love. And be loved.
It was beautiful.
The one thing that struck me was their absolute love for each other. These strangers or your siblings. You would die for them. You just want them to live. I've never read any book that emphasized that. Ever. It was different. And new. I loved it.
The way the author wove their stories together...amazing. Tyler's ex. His sister. His sister's girlfriend. The girlfriend's brother. A beloved teacher's daughter. Tweets.
It was an interesting way to tell the story. I actually wanted Tyler to be a narrator in the end. He killed. He hurt. But if you looked deep enough, he was human. He was hurt. He was wounded. He lashed out because he didn't know otherwise.
And, somehow, the author got me to feel for Tyler. His mom was dead. His sister was occupied. It wasn't his fault. He lashed out, which wasn't the best idea. But, in all honesty, he was a weakened child who just wanted to be loved.
Somehow, I got to this conclusion.
(I think it's because I'm the antagonist too.)
I didn't like the fact that all the narrators were interwoven at first. Then...I loved it. I realized how important it was to the story. It showed Tyler and what he did in many perspectives. It showed their opinions and their fight for survival.
I'll admit that I didn't like Claire. I didn't care for her perspective. She wasn't interesting. And a lot of her narration was talking to Chris. Which was boring.
I admit that her loss impacted me, though. It shook my soul. He was just a kid!
This isn't a real shooting. (Not one that I know of anyways.)
But. Shootings are becoming common in the USA right now. And I think the author's brave for writing this. It felt real. It felt like I was there.
I'm not sure if I would be brave enough to do what Autumn or Sylv did.
But there are people who are that brave.
Thank goodness.
RIP, shooting victims.
And my sympathy goes out to the families.
Rating:
5/5
Note: I got this as an eARC from NetGalley.
I don't think I've cried this much because of a book in a long while.
I don't think I've been impacted by a book for a long while.
I don't think I've read a book that might change my life in a long while.
This book isn't at all what you may think it is.
You may think it's another survival story.
It's not. It's this magical piece of work about these kids as they try to survive.
And it was beautiful. I started to cry at the end.
They just wanted to live. And protect their loved ones. And be noticed. And help. And love. And be loved.
It was beautiful.
The one thing that struck me was their absolute love for each other. These strangers or your siblings. You would die for them. You just want them to live. I've never read any book that emphasized that. Ever. It was different. And new. I loved it.
The way the author wove their stories together...amazing. Tyler's ex. His sister. His sister's girlfriend. The girlfriend's brother. A beloved teacher's daughter. Tweets.
It was an interesting way to tell the story. I actually wanted Tyler to be a narrator in the end. He killed. He hurt. But if you looked deep enough, he was human. He was hurt. He was wounded. He lashed out because he didn't know otherwise.
And, somehow, the author got me to feel for Tyler. His mom was dead. His sister was occupied. It wasn't his fault. He lashed out, which wasn't the best idea. But, in all honesty, he was a weakened child who just wanted to be loved.
Somehow, I got to this conclusion.
(I think it's because I'm the antagonist too.)
I didn't like the fact that all the narrators were interwoven at first. Then...I loved it. I realized how important it was to the story. It showed Tyler and what he did in many perspectives. It showed their opinions and their fight for survival.
I'll admit that I didn't like Claire. I didn't care for her perspective. She wasn't interesting. And a lot of her narration was talking to Chris. Which was boring.
I admit that her loss impacted me, though. It shook my soul. He was just a kid!
This isn't a real shooting. (Not one that I know of anyways.)
But. Shootings are becoming common in the USA right now. And I think the author's brave for writing this. It felt real. It felt like I was there.
I'm not sure if I would be brave enough to do what Autumn or Sylv did.
But there are people who are that brave.
Thank goodness.
RIP, shooting victims.
And my sympathy goes out to the families.
Rating:
Wow , I am glad you liked this book.The premise intrigued and can not wait to get a copy for myself!
ReplyDeleteIt was amazing. I was so surprised. I thought it would be a quick read. But it was an emotional roller coaster
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