Impactful Story I would read this book over and over again. The author chose such an interesting way to share this story. This book gives you 4 perspectives of close, but different students that were involved. I was interested since the beginning on the book. I 10000 recommend you read this book. It was so good I ended up finishing it in 3 days!
Long Winded Honestly, the build up was pretty great but all in all the book was, I regret to say, was pretty boring. I admire the author's for choosing to address such a serious topic and delivered well it could really make an impact .
The author did not wait to get to the heart of the story. Her every word made me feel like I was in all the 4 main character's shoes. Each and every character had problems in their lives that any typical teen may have. However, the author included other characters to portray that there are people by our side who are always there for us and it is up to us to find that true individual - they may be your team mate, a close friend, or even your sibling. Cherish those before you lose them. This book was extremely eye opening and heart touching. Loved this book! I recommend this book for anyone brave enough to enter a heart racing world.
Great Book! This book was great. It got to the point of the story shortly into the book. It made me feel like I was right there beside all 4 of the characters. It has the ups and downs and feelings that I could imagine a real school shooting would have. It made me feel right along side the characters, through the fears and happiness. I would definitely recommend this!
Well-Meaning but Ineffective During a welcome-back assembly at a rural American high school, Ty Browne, a former student, slips inside the auditorium and locks the doors, trapping everyone inside. When the staff and students realize that something is wrong, he pulls out a gun and starts shooting. The ensuing horror is seen through the eyes of four students, each of whom struggles valiantly to live through the next fifty-four minutes. Unfortunately, not all will survive.
Although this is unfortunately going to be a negative review, I have to start off by applauding the author's effort to mine an incredibly painful topic. She was also very creative with the way she interspersed blog posts, Twitter feeds, and text messages throughout her prose. However, I'm afraid that's where my praise is going to stop, because overall, I found Nijkamp's debut novel to be pretty shallow. What else do you call a story where non-descript students and staff are dispatched shortly after being introduced? Where friends still manage to keep up their regular, witty banter while fleeing for their lives? In addition to this, there's an annoying amount of speech-making that allows the shooter to indulge in a long-winded bad-guy monologue. At another point, one of the protagonists manages to claim the moral high ground by delivering a brief but impassioned speech.
Essentially, This is Where it Ends is a well-meaning, but ineffective tragedy that tries to soften the blows of character loss by leaning on the laws of Hollywood fiction. Recommended for Ages 16-Up.