Review: This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp

Publisher: SourceBooks Fire

Publication Date: January 5th, 2015

Rating: 5 Stars

Source: eARC From Netgalley In Exchange For An Honest Review

Pages: 292

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Summary (from Goodreads):

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. 

Wow, this book was completely heartbreaking. I'm not even sure where to start. I'm just kind of at a loss for words. This book made me feel things I didn't want to feel. 

This book is told from the points of view of four different characters inside and outside the school, Claire, Tomas, Sylvia, and Autumn. It is also told through flashbacks, tweets, text messages, and blog posts from various other characters involved somehow in the story. 

I don't really want to do a huge recap of the story because since this book takes place over such a short timespan, I can't really say anything because I will definitely say too much. All you need to know is in the summary. And it's hard to really talk about the characters in depth because I don't feel like you really learn a whole lot about them. And I don't find that to be a bad thing. You learn a little bit through the flashbacks and such. All I know is that these characters were all incredibly brave in their own ways and they didn't just sit idly by and let things unfold. They did what they could.

This book is tough to read. It's so heartbreaking and terrifying. It's hard to imagine that someone could be so heartless to take their anger and problems out on so many innocent people just because they felt wronged by a few people. The story is told slowly, but it never felt slow or boring.

This book has a cast of diverse characters. It portrays sexually and racially diverse characters as well as a character with a disability. It shows some strong friendships, relationships, and family ties. It shows bravery in the face of almost certain death.

After finishing this book, it got me thinking, when I was in high school, there was a boy a grade above me who got expelled for threatening to bring a gun to school. After I was dropped off at school one day along with my sister and my cousin, my cousin told me that the boy had told him that he was planning to bring a gun. And that he would give my cousin and a few other people notes the day before telling them to stay home the next day. I told my friends that and they told some people who eventually told the principal and that's as far as it went. But it's so scary to know that something horrible like this could have possibly come of it! 

Overall, I would recommend this book! I will almost certainly be buying this book when it comes out! It was so good and I am super excited to see what else this author comes out with! I didn't say a whole lot in this review, but I wouldn't want to spoil anything for you! I hope that you'll check this book out in January! 

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Between now and January 5th, the publisher is giving away custom "TIME WAS OURS" lanyards, as well as a chance for one person to win a Polaroid Digital Instant Print Camera!

There are two ways to enter this giveaway:

1. If you preorder a copy of This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp, submit your name, mailing address, email address, and order confirmation number in the rafflecopter below.

2. If you haven't preordered a copy of This Is Where It Ends, you can still enter the giveaway. Print your name, mailing address, email address, and the phrase "This Is Where It Ends" on a standard-size postcard and send it to:

Publicity

c/o Sourcebooks, Inc.

1935 Brookdale Rd., #139

Naperville, IL 60563

a Rafflecopter giveaway