(Review) This Is Where It Ends

This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp

Publication Date: January 5, 2016

Pages: 285 (hardcover) 

Genre: Contemporary/Young Adult

My Goodreads Rating: 3 Stars 

Goodreads Synopsis:
10:00 a.m. The principal of Opportunity 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 a.m. The auditorium doors won't open.

10:05 a.m. Someone starts shooting.

Told from four different perspectives over the span of fifty-four harrowing minutes, terror reigns as one student’s calculated revenge turns into the ultimate game of survival.

My Review: 

This book has been on my list for a while, but I've just managed to pick it up from the library. In light of recent events I almost set this one aside...but I didn't. 

This is an interesting book. I didn't love it. I didn't hate it. I didn't exactly enjoy it. But I read it and thought about it a lot yesterday. 

The story is told from the four different POVs of four high school students. Two of them are inside the auditorium with Tyler, the shooter, while the other two are in other parts of the school when the shooting happens. 

I was talking to a friend who saw my Goodreads update and all I could really say was that this book is a little graphic. I think that if you're picking this one up, then you should already know that this material is sensitive and will not be for everyone. 

It takes you right into the minds of people who are scared, brave, and a little bit reckless. There are definitely things that will make you cringe, roll your eyes, and make you want to put down the book and walk away. 

Ultimately I do think that this is a story about how we can all be brave in certain situations. Claire, Tomas, Autumn, and Sylv were a good example, if not reckless at times. They did what they could to help their friends and suffered the price, too. 

Like I said, I didn't hate this book. I always read other reviews before I pick up a book and was concerned about the lack of story from Tyler. He was a broken kid from a broken home who felt like everything had been taken from him. That was his reasoning, anyway. 

This book is tragic, I'll tell you that much. And should not be read if you don't want anything to do with this sort of sadness. Tread lightly. 

I hope this review makes sense. It's hard to make a list of pros and cons when the subject is so sensitive. Thanks for reading.