This Is Where It Ends: International Edition

by Marieke Nijkamp

The reviews are in! This Is Where It Ends, the #1 New York Times bestseller and one of the Best Books of the Decade (Buzzfeed, Paste Magazine, BookRiot), "could break you." "I am speechless." "The saddest book I have ever read." "Literally tore my heart out."
Go inside a heartbreaking fictional school shooting, minute-by-terrifying-minute. Everyone has a reason to fear the boy with the gun...
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 a.m.: The auditorium doors won't open.
10:05 a.m.: Someone starts shooting.
Over the course of 54 minutes, four students must confront their greatest hopes, and darkest fears, as they come face-to-face with the boy with the gun. In a world where violence in schools is at an all-time high and school shootings are a horrifyingly common reality for teenagers, This Is Where It Ends is a rallying cry to end the gun violence epidemic for good. 
Praise for This Is Where It Ends:
A Buzzfeed Best Young Adult Book of the Decade
A Paste Magazine Best Teen Book of the Decade
A Book Riot Biggest YA Book of the Decade
A Professional Book Nerds Best Book of the Decade
A Bustle.com Most-Anticipated YA Novel
A Goodreads YA Best Books Pick
A Goodreads Choice Award Finalist for Young Adult Fiction
Kids Indie Next List Pick
"Marieke Nijkamp's brutal, powerful fictional account of a school shooting is important in its timeliness." —Bustle.com
"A gritty, emotional, and suspenseful read and although fictionalized, it reflects on a problematic and harrowing issue across the nation." —Buzzfeed
"A compelling, brutal story of an unfortunately all-too familiar situation: a school shooting. Nijkamp portrays the events thoughtfully, recounting fifty-four intense minutes of bravery, love, and loss." —BookRiot

• ISBN10: 149262246X
• ISBN13: 9781492622468
• Publish Date: 5 February 2016 (first published 5 January 2016)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Sourcebooks Fire
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 288
• Language: English

Reviews

[limabean74]

My Review:

I promise you this review has no spoilers at all. You are safe to read it.

I thought maybe I could write this review without tears but as I sit here thinking about what I want to say I can feel them building in my eyes. Let me start by saying if you are going to read one book this year, this is the book you should read. I wont lie, I wasn't sure about the beginning of this book and I started to get worried that I might not be connecting with the characters and honestly I didn't connect with all of them but that didn't stop me from worrying about them regardless. The story is told in 4 POV's ~ Autumn, Sylvia, Tomas and Claire, all of them had their share of issues in their lives like normal teens and some not so normal teen drama. I felt at the beginning that everything was a bit thrown at you but I get it, you need to know these characters to experience what they felt, the fear, the pain and heartbreak of the next 54 minutes. Yes, in this book everything happens within a 54 minute time frame. The secondary characters become people you know even with just a short intro to them you know these people and are going through what the 4 main characters are seeing and hearing. With Twitter posts, Messages and Blog post you are experiencing it with them and around them. I wasn't that big of a fan of the back stories, I thought it might have had to many, I already was understand these characters and almost felt I didn't really need all of them.

This book lets you glimpse at what it would be like to experience the pain of watching friends and people you know die all because one person can't handle their life and needed to take it out on a bunch of other people, bringing a gun to school and just picking off everyone that wronged you. He was a lunatic, a madman or was he someone in so much pain that he didn't see things how others normally do. He killed people and had no remorse, no worries and felt no consequence for what he was or about to do. I didn't like him, I didn't feel for him, I only felt for those 4 kids and the people around them, brothers, sisters and friends.

I sit and think now about what happened and I cry even though I know this is just a book but for 4 hours reading this I was a part of that school, I knew those people and I watched it all happen not being able to do a single thing. My heart hurts and I am not sure if I will ever stop crying when I think of this book. Now ask me why I think you should read this...You must, even if you cry for days, weeks, years, you must read this. You must understand that what happened is beyond words and is a real as it gets.

I can't recommend this book enough, I wasn't kidding when I said If you read only one book this year, please make it this one. Please.

Thank you so much for stopping by to check out my review

Hope you have a great day and Happy Reading!

This review was originally posted on Because reading is better than real life

[whisperingchapters]

This review was originally posted on Latte Nights ReviewsI kind of knew what I was getting into when I read the synopsis but I had no idea it would make me feel so much and be on the borderline of tears. This story is told in four POV's: two girls in the shooting that happened in the gym, one girl outside at the tracks and one boy inside the school but not in the shooting. Each one was so heartbreaking because each one of them had someone they deeply cared about in the gym and they couldn't really do much to help. I could feel their frustration and their terrified emotions. It's like I became one of them while reading this story. The author sucked me in from the terrifying beginning to the bitter-sweet end.

The atmosphere of the story was without a doubt intense and suspenseful. When the shooter starts killing people randomly, even those he wasn't intending on killing, you realize that he really doesn't have any remorse and that's when the number one question hits you: "Who will survive this?" I'm glad Marieke decided to go ahead and write this book because I think this is what it truly goes down in real life. We hear about many people being shot and they didn't even have anything to do with the shooter but because they were there at the wrong place and wrong time, they suffered. That's exactly what happens in this book and it really shakes you to the very core.

I wished the author had written a POV from the killer. I know why he did what he did but I don't think the reader really gets it. There isn't much background on the character as I would have liked to somehow understand the reasons for doing this. Nonetheless, this story grips you right from the start. There were some minor romantic aspects in the story that I wish hadn't been there to make the story feel even more realistic.

The ending was heart-breaking. There were so many deaths but it brought the students close. The ending itself was beautiful and it made me shed a tear or two. This is a must-read for everyone because it's a powerful, emotional and thought-provoking story with diverse characters that many will enjoy and will not forget.
This review was originally posted on Latte Nights Reviews

[Angie]

I received an ARC through NetGalley.

This is Where it Ends is a terrifying, intense, and gripping book. It's set over the course of about 50 minutes, and alternates between several POVs. It was suppose to be just another Monday morning. The new semester was beginning and the principal was giving her start of semester speech. And then, he calmly walks in after having secured all of the doors. He starts shooting, locks everyone in the auditorium, and makes them listen while picking off those who wronged him one by one.

This is Where it Ends is absolutely horrifying, and the unique format really added to the sense of dread. Each chapter covers only a couple of minutes, and switches between four main POVs, a blog, and Twitter. It took me about 3 hours to read this less than an hour event, which made it feel like it was happening in slow motion. I imagine that's how it felt for those students and teachers trapped with the shooter. I couldn't put it down, because I had to know what was going to happen. I was inwardly screaming, "Where are the police?!" only to see the timestamp was only two minutes later!

The only thing that kept me from giving This is Where it Ends five stars was that the flashback sections felt distracting. I get that these students were thinking about these past events, but as the reader, I didn't care what they did for their 15th birthday. I wanted to know what was happening NOW and what led to it. I wanted to get back to how these teens were trying to rescue their friends and families from this horror! There was also a point near the end where I didn't quite believe the choices made. It was quite stupid for them to do, but led to a really tragic finale.

This is Where it Ends was really incredible. It hooked me from the beginning and kept me furiously flipping pages. I believed the terror and disbelief that these characters were going through. It is not a happy book by any means. There's no rainbow after the storm. It's just a hard, real look at school violence. It definitely shows that awful truth that there are usually signs, but no one knows what they mean until it's too late.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

[violetpeanut]

Review to come

[lindsey]

(I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.)

Note:  This book may be triggering for some, as it deals pretty realistically with school shootings.

Impactful.  Emotional.  Harrowing.  These are a few words that describe This is Where it Ends.

This is going to be a difficult book to review.  It was a difficult book to read.  It made me feel physically ill - not because it was graphic, but because it is frightening to realize that this could happen.  That this has happened.  This may be a work of fiction, but just because these characters don't exist doesn't mean that this story isn't real.  It's terrifying to know that people have experienced something similar to this.  It's terrifying to know it could happen again.

As this book shows, no one ever expects this kind of tragedy.  No one expects someone to wake up one morning and decide to end the lives of others.  No one expects a classmate, co-worker, friend, or family member to commit this terrible crime.

This is Where it Ends spans the harrowing 54 minutes during which the shooter carries out his act of terror, and it is told from the point of view of four different students.  They're all linked to the shooter in various ways, and each of them will be forever changed.  By having multiple points of view, we're able to see what's happening in different areas of the school, and realize that even though someone isn't in immediate danger, there is still terror, and concern for those left inside.

I imagine this was a hard book for the author to write.  I know it was a hard book to read.  It feels wrong to say I enjoyed it, because it was definitely not an enjoyable story.  But I did get attached to the characters, and it did make me cry.  It made me think, and I have a feeling this book will stick with me for a while, as it elicited such strong feelings.  Part of me didn't want to put it down because I wanted to know what would happen, but the other part of me had to take breaks from it, as it was so heartbreaking at times.

While some things a couple of characters did felt out of place during an active shooting, who's to say what they would do in the same situation.  With all of the fear, adrenaline, and uncertainty, it's hard to imagine what we would or wouldn't do in the moment.

Though the story is hard to read, the author did an excellent job of telling it.  She is a wonderful storyteller, and I will definitely be interested in reading more from her in the future.

This is Where it Ends wasn't perfect, but I still feel it's worth a read, and I would recommend it, especially to those looking for more diversity in books.