This Is Where It Ends

~ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review~ Initially, I'm very iffy when it comes to books with multiple POVs. But for this story’s case, it suited. TIWIE is a novel that gripped me at every page, portraying an all too realistic scenario, one that no one can ever imagine occurring happening in their lifetime, but has already occurred 15 in the US alone this year (source: Wikipedia). In 54 minutes, every student and teacher present in the auditorium of Opportunity High School, Alabama, is fighting for their lives against one boy, one of their own. What was frightening about this story is that it can happen everywhere. But there's a difference between hearing about that and being thrown into such situation. This book follows a few different characters during the hour that the shooting takes place. Each character is so completely different and so important in their own ways. I think the central aspect which I really enjoyed was the diversity of the characters. There’s a scene where Tomas is worried for Fareed and how, his faith and heritage, may portray him as a threat to the police officers was a touching moment for me because of how real it was. I really hope more authors begin to write about marginalised character because, honestly, I'm all for seeing more Muslim characters in novels. However, I do believe the psychology behind the perpetrator’s act was a bit foolish. It boils to the simple “He was evil,” and that’s it. We never really find out why Tyler did it— he goes from being a supportive brother to someone who beats and abuses his sister. It’s too simplistic, and I think that was a fatal flaw in this novel, along with missing out a chance of looking at the psychology of teen shooters and focusing more on the cheap thrills.  Overall, it was an exciting read. Though some scenes felt strange, I don't want to judge because who on earth would know what they'd do in this situation when they don't know what else is going to happen?

I had so many hopes for this book. But it turned out to be horribly written, which is obvious from the first two chapters: Chapter 1: the point of view switches FOUR TIMES. It would be fine if the author dedicated some time to make the reader get to know each character better. But it didn't happen. After reading all four points of view, I was left with a salad of facts and names in my head. Characters all spoke with the same voice, and I couldn't distinguish between them. I felt like I opened the book in the middle, because the characters didn't introduce the reader to their life situations, they talked like I knew very well who they are. While I didn't, because I am not the author of this book. Suddenly, the chapter was interrupted with an ugly grey background and a social media / sms exchange: again, I see nicknames that are not telling me who is writing to whom. And I wasn't able to figure it out. I expected there to be an important topic, but it turned out that characters just shared some stupic chatter. And the chapter... ended abruptly!!! I felt an urge to drop the book, but I didn't want to drop it after one chapter, so I kept on reading. Chapter 2: The author stated that "everyone has to run" and added that "teachers don't run". Author should know that "run" in this case is a metaphor which means "go quickly". Does the author think that readers don't know? Nevermind. I find out that a new character (let's call him character E) pops up out of nowhere in an office to which the character A went in secret. Was that character E in the office all the time or he just entered? The author doesn't tell. And an explanation would be very welcome. I keep reading. The character A talks suddenly about character B's confession, using the words "she looked ready to puke her guts out". Really? I know it's a book about school shooting and I don't expect elegant vocabulary, but isn't it a bit inappropriate? I dropped the book at page 13. I really couldn't catch up with the characters as they changed so quickly and the author's style didn't impress me. I am shocked that this book has so many good reviews, I can't believe that I was the only one bothered by this horrible chaos.