Review: This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp

This Is Where It Ends

by Marieke Nijkamp

January 5, 2015

292 pages
 

Goodreads  Indigo
 

Goodreads Summary:

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.

Review

Without a doubt This is Where It Ends is a heartrending and gut-wrenching story. I knew what I would be reading about but no amount of preparation could have made this story an easy one to swallow.

 

The story is told from four POVs. Each voice was easily distinguishable once you got to know the characters. Just a note that since I read this as an eARC, part of the formatting was off. What were suppose to be text messages (I think), didn't really turn up well. Putting that aside, I found the story to be very easy to follow along. Each POV was short but precise. Personally I didn't form any attachments to the characters but I did find myself wanting to hear each of their stories.

As the present event unfolded, we're treated to flashback scenes of how the characters tie together along with the key moments that led to this extreme reality. Ms. Nijkamp does an excellent job building up the tense atmosphere. The fright and terror of the situation was so well-depicted I was gripping my kindle. I felt the grieve and sadness pouring off the pages. I was so nervous I didn't want to believe any of what was happening.

The scariest part of the story was how lucid the shooter was. He knew exactly what he was doing. He had specific targets but he never turned away from shooting anyone and everyone. The more afraid people were, the more menacing he became. "Terror is our strongest force, because we're only afraid when we have something to lose--our lives, our loves... our dignity." (eARC, Loc 456). So powerful. My heart went out to all the characters for what they endured during those 54 minutes and had lost forever after. I especially ached for Tomas. When you read this book, you will too.

Proceed with caution with This is Where It Ends as it contains extreme violence and horrors that is hard to erase from your mind.  I recommend this book to readers who aren't afraid of experiencing strong emotions and look for realism in their stories. This book is as real as it gets.

*I received an eARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinion are my own and not affected in any way. All quotes were taken from the Advance Review Copy I received.