This is where it ends - Review

With mass hysteria over the last couple of years from school shootings, it was an obvious reason as to why this book gained fame. Keep in mind this is a fiction book so the characters are made up and it was not based on real events.The story takes place in the city of Opportunity, Alabama at Opportunity High School; ironic, right? It is told in four different perspectives in relation to where the person was during the shooting. Each perspective that the reader is given helps build perspicacity into the killer’s life and the surrounding environment. The chapters are divided into 1-3 minute time frames in which the author describes the four character’s emotions and thoughts.

Because the time frames were so short in the chapters, I was amazed at how detailed and thorough the author could be. But since this was the set up, the reader is engrossed in the book and is more curious to wonder what happens next because the end of each chapter leaves a cliffhanger. The enticing part was that the beginning of the story had no clear evidence as to why the author chose the perspective of these certain characters. It was a mystery waiting to unfold. And since it was such a mystery, seeing how the author tied in everything was relieving in a way that it peaked an interest to see how the event was going to end. The book also gave a glimpse into the life of high school students in a small town. Being centered on a close-knit community gave the story more meaning because in a small town everyone knows everybody; therefore, when a tragedy hits it strikes ten times harder. This also allows the author to convey the storyline through first person by using only four characters as opposed to a third person description of how the situation unfolded. In doing so, the author created more insight and entitled the readers to therefore get more involved in the book. Throughout the chapters, the author made many allusions to the past memories of the characters. This developed a clear basis to the main four perspectives that the readers were gaining their information. Background story of the characters created a link through the book and it was written in a way that the reader could feel that certain character being their friend. Confiding secrets to create a better connection to how their lives were and the emotions felt was one of the reasons that the point of view from not one but four characters was greatly appreciated.

One perspective that the author lacked to write was the actual shooter. He was viewed and critiqued by outsiders who knew him. But the issue with that is that no one knows you better than you know yourself. Reading the shooter’s thoughts and views of his actions would’ve been a more creative way to see the situation. Most likely the reason that Marieke Nijkamp left out this perspective is to shine a spotlight on how most shooters are seen. The public hears the story of what events unfold in a shooting but that is mainly from an outside source. There is no link to what the shooter is thinking. In a way Nijkamp alludes to how no one would really understand how the mind of a shooter would work because it’s not exactly logical to shoot up an entire school.

The best way to describe this book is as an emotional roller coaster. Through its unpredictable moments and creation of background story, This Is Where It Ends entails the heartbreaking story of a horrific event. And it personally made me cry at least 5 times within a 200-page period; therefore this book gets an A+.