This is where it ends is a fictional book by Marieke Nijkamp about a school shooting. Our four main protagonists, Tomas, Sylve, Autumn, and Clair are all students at Alabamas, Opportunity High. Through their different points of view, we see the shooting unfold and slowly piece together the who and why. I had high hopes but this book was unbearably shallow. All of the characters were completely one-dimensional and everything was categorized as black or white. I hate how the author didn’t explore the mental and moral sides of the shooting. Specifically, the psyche of the killer himself. With such a serious topic you would expect them to pose questions like why did they do it? Is it due to trauma? Can these people be helped? What is this saying about the gun laws in America? But no, we instead get a cartoon-like “villain” who is just evil for kicks. There are two throwaway lines hinting that they might have been abused but that’s it. The dialogue was very cheesy and unrealistic. At one point we see a character crack a joke as they confront the shooter right before their death. Worst of all, the trauma and death of people are just used to play up the drama. However, not all of my opinions on this book are negative. I think the author’s description was amazing and the story kept me on my toes. I am also not normally a fan of multiple perspective books, but this one did a good job of keeping them all equally interesting. Overall, the fast pace and mystery side kept me invested enough to finish it. Nevertheless, looking back, this book was forgettable. None of the characters stuck with me and the insensitive take on school shootings left a bad taste in my mouth. If you want a thriller-like book, this is perfect but if you want a deep and meaningful story look elsewhere.
Jordyn S.
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