This Is Where It Ends (Paperback)
Staff Reviews
This Is Where It Ends is a book about a school shooting with different perspectives of kids inside and outside of the school. This book is very real and touches on things parents choose not to talk about. It is very well written and has you hooked just by looking at the cover.
— Brynn, TC Teen Advisory Board member
Oh. My. God. I could not put this book down. This is Where it Ends is about a school shooting and is told from four different perspectives. The main character, Autumn, has an abusive father and her brother. Tyler, who has been very close to her forever, is the shooter. The next character is Sylv, who is Autumn’s girlfriend and best friend. She also was raped by Tyler some time before the shooting. Tomas is Sylv’s brother and fierce protector. Tomas is not in the auditorium during the shooting and him and his best friend Fareed manage to break the locks and open the doors. He and Tyler have a bad past together. The final perspective is Claire. Claire is outside the school during the shooting. She is Tyler’s ex-girlfriend and her brother Matt, who is Autumn’s friend and has a chronic disease, is in the auditorium. You need to read this book. I would rate it seven out of five stars.
— Student at Excel Academy in Arvada, COThe 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
MARIEKE NIJKAMP is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of This Is Where it Ends and Before I Let Go. She is a storyteller, dreamer, globe-trotter, geek. She holds degrees in philosophy, history, and medieval studies, has served as an executive member of We Need Diverse Books, and is the founder of DiversifYA. She lives in the Netherlands. Visit her at mariekenijkamp.com.