This is Where the World Ends by Amy Zhang
Young Adult
Contemporary Fiction
Hardcover,
304 pages
Published
March 22, 2016 by Greenwillow Books
Note: An ARC of this book was provided by the publisher for an honest review.
From the publisher:
Janie and Micah, Micah and Janie. That’s how it’s been ever since elementary school, when Janie Vivien moved next door. Janie says Micah is everything she is not. Where Micah is shy, Janie is outgoing. Where Micah loves music, Janie loves art. It’s the perfect friendship—as long as no one finds out about it. But then Janie goes missing and everything Micah thought he knew about his best friend is colored with doubt.
This books
reminds me of a mixture of AS King, John Green, and Jennifer Niven (All the
Bright Places).
Janie
seemed like your typical manic pixie dream girl. While this trope seems to be
played out and a little annoying (to me anyway), I think it stems from mental
illness—at least in this case. I think Janie is probably bipolar, or something
along those lines. She has really high highs, and really low lows. She latches
on to anything that is beautiful. She has her head in the clouds. She’s a
dreamer.
Micah is Janie’s
childhood best friend, the boy next door. And Micah is obviously in love with
her. He will do anything for her.
The story
is told from both of their perspectives, but on different timelines. When it’s
Micah’s perspective, it’s present day. Janie is gone, but we don’t know where
and neither does Micah. We know there was a party and a fire, but we don’t know
much else. Micah was there, but something happened to him. He injured his head
and has no memory of the event and has trouble forming new memories now. When
we read from Janie’s perspective, it’s from before the night of the party and
leads up to it.
As far as
the characters go, I’m still not sure about them. Janie and Micah have been
friends forever, but Janie likes to keep him separate from her life at school.
She doesn’t want anyone to know that they are friends. She is a serious
compartmentalizer. Janie has an intoxicating and addictive
personality—she’s someone you love to be around. But she uses people. She uses
Micah. She doesn’t seem to think that is what she is doing, though. She has
everything squared neatly away in their boxes.
Micah and
Janie are both naïve. They are so young. They think they are invincible and the
world is their oyster. This book is the story of both their lives and their
relationship slowly unravelling.
I flew
through this book. The writing is seriously beautiful. The fact that I compare
it to AS King’s is the highest compliment that I can pay. Although I really
liked the writing, the characterization of Janie and Micah’s relationship often
got on my nerves. Oftentimes, I found this book was a little too much for me. However,
on the whole I did enjoy it.
Storyline B
Structure/Execution B
Characters B-
Writing A
Conclusion B
Enjoyment B
————————
Overall Rating: B
Labels: Contemporary, Realistic, Review, Tough Topics, Young Adult
