REVIEW : This is Where it Ends by Marieke Nijkamp

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This is Where it Ends - Marieke Nijkamp
Publisher : Sourcebooks Fire
Release Date : January 5th 2016
Genres : YA, Contemporary
Pages : 285
Rating : ★★★☆☆

10:00 a.m. The principal of Opportunity 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.

Told from four different perspectives over the span of fifty-four harrowing minutes, terror reigns as one student’s calculated revenge turns into the ultimate game of survival

"Getting out alive is no longer the goal - not dying yet is."It's crazy how quickly lives can be destroyed. This is Where it Ends is one of the most compelling book I've read this year. With everything going on in the world right now, I was curious to read about a school shooting. To be honest, I didn't expect much. I couldn't picture how you could write a whole book about one hour but Marieke Nijkamp proved me it could be done brilliantly.

However, I still had some issues with it. The story is told from four different perspective but I wish I could have read the shooter's point of view. The other characters explain their relationship with him but we don't really know him. Why did he do it ? When did he change ? I also felt like he was a bit too black for me. He kills with a grin of his face but nobody can't be all black. I wanted more nuances and depth in his character.

The story is told from four point of views. I was glad to see a cast of characters diverse, we don't see enough muslim characters and even though his problems were mentionned I wish they were more developped. I feel like Claire's perspective wasn't needed. We didn't learn a lot from her and she wasn't in the auditorium. The only goal of this character is to make us fear for Matt, her little brother.

The other main characters were more interesting but the main question remains : What made the shooter snap ?

My favourite are Tomas and Fareed. Marieke Nijkamp shows that there's no need to have super powers to be heroes

I liked the fact that every main character knew the shooter before. Whether they liked him or not, they knew him but are now confronted to a stranger.

In less than an hour, many lives have been changed forever, I wish the author had written an epilogue describing how the characters are doing after this.

I felt so many things while I was reading it. I became attached to the characters very quickly and I was scared for them from the beginning until the end. It's shocking, dramatic and to be honest, terrifying. This is Where is Ends is not only a tale of terror and suffering but also of hope and humanity.