Reviews - The End We Start From

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1.29k reviews for:

The End We Start From

Megan Hunter

3.4 AVERAGE

helen_blanketsandbooks's review against another edition

3.0

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

raeconway's review against another edition

4.0

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

jon288's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Beautifully written, and with excellent language. A sparse but powerful book

rather_be_readin's review against another edition

2.5

challenging mysterious fast-paced

I understand what the author was trying to go for here, with the unique prose.
The only thing that came across for me was a half ass diary of someone who survived something as devastating as hurricane Katrina.
Not what I thought it would be.

grace_r_21's review against another edition

2.5

dark emotional mysterious reflective fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

sissyfus's review against another edition

4.5

challenging reflective fast-paced

_kduran_'s review against another edition

5.0

emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

The End We Start From

TL;DR

Minimalist and haunting, The End We Start From strips the apocalypse down to its rawest core — a parent’s quiet fight to keep a newborn alive. Sparse, emotional, and over before you want it to be.

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It’s the end of the world, the water is rising, and you’re giving birth. What’s next?

That’s how this begins. The book gives you the bare minimum — a few sentences, a passing thought here and there, nothing more.

This isn’t a world-breaking, city-crushing dystopian epic. It’s a quiet, personal, read-between-the-lines survival story. A determination to keep going, not for yourself, but for your child. Even after losing everything, you still have to feed, protect, and give — when there’s nothing left to give. To find strength from the most fragile creature in your world.

It breaks norms with its structure, offering only the essentials — like a thought journal, or captain’s log entries scattered across a journey. It’s refreshing. It’s different. And it doesn’t overstay its welcome.

Usually, I end these reviews wishing for more conclusion, more world-building. Not this time. Here, there’s nothing more to give. The story starts at the end — the end of their personal and physical world — and the only thing left is to walk forward. Rebuild whatever you can.

I liked this — novella or novel (still need to learn the difference). Sad, and strangely satisfying.

A one-sitting read.