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quirkygirlreads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Do you ever get the sense that an author is trying to write this hard-hitting contemporary novel - but they don't seem to have experienced any of the things they are writing about?
Like the story is beautiful and the type of story you want to read, but yet there is something missing?
The Good: The plot of We Begin at the End, was interesting, the mystery was engaging. It was like a deviation from the normal tropes you see in mystery/thrillers, but it wasn't so different that you felt lost.
Someone mentioned a comparison between this novel and Where The Crawdads Sing - I think that is a perfect comparison. Sure, this is a mystery... but there is also a huge emphasis on coming of age and heartbreak and friendship. At times I forgot I was even reading a mystery story, and felt more like I was reading a historical fiction.
The Bad: oh boy... please don't hate me. The characters ages were SO UNBELIEVABLE! Not only did Duchess seem FAR too young for the deep philosophical quotes she was speaking, but you're telling me that Vincent, Walk and Star are in their FORTIES! No way. Also, the names in this book were strange, that is all.
I found Duchess rather annoying, to be perfectly honest. Frankly, her repeating "I'm an outlaw" constantly was the only part of her story that felt like it was told from a 13 year old perspective.
Lastly, normally I love when the title of a book is hidden within its text. Almost like the author is leaving a breadcrumb that pulls it all together. But not only did this novel never really explain what "we begin at the end" meant, it was repeated over and over as an attempt to sound.... deep?
The Consensis: We Begin at the End feels like the last draft of a novel before it gets sent to print. There were just a few tweaks that could have been made to round this read up to 5 stars, but instead it just fell short...
Like the story is beautiful and the type of story you want to read, but yet there is something missing?
The Good: The plot of We Begin at the End, was interesting, the mystery was engaging. It was like a deviation from the normal tropes you see in mystery/thrillers, but it wasn't so different that you felt lost.
Someone mentioned a comparison between this novel and Where The Crawdads Sing - I think that is a perfect comparison. Sure, this is a mystery... but there is also a huge emphasis on coming of age and heartbreak and friendship. At times I forgot I was even reading a mystery story, and felt more like I was reading a historical fiction.
The Bad: oh boy... please don't hate me. The characters ages were SO UNBELIEVABLE! Not only did Duchess seem FAR too young for the deep philosophical quotes she was speaking, but you're telling me that Vincent, Walk and Star are in their FORTIES! No way. Also, the names in this book were strange, that is all.
I found Duchess rather annoying, to be perfectly honest. Frankly, her repeating "I'm an outlaw" constantly was the only part of her story that felt like it was told from a 13 year old perspective.
Lastly, normally I love when the title of a book is hidden within its text. Almost like the author is leaving a breadcrumb that pulls it all together. But not only did this novel never really explain what "we begin at the end" meant, it was repeated over and over as an attempt to sound.... deep?
The Consensis: We Begin at the End feels like the last draft of a novel before it gets sent to print. There were just a few tweaks that could have been made to round this read up to 5 stars, but instead it just fell short...
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Abandonment, Addiction, Rape, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, and Sexual harassment
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