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A review by mbkarapcik
The End of Everything by Megan Abbott
4.0
A coming of age tale in which school girl imaginings become twisted into stark realities after a teen girl disappears. I found the depictions of summer in the 1980s and teen best friends not completely privy to the dangers of adulthood pretty realistic. The secrets bared in the book are plenty disturbing and challenge how certain situations may be viewed by the people involved and the outsiders who witness them, especially those way too young and naive to understand or handle them without consequences. It shows how a perfect family may appear perfect on the surface but buries ugly secrets consciously or subconsciously deep into the family dynamic.
Having my own teen daughter, I was wondering if the story, once the main character plunges into determining what happened to her friend, which brings her to some perilous discoveries, would disturb me as a parent. The way it's written, though, made me consider my memories of being a teen just as much as being the parent of one. Still, in many ways, the outcome is more chillingly tragic and unexpected than you would think. Disturbing fits as a description as repetitive as it seems.
Two books kept creeping into my subconscious while reading this -- Lolita and The Virgin Suicides. And, of course, The Police song, Don't Stand So Close to Me.
Aside: One of my favorite Doors' songs, Moonlight Drive, is described in the book without divulging the title or band name.
Having my own teen daughter, I was wondering if the story, once the main character plunges into determining what happened to her friend, which brings her to some perilous discoveries, would disturb me as a parent. The way it's written, though, made me consider my memories of being a teen just as much as being the parent of one. Still, in many ways, the outcome is more chillingly tragic and unexpected than you would think. Disturbing fits as a description as repetitive as it seems.
Two books kept creeping into my subconscious while reading this -- Lolita and The Virgin Suicides. And, of course, The Police song, Don't Stand So Close to Me.
Aside: One of my favorite Doors' songs, Moonlight Drive, is described in the book without divulging the title or band name.