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A review by lyndsayreads
This Is Where the World Ends by Amy Zhang
4.0
trigger warnings: suicide, sexual assault, alcohol abuse
Amy Zhang's first book, Falling Into Place, is one of my all-time favorite books. And I've had this one on my shelf for a while. I even tried to read it back in 2017 but ended up putting it down because I just wasn't feeling it at the time. But today, I was wanting a quick audiobook to listen to while I was at work so I decided to give this a listen and I'm glad I did. It was a quick read but it packs a punch.
This is about two friends, Janie and Micah, and their destructive relationship. The book opens with Micah waking in the hospital with no memory of the last several months. He's been told that there was a fire and that he's a suspect. The book is then told in alternating POVs, Janie before the accident and Micah after. Over the course of the book, you find out the events leading up to the accident and Micah remembering exactly what happened the night of the accident.
I think the alternating POVs in alternating timelines really worked for this story. It really helped me as the reader get a sense of who each of the characters were and gave them a good arc through the story. The book doesn't get too personal into exactly who Micah and Janie are separate from their friendship, but I liked the way they were developed together. I think that neither of them is particularly likeable, but I also think that's the point. Janie does venture into the Manic Pixie Dream Girl territory, which is my least favorite trope ever, so I did find that annoying. But I think she toes the line just enough that I was able to push through and not DNF (which is what usually happens when I read MPDG stories). I think the author did a really good job of portraying how helpless Micah felt and how anxious he feels as he's recovering his memories.
This book had a lot to say about the female experience and how girls are expected to act in certain situations. There's a section of the book where Janie is researching the consequences of rapists and it was a harrowing passage to say the least. I think there is some great social commentary to be found in this story, and it's something I remember the author doing well in Falling Into Place as well, so I can appreciate that.
The reason I couldn't give this a full five-star rating is because there was just something about it that was holding me back a little. I think the book needed to be a little longer, I wanted to know the characters even more. And I think the ending was just a little too abrupt and not quite fleshed out enough to fit with the story.
I just think Amy Zhang is an amazing writer and I'll definitely be reading anything she publishes in the future. I liked this book and I would definitely recommend it. It's not your typical YA contemporary. There's some hard-hitting stuff in this book and it's maybe not the easiest read. But it's definitely a good one and I'm glad I decided to give it another go.
Amy Zhang's first book, Falling Into Place, is one of my all-time favorite books. And I've had this one on my shelf for a while. I even tried to read it back in 2017 but ended up putting it down because I just wasn't feeling it at the time. But today, I was wanting a quick audiobook to listen to while I was at work so I decided to give this a listen and I'm glad I did. It was a quick read but it packs a punch.
This is about two friends, Janie and Micah, and their destructive relationship. The book opens with Micah waking in the hospital with no memory of the last several months. He's been told that there was a fire and that he's a suspect. The book is then told in alternating POVs, Janie before the accident and Micah after. Over the course of the book, you find out the events leading up to the accident and Micah remembering exactly what happened the night of the accident.
I think the alternating POVs in alternating timelines really worked for this story. It really helped me as the reader get a sense of who each of the characters were and gave them a good arc through the story. The book doesn't get too personal into exactly who Micah and Janie are separate from their friendship, but I liked the way they were developed together. I think that neither of them is particularly likeable, but I also think that's the point. Janie does venture into the Manic Pixie Dream Girl territory, which is my least favorite trope ever, so I did find that annoying. But I think she toes the line just enough that I was able to push through and not DNF (which is what usually happens when I read MPDG stories). I think the author did a really good job of portraying how helpless Micah felt and how anxious he feels as he's recovering his memories.
This book had a lot to say about the female experience and how girls are expected to act in certain situations. There's a section of the book where Janie is researching the consequences of rapists and it was a harrowing passage to say the least. I think there is some great social commentary to be found in this story, and it's something I remember the author doing well in Falling Into Place as well, so I can appreciate that.
The reason I couldn't give this a full five-star rating is because there was just something about it that was holding me back a little. I think the book needed to be a little longer, I wanted to know the characters even more. And I think the ending was just a little too abrupt and not quite fleshed out enough to fit with the story.
I just think Amy Zhang is an amazing writer and I'll definitely be reading anything she publishes in the future. I liked this book and I would definitely recommend it. It's not your typical YA contemporary. There's some hard-hitting stuff in this book and it's maybe not the easiest read. But it's definitely a good one and I'm glad I decided to give it another go.