Synopsis: Janie and Micah, Micah and Janie. That’s how it’s been ever since elementary school, when Janie Vivien moved next door. Janie says Micah is everything she is not. Where Micah is shy, Janie is outgoing. Where Micah loves music, Janie loves art. It’s the perfect friendship—as long as no one finds out about it. But then Janie goes missing and everything Micah thought he knew about his best friend is colored with doubt.
Using a nonlinear writing style and dual narrators, Amy Zhang reveals the circumstances surrounding Janie’s disappearance in a second novel.
Amy Zhang is brilliant when it comes to writing flawed and fearless tragic heroines. Girls who are both un-likable and magnetic all at once.
If you want a book that will keep you in suspense and then shock you to your core… this is the book for you.
If you want a book that will have you ugly-sobbing through the second half… this is the book for you.
This is Where the World Ends is a book that burns. It’s brimming with fire; teeming with life. It’s fierce and wild and absolutely gorgeous from beginning to end.
I LOVE unreliable narrators. Like I FREAKING AM IN LOVE WITH them. So it was a huge selling point for me that Micah basically spends most of this book in a haze of I have no freaking clue what is going on with my life right now. Waking up injured after a traumatic tragedy will do that to a person I guess.
In my opinion, this is a book for fans of WE WERE LIARS, FALLING INTO PLACE, and WINK POPPY MIDNIGHT. If you like those books, you’ll probably be pleased with this one. For one thing, the prose here is FREAKING OOOOMMMMMGGGGG MAGICAL. Like, it is so beautiful that it almost makes you want to laugh and cry simultaneously. For another, this story leads you in a bunch of different directions at once, which will appeal to readers who like mysterious plot lines that twist and turn from chapter to chapter, only giving you a few little clues at a time.
Plus, this book has some eye-popping artwork throughout, which made me happy happy happy.
I know some people felt disappointed by this book, but to them I say this:
“Happiness is a choice. That’s the key. A choice.”
Preach, Amy Zhang. Preach. I will auto-buy your books forever.
Rating: 5/5 stars