Golden boy Ezra Faulkner believes everyone has a tragedy waiting for them—a single encounter after which everything that really matters will happen. His particular tragedy waited until he was primed to lose it all: in one spectacular night, a reckless driver shatters Ezra’s knee, his athletic career, and his social life.
No longer a front-runner for Homecoming King, Ezra finds himself at the table of misfits, where he encounters new girl Cassidy Thorpe. Cassidy is unlike anyone Ezra’s ever met, achingly effortless, fiercely intelligent, and determined to bring Ezra along on her endless adventures.
But as Ezra dives into his new studies, new friendships, and new love, he learns that some people, like books, are easy to misread. And now he must consider: if one’s singular tragedy has already hit and everything after it has mattered quite a bit, what happens when more misfortune strikes?
Robyn Schneider’s The Beginning of Everything is a lyrical, witty, and heart-wrenching novel about how difficult it is to play the part that people expect, and how new beginnings can stem from abrupt and tragic endings.
My Thoughts:
This book ripped my heart out at the end. The last 10 pages gutted me. What a downer. Just...prepare yourself, for that ending, okay guys? Because OUCH.
But everything else was amazing. Oh my crap, I loved this book. I loved the nerd references EVERYWHERE. There was an Ender's Game reference, Doctor Who references, tons of Gatsby and history and philosophy and AAH. It was awesome.
The characters were so great. Cassidy is possibly my favorite person ever. But Ezra, he was great. He was so real, too. And I couldn't help but love Toby (as my son is named Toby).
The plot twist was pretty obvious, though. But knowing it was coming didn't make it any less heart-wrenching.
This book reminded me of a more adult Stargirl. (I love Stargirl; it's one of my favorite novels.) It's a book I cannot recommend to my younger sisters because it has quite a lot of sexual references. But it's good enough that I will own a copy. I will and you can't stop me. It also has a little language... and of course, that painful ending of doom.
4/5 Stars
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