Author: Amy Zhang
Publication Date: March 22nd 2016 (India: July 2017)
Publisher: Greenwillow Books // Harper Collins
Part of a Series?: No, It's a Standalone
I Got A Copy Through: Harper Collins India (THANK YOU!)
Buy Links: Amazon IN || Amazon US || Amazon UK || Barnes and Noble || The Book Depository || Wordery || Foyles || Waterstones || WHSmith || Kobo || Books A Million || Chapters Indigo || Google Books
Blurb Description: 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.
Short & Sweet:
A GORGEOUSLY written fast paced novel on rape, friendship and dreams.
Amy Zhang’s writing is powerful and will stay with you for a while.
I read Amy Zhang’s debut novel the year it released and the
minute I saw that This Is Where the World
Ends was going to be released in India, I knew I would definitely be
reading it. Falling into Place dealt
with suicide and while I don’t remember the plot very much, I DO remember being
thoroughly impressed with it.
So, what are my opinions on This Is Where the World Ends? Let’s break it down:
WRITING:
Amy Zhang’s writing is what brings this book alive. Told in
both Janie and Micah’s point of view, her writing adapts to bring out the voices
of her characters and does it well. Micah has selective retrograde amnesia (he
can’t make new memories) and Janie is a chaotic soul filled with dreams and
beginnings and I felt like I got to know these
characters because of Zhang’s writing.
IDEA:
I love the idea for the story. If there’s one thing you can
say about This Is Where The World Ends and
also about Janie and Micah it’s that they don’t fall into normal YA tropes. This
story is about dreams and reality and friendship and love and tragedy and rape
and IT WAS SO GORGEOUS.
PLOT:
It was the writing that really brought this book alive, but
that doesn’t mean it wasn’t plotted well. This book switches from Janie
(before) to Micah (after) and it also shows you Janie’s diary/ senior thesis
(with some GORGEOUS illustrations) and it was all really well planned out.
Everything about this plot worked just right and I LOVED IT.
CHARACTERS:
I liked Micah and Janie. Their story was a good one, brought
alive by the exceptional writing which I can’t talk about enough. At the same
time, WITHOUT the writing, I can’t help but feel like the pair would have been
the most CLICHÉ characters in the world.
Both Micah and Janie were pretty much the main characters of
John Green’s Paper Towns with a twist
here are there. Also, Janie’s attitude towards Micah annoyed me. She kept
saying hurtful things like “I know he’s in love with me and I’ll get there too.
Someday” and “It was easier to not stay friends in school because of her image,”
and it all made me kinds of MAD? She wasn’t a real friend to him, not where it
counted.
CONCLUSION:
This is Where The
Worlds Ends is constructed with exquisite writing and gives you a story you
won’t forget for a long time.
Amy Zhang used to have lots of imaginary friends. When people told her to grow up, she turned her imaginary friends into characters and started telling their stories. When she isn't writing, she can be found playing piano, hitting balls on the tennis court, or struggling through her weekly existential crisis. She lives in Wisconsin with her family.Follow Her on Twitter or on her Website
Have you read Amy Zhang's debut novel, Falling Into Place or even This Is Where The World Ends? What did you think of them?
What are some of the most powerful books on rape and suicide that you've read? I'd love to hear your recommendations!
No comments:
Post a Comment