Tuesday, April 28, 2020

This is Where it Ends by Marieke Nijkamp

Title: This is Where it Ends
Author: Marieke Nijkamp
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Publication Date: January 5, 2016

Format: eBook
Price: $9.99
Page Count: 288
ISBN-13: 9781492622468

Reading Level: Grades 9 and up (ages 14+)
Lexile: 
Interest Level: Grades 9 and up (ages 14+)

Annotation: The entire student body is about to leave the auditorium and start their new semester of school, but the boy with the gun has different plans—he's locked them in with him.

Plot and Content Summary: All of Opportunity High School's students are gathered in the auditorium at the beginning of the school year. After the principal gives her welcome message, they all get up to leave for their next class—but the doors are jammed, so they can't get out. Told in the span of 54 minutes, This is Where it Ends details the four perspectives of students—Autumn (Tyler's sister), Sylvia (Autumn's girlfriend), Tomas (Sylvia's brother), and Claire (Tyler's ex-girlfriend)—who come face-to-face with a boy, Tyler, who is willing to take and destroy as many lives as possible to be heard.

Evaluation: This book is told with just the right amount of urgency. It is scattered and all over the place, which helps with getting readers to feel like they are part of the story. While we are experiencing tragedy in the present, events that happened in the past are constantly brought up. I thought this was done well, as we learn more about Tyler's backstory and what drove him to this place of hatred. However, a lot of conflict points are brought up among the other students, but many go unaddressed and abandoned. It is important to have stories about gun violence, and I wish we were able to spend time in Tyler's mind. This would have been a valuable perspective.

Bibliotherapeutic Usefulness: This is Where it Ends tackles the issue of school shootings and gun violence, which could be triggering to some readers. However, Alexander (2015) writes that it can give "readers a safe space for experiencing a terrifying reality. This book opens a door for questions and discussions that can help people better understand school violence and perhaps even lead us toward a solution." While I would not necessarily recommend This is Where it Ends for students who have experienced a school shooting, I agree that it would be helpful for adults as preparation.

Issues Present: If This is Where it Ends was challenged or banned, it would probably be for explicit violence. However, as we know from media and the news, school shootings happen all the time. It is something that is going on right now in America. We should not ignore this, but shine light on the issue. This book gives us a glimpse of what might be happening psychologically. Of course, it cannot be used to describe every situation, but is one perspective.

Book Talk Ideas:
  • Of the four characters we follow, how are they all connected with each other and to Tyler? Why did the author choose to write in their perspectives?
  • Discuss each character and their backgrounds—how does knowing this affect the current situation?

Genre/Subgenres: Multiple perspectives; Realistic fiction

Readalikes: Hate List by Jennifer Brown; Violent Ends edited by Shaun David Hutchinson; All We Can Do is Wait by Richard Lawson; The Light Fantastic by Sarah Combs; That's Not What Happened by Kody Keplinger

References
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