Reviews with content warning for Gore - This Is Where It Ends

Reviews tagging 'Gore'

This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp

71 reviews

ahenke99's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.25

I finished this book in a few hours. Idk I just really didn’t like how you find out a bunch of horrible stuff happened and then poof you just move on like no biggie. I think that this book covers a very sensitive subject very superficially. It seemed like it was more about the shock value than the actual depravity of the situation. I feel like I didn’t like the characters that much and wish we would have gotten a Matt pov.

tomás literally couldn’t just go on the roof for like 5 minutes??? I feel like this got thrown in because we needed a mc death or something. Also I’m tweaking that autumn didn’t stand up before ash’s sister got shot. Like I wanna understand but mmm nah she got up two seconds later to try and help Matt, so no. Just another thing that was put in for shock value.

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lorraine19's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.0

I was expecting a chaotic, gritty, realistic view of school shooting. I was thoroughly disappointed. Instead, this reads like an overly scripted Hollywood movie. There's so many long dialogues and every character just had to have some dramatic heroic moment even if it made no sense. The type of characters didn't really match the setting.

I don't like telling spoilers in reviews but I feel like I need to provide examples of scenes to express how unrealistic it was written....

(SPOILERS) The shooter comes in and an auditorium of a hundred students just goes completely silent. When the doors open, not a single person panics or makes a run for it. Everything is controlled and there is little chaos. Police officers find students a couple blocks from the school and BRING THEM BACK. Like what?! (SPOILERS)

Reading the author's note, they state they grew up in a different country and we're unfamiliar with school shootings. They wrote the book in order to "learn about it". Clearly they should've done more research. Insulting to anyone that's been in proximity to violence like this and does not provide a realistic or fair view of school shootings at all.

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acourtofstarsandmoons's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This one is a solid middle of the road book for me.

It was certainly successful in getting me to feel the intensity and the sadness in the parts where it was encouraged - deaths, during the confrontations with Tyler and everyone else.

The writing choices took away a bit from the story though. I got confused on where we were and the step by step motions weren’t clear enough so that one minute we’re in the science room but then suddenly we’re going out the window.

One thing that really ticked me off was Tomas’ death. It was completely needless - even more so than any death by school shooting is. He threw himself, literally, into the line of fire to give Sylv and Far more time to get out when Tyler wasn’t even where they were yet. It was completely pointless. I’m that same vein, we were never really given a reason for Tyler’s motivations behind the shooting. The author was giving very conflicted perspectives - in some he was kind and protective and tormented and then cut to raping and shooting up schools, it really just came from nowhere.

Speaking of the rape, this was handled so poorly it should’ve been removed. For a topic as traumatising and serious as that, it needs to be elaborated upon past a single sentence mention out of nowhere. If you can’t dedicate a paragraph, at least to flesh this plot point out, don’t include it. Focus, instead, on the plot you’ve picked.

I, thankfully, can’t relate to these situations as I’m safe and secluded in good old Australia so I’m not sure if it was the writing or the situations inspire actually reactions such as these but I felt like everyone was way too calm? Autumn especially. But this could just me a reflection of my ignorance to the subject matter.

All in all, I’m glad to have read it, I was crushed by the deaths - Matt’s and Tomas’ specifically, but I wouldn’t reread this again.

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beki_hilda's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

bawled the last quarter of the book. could not catch a full breath till i was finished reading. and the fact that it all happened in less than an hour was so gut wrenching

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