A review by racheltanza
The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider

2.0

For better and for worse - this book is written (for the most part) presented as actual teenagers think and speak. This means that Ezra is allowed to love his friends, find beauty in Cassidy's mystery, and acknowledge that a part of him really did like Charlotte once, while still sulking as teens often do. This unfortunately also means that the book suffers from a bit of the "I'm not like other girls/guys" syndrome that actual teenagers suffer from in real life. Ezra (I will just say him instead of "the narrator") flattens characters around him to the point where he sometimes comes off like a judgmental asshole. Of course the blondes are impossible and stupid. Of course they all hate Beyonce and pop music, and only listen to Bon Iver. Of course the outcasts are cultured and hyper-intelligent while the jocks and the two dimensional women that surround them are idiots. While I didn't care for the twist at the end, I like that the ending was jagged. I did really like that once the author presented this impossible scenario, she didn't gloss it over with an easy fix. I guess when a book begins with [insert spoiler but you know what gruesome thing I'm talking about here], I was hoping for something that delved deeper. It flirted with depth at times, but I don't think it ever quite got there.