A review by bwunitulips
End of Story by A.J. Finn

mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.75

i should have just DNF'd this book . it goes on for so long , and at times it can get confusing . not only that , but it can be very confusing when the point of view suddenly changes and it takes you a couple minutes to figure it out . 
i don't like being lied to throughout a whole book , either . there were NO hints towards the plot twists . were the twists good ? sure . but were they enjoyable ? no . all i did was laugh and laugh once i found out what actually happened . we also don't even find out what happened to the characters past the plot twist . what happened to maddy ? any case put up against sebastian ? what was done with the information the detective had dumped on him at the end ? how did nicky even feel about what she found out ? sure , we get told , but it's not just something we can be told once and just accept . 
over all : confusing , slow , and not well written . the plot twist isn't really even worth it . 

if you're like me and just want to know the twist without having to read the book , i'll put it below . 

SPOILER AHEAD DO NOT READ IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW THE PLOT TWIST !

Nicky turns out to be Cole . Cole at fourteen years of age told their mother that they were born in the wrong body . their trips together every few months are actually them going to a psychologist and getting treatment . 
Sebastian didn't actually kill Hope . Maddy did . Cole and Hope had planned to run away together . Maddy saw her mom sneaking away and was pissed off at her for choosing Cole over the family , and pushed her ( which killed her ) . 
how did the cops not notice Cole ( Nicky ) leaving home ? she had actually gotten a wig , and outfit from her mother , which they put on when they left . this is why no one recognized her at the train station . they were looking for a little boy . not a little girl . 
Sebastian DID kill Diana , though . Maddy , for some reason , had kept her mothers necklace that Nicky had given her many many years before . Simone had borrowed it from Maddy on the night of the party , not recognizing it , and not having really asked Maddy to borrow it . Simone gave it to Diana by the end of the night . Diana confronted Sebastian . they both recognized the truth . Diana wanted to go to the cops . to protect Maddy , Sebastian killed her . 

crazy as these plot twists might be , it's not worth suffering through 400+ pages of a book to find them out .