This is Where it Ends

Nijkamp, M. (2016). This Is Where It Ends. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks.

Summary

On the surface, it is a book about a shooting in a high school in a rural community. But its actually an examination on brother sister relationships. There are 3 pairs of brothers and sisters; Autumn and Tyler, Sylvia and Tomás, and Matt and Claire. The novel flips between the present and the past. Tyler has arrived at the school after a suspension heavily armed and begins shooting. He wants Sylvia and Autumn are caught inside. Tomás and his friend Fareed are inside the school but not where the shooting takes place. They decide to help their fellow classmates escape Tyler's rampage. Claire was outside running with her drill team and must figure out how to help her brother who is inside. She has felt like his protector since he has a handicapped and is troubled that she cannot go in to find him. Claire also once dated Tyler. She runs through their history to try to figure out what would make him do such a thing. The reasons for shooting unfold through various first person accounts. Tyler is upset that his sister has found love with Autumn and is planning on leaving Opportunity, Alabama to go to Julliard. The characters must decide whether to sacrifice their lives to save others. They contemplate that sacrifice with their plans for their future and their role in the family. In the end, all the girls survive but are hurt physically and or emotionally. All the males let their sisters know how they felt before they died.

Commentary 

The book moves along quickly and transitions between characters at a quick rate to help the story move along except for the Claire/Chris story line.  This subplot was unnecessary. It seems like the author was trying to add a love story. As a reader, I don't want to read about how two teens are discovering they love each other in the midst of a mass killing. The Claire inner dialog was long and dragged out and kept the reader out of the interesting plot; inside the school. Each character had a issue to work through; same sex relationships, young love, parent with health issues, domestic abuse, rape, and family changes due to death and military. None of these topics are dealt with deeply because the main focus is how these students will make it through this day.

Connections

Interview with Marieke Nijkamp and School Library Journals

It was very hard to find a book trailer of good quality. The videos made by students are not edited well and lose focus. Here is one I found. Trailer

Connection to text

Young adult realistic fiction should cover current topics. This novel does cover several, school violence, homosexuality, teen dating, abuse, military separation, declining health, and death. None of the issues are written with any depth as the novel takes place over 50 minutes. The characters reminiscence on events in the past while they are being help hostage by the gunman inside and outside the school. Teens want to be the focus in books that are written for them and they are in this book. The grownups are just background characters like parents in memories and police officers telling them the teens to stay put. While the ending is not a happy one it does leave the readers hopeful that the remaining characters will find a way out city and situation.