Review: How It Ends by Catherine Lo

How It Ends by Catherine Lo

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Received: Publisher
Publication Date: June 7th, 2016
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Point of View: 1st Person & Alternative
Recommended Age: 12+
Pacing: Fast
Genres &  Themes: Young Adult, Contemporary, Friendship, High School, Family, Romance

BLURB:

There are two sides to every story.

It’s friends-at-first-sight for Jessie and Annie, proving the old adage that opposites attract. Shy, anxious Jessie would give anything to have Annie’s beauty and confidence. And Annie thinks Jessie has the perfect life, with her close-knit family and killer grades. They’re BFFs…until suddenly they’re not.

Told through alternating points of view, How It Ends is a wildly fast but deeply moving read about a friendship in crisis. Set against a tumultuous sophomore year of bullying, boys and backstabbing, the novel shows what can happen when friends choose assumptions and fear over each other.

Annie and Jessie are best friends.

Until they aren’t anymore. Until secrets are spilled and hearts are broken. They thought they could trust each other; they thought they were as close as soul mates are.

But high school has its way of ruining someone’s relationships – social reputation.

So this is not the most original book there is in the world, or the best written one, but it has its charm.

It has characters the readers can connect with. Plus it depicts situations most of us have gone through during our teenage years.

It’s fast-paced and atmospheric. Sure, it’s full of drama and, sure, sometimes you’ll want to roll your eyes because, let’s face it, to someone who was never bullied before or the target of a bitchy popular girl, this may all look very petty and exaggerated.

But it’s not. It’s an honest book with authentic scenes and characters.

Maybe there could have been more smile-worthy moments of friendship than drama and more love than hate, but that would have made the book inauthentic. High school can be cruel. Girls can be so hateful.

But most importantly, real friends are hard to find. They’re not at every hallway corner. What Annie and Jessie have is beautiful, but they’re not careful enough not to break this connection they share.

How It Ends is the not the best book there is exploring the theme of friendship, since it tries to explore many other themes also – 289 pages weren’t enough – and the ending is rushed, but I think many readers will feel like it’s ”too close to home” and that’s a compliment to the book.

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