This Is Where It Ends

Marieke Nijkamp

Jan 2016 · Sourcebooks, Inc.

About this ebook

The reviews are in! This Is Where It Ends, the #1 New York Times bestseller and one of the Best Books of the Decade (Buzzfeed, Paste Magazine, BookRiot), "could break you." "I am speechless." "The saddest book I have ever read." "Literally tore my heart out."

Go inside a heartbreaking fictional school shooting, minute-by-terrifying-minute. Everyone has a reason to fear the boy with the gun...

10:00 a.m.: The principal of Opportunity, Alabama's high school finishes her speech, welcoming the entire student body to a new semester and encouraging them to excel and achieve.

10:02 a.m.: The students get up to leave the auditorium for their next class.

10:03 a.m.: The auditorium doors won't open.

10:05 a.m.: Someone starts shooting.

Over the course of 54 minutes, four students must confront their greatest hopes, and darkest fears, as they come face-to-face with the boy with the gun. In a world where violence in schools is at an all-time high and school shootings are a horrifyingly common reality for teenagers, This Is Where It Ends is a rallying cry to end the gun violence epidemic for good.

Praise for This Is Where It Ends:

• A Buzzfeed Best Young Adult Book of the Decade
• A Paste Magazine Best Teen Book of the Decade
• A Book Riot Biggest YA Book of the Decade
• A Professional Book Nerds Best Book of the Decade
• A Bustle.com Most-Anticipated YA Novel
• A Goodreads YA Best Books Pick
• A Goodreads Choice Award Finalist for Young Adult Fiction
• Kids Indie Next List Pick

"Marieke Nijkamp's brutal, powerful fictional account of a school shooting is important in its timeliness." —Bustle.com

"A gritty, emotional, and suspenseful read and although fictionalized, it reflects on a problematic and harrowing issue across the nation." —Buzzfeed

"A compelling, brutal story of an unfortunately all-too familiar situation: a school shooting. Nijkamp portrays the events thoughtfully, recounting fifty-four intense minutes of bravery, love, and loss." —BookRiot

Ratings and reviews

My Review: Wow, wow, wow!!!!! I’m speechless!!!!! This book was by far the best book I have read this year. In fact, I am putting it on my Top 10 All Time Favorite Books List. It was just that great. This book was fabulously written and kept me on the edge of my seat from the very first page to the very last page. I first started this book as an ebook then switched to audiobook as I was trying to multi task. After that I ended up ditching the ebook all together and finishing this as an audiobook. Omg I’m so happy that I did that. The narrators really made this book good and made me feel like I was right there with every single character living this nightmare with them. They also did such a great job in making me feel every single emotion that each character felt at the time while this horrible tragedy was unfolding. This book was definitely a harder one for me as my son is going into high school next year and could experience this same exact situation. I don’t even know how I would even handle this situation let alone his a child would. The characters in the book were very brave and courageous. I also loved how the author alternated between the characters. The reader got to experience the different perspectives on the same event. I would definitely recommend this book to all the parents out there no matter what age your child is. I want to thank this author for writing such a great book that had a difficult theme to it. It was done with great delicacy and grace. In conclusion, the plot, the characters and all the twists in this book made this book an enjoyable read. I would definitely recommend it and happily give it 5 Hearts❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

That was powerful. I remember doing these dogs and feeling like this was unnecessary and scary. I felt safe in ignorance and figured it wouldn't happen or the fear would be real. I was lucky, I graduated safely with nothing but drills. Then my younger siblings experienced the real thing. I couldn't understand but I wanted to. I had questions wrapped up in this unfathomable fear. I wanted to read, to know why or who or how. I'm lucky to not know, this made the fear real and it is real. I stayed up all night to read. Was worth it.

I appreciate his book for many reasons. One, it doesn't portray the main character as, "your typical lesbian" (her love interest actually comes as a surprise). Secondly, it's beautifully written and keeps the reader on their toes. I love the elements of time-keeping throughout the book- it really keeps the anxiety on a high.

About the author

MARIEKE NIJKAMP is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of This Is Where it Ends and Before I Let Go. She is a storyteller, dreamer, globe-trotter, geek. She holds degrees in philosophy, history, and medieval studies, has served as an executive member of We Need Diverse Books, and is the founder of DiversifYA. She lives in the Netherlands. Visit her at mariekenijkamp.com.