While this book is foremost about the journey Bruno and Addie make together, both Hugh and Della have some issues of their own to come to terms with. Especially Hugh having to confront his past, his reluctance to talk about it, “snobbery, pure snobbery” and his heartbreaking confrontation with karma were very well executed. I mean, the summary alone should tell you what's coming. I'm not sure how I still was so detached from what was coming at the very beginning, but Marieke makes sure to acclimate you to the assembled cast. They are ordinary, wonderfully diverse American teens. They are bored by the principal's default sermon to usher in the new semester, worried about younger siblings or fraying relationships or trouble at home. Unfortunately, I believe I placed too many personal expectations on this book, thinking it would be a high-intensity suspense novel, but I got an entirely different reading experience than anticipated. My own personal hype is absolutely a huge reason as to why I don't think I enjoyed this book to it's full potential. I think, had I been more aware of the actual plot of the book as opposed to just knowing "it's about a school shooting," I probably would have been more prepared to read it with an unbiased mind.

SNL' Alum Jon Lovitz Calls Out The “One-Sided” Politics Dominating Late Night Talk Shows: “If I Want The News, I’ll Watch The News” I liked that the book didn't take a while to build up the plot. The pacing was really fast, which is one reason why I read through this so fast. I was honestly also terrified the entire book because the shooter was just so unpredictable and I didn't know what was going to happen. Grief is one big, gaping hole, isn’t it?“ I say quietly I don’t even know if he hears me, but my words are as much for myself as for him. "It’s everywhere and all consuming. Some days you think you can’t go on because the only thing waiting for you is more despair. Some days you don’t want to go on because it’s easier to give up than to get hurt again.” Oh dear! This book is about the most boring love story I've ever read. Addie is an out of work architect who falls in love with her second cousin Bruno a typical American Irishman come over to find his roots. Both Addie and Bruno are unlikely 'lovers" and their love story more so! Addie has had a failed relationship while Bruno has had several. Bruno is a disillusioned banker who is biding his time in the home country till the 2012 elections are over. Addie is busy looking after an eccentric father Hugh who has fractured both hands. Hugh is also facing a medical malpractice trial. Hugh also has another daughter Della who has her own brood of four girls. Initial reaction: I think my reaction to this book can be best summed up in something that I said in the context of the discussion I had with a few of my readerly friends:

This is ABSOLUTELY NOT a good portrayal of diversity, it's more of a offending reference of "otherness" and bland identity than anything else. And ye Gods, I'm angry at the portrayal here.

This is How it Ends failed to keep me interested. I would read a chapter or two, then wander off to look for something else to do. I never thought I would see the day when I would prefer housework to reading! It wasn’t bad enough that I felt like I should abandon it, but it is not a book that I will be recommending to my reader friends. THE BLURB: Ella Riordan is a community activist who became famous when she was beaten by police during a social protest. Now Ella is a squatter in a building where the owners are evicting tenants so they can convert it into luxury condos, and she’s determined to stay and defend the few holdout tenants, despite death threats.However, I know I am in the minority with my feelings on This is The Way it Ends by Eva Dolan, so if you enjoyed the excerpt and like the sound of the blurb, please go ahead and read This is The Way it Ends, and please let me know what you think of it. Nyren, Erin (June 21, 2017). "Kat Graham Joins Forest Whitaker, Theo James in Netflix's 'How It Ends' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Penske Business Media. Archived from the original on June 23, 2017 . Retrieved January 25, 2017. Told over the span of 54 harrowing minutes from four different perspectives, terror reigns as one student's calculated revenge turns into the ultimate game of survival.

Addie is 39, an architect in Ireland, out of work and at a loose end as the roar of the celtic tiger is abruptly silenced at the start of the "economic downturn", in 2008. Bruno, an unemployed american banker, visits Ireland in the shadow of the Lehman Brothers' collapse, in a long overdue pilgrimage to find his roots and honour his dead father. He is also preoccupied with political events in America. Will Obama succeed? Will Bruno bother to go home if he doesn't? My knee-jerk, first things first thought on closing This Is Where It Ends could be summed up in three words.

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I am at a loss for words with this novel. It literally took me three hours to read, because it was so gripping and suspenseful, I did not want to stop reading it, not even once. But this book never looks at such things. This is a very underdeveloped tale of drama. Right away, the different narrators tell their own sympathy stories - each is hurting, abused, though not really flawed, and diverse (and often victimized because of it). No mistake can be made: these are our victims. And they all have the same narrative voice.