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A review by rjdenney
This Is Not the End by Chandler Baker
4.0
3.5 STARS!!!
(WARNING: Minor Spoilers Ahead!)
The GOOD: I've read plenty of YA and I've read plenty of bad YA and luckily this was one of the good ones. The story line was original, thrilling, and made my heart ache in parts. I really enjoyed that the book went from present to past and fleshed out the characters a lot better, especially Lake's quadriplegic brother Matt, who she has a broken relationship with. There's a scavenger hunt that happens in this and though that's not wholly original, it was something thrilling in this intense story about a girl having to choose between resurrecting her boyfriend or best friend. There's this giant twist that caught me off guard and I really loved that, I was hopping around on my reading chair going "OH CRAP, OH CRAP!!". This is a perfect summer read, especially if you love mysteries and intense reads.
The BAD: This would've been an easy 5 star book for me if it weren't for the romance in this book. Now, it's not THAT bad for a romantic story line but it wasn't needed at all, AT ALL. The boy whom the main character meets at a therapy session could've just been a friend, and it's so easy to do that. Two days after boyfriend dies, Lake meets Ringo, a boy with a birthmark covering half of his face. Almost an hour after meeting him, she's not sure why she's clinging to him if she's JUST met him. Reading this I was like STOP. DON'T. PLEASE. DON'T. NO. Because the romance was unnecessary. This girl's boyfriend who she loves more than anything has JUST DIED and now here comes this new boy who Lake can't stop thinking of. There's nothing wrong with her meeting Ringo, but having it blossom into a full on romance in a single MONTH didn't make sense. Ringo could've just been a new friend that helped her figure everything out and that would've been so perfect. But sadly it didn't go that way and that's super disappointing. I still very much enjoyed the book, but that romance though. No.
- Richard
(WARNING: Minor Spoilers Ahead!)
The GOOD: I've read plenty of YA and I've read plenty of bad YA and luckily this was one of the good ones. The story line was original, thrilling, and made my heart ache in parts. I really enjoyed that the book went from present to past and fleshed out the characters a lot better, especially Lake's quadriplegic brother Matt, who she has a broken relationship with. There's a scavenger hunt that happens in this and though that's not wholly original, it was something thrilling in this intense story about a girl having to choose between resurrecting her boyfriend or best friend. There's this giant twist that caught me off guard and I really loved that, I was hopping around on my reading chair going "OH CRAP, OH CRAP!!". This is a perfect summer read, especially if you love mysteries and intense reads.
The BAD: This would've been an easy 5 star book for me if it weren't for the romance in this book. Now, it's not THAT bad for a romantic story line but it wasn't needed at all, AT ALL. The boy whom the main character meets at a therapy session could've just been a friend, and it's so easy to do that. Two days after boyfriend dies, Lake meets Ringo, a boy with a birthmark covering half of his face. Almost an hour after meeting him, she's not sure why she's clinging to him if she's JUST met him. Reading this I was like STOP. DON'T. PLEASE. DON'T. NO. Because the romance was unnecessary. This girl's boyfriend who she loves more than anything has JUST DIED and now here comes this new boy who Lake can't stop thinking of. There's nothing wrong with her meeting Ringo, but having it blossom into a full on romance in a single MONTH didn't make sense. Ringo could've just been a new friend that helped her figure everything out and that would've been so perfect. But sadly it didn't go that way and that's super disappointing. I still very much enjoyed the book, but that romance though. No.
- Richard