The End of the School Year means one thing: trips to the library for some great summertime reads.
The End of Everything means something very similar: a great summertime read.
In this story we are introduced to 13-year-old Lizzie Hood and her best friend Evie Verver, who conveniently happens to live across the street. Lizzie and Evie are inseparable, both at school and at home, and know almost everything about each other. Almost.
But then, tragedy strikes. Somehow, some way, in the flash of a moment, Evie disappears. Just like that, she’s gone. No one knows how. No one knows where. No one knows anything.
Except Lizzie.
Not in the way of an accomplice, but rather in flashes, in moments of remembering. In bits and pieces, like scraps of paper, Lizzie unlocks the clues that can put her world back together again.
Unfortunately for Lizzie, it’s The End of Everything. The end of her familiar, tight bond with Evie. The end of her tenuous relationship with her own family. The end of her anonymity among her peers. The end of her childhood. The end of her innocence.
Written in bold, prosaic style, Megan Abbott navigates the very grown-up world of the English language while maintaining the very childlike perspective of young women on the cusp of self-discovery. Both entertaining and breathtaking, quirky and tragic, this book provides an often overlooked perspective on a difficult subject.
For Lizzie, it was The End of Everything. For me, it’s the Beginning of Another Summer of Great Books.