ARC Review: This is Where the World Ends by Amy Zhang

Title: This is Where the World Ends
Author: Amy Zhang
Genre: YA Contemporary / Mystery
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Published: March 22nd 2016
Page Number: 304
Rating: 2/5

Summary:

Janie and Micah, Micah and Janie. That’s how it’s been ever since elementary school, when Janie Vivien moved next door. Janie says Micah is everything she is not. Where Micah is shy, Janie is outgoing. Where Micah loves music, Janie loves art. It’s the perfect friendship—as long as no one finds out about it. But then Janie goes missing and everything Micah thought he knew about his best friend is colored with doubt.

 

REVIEW

As soon as I read the synopsis for this novel, I knew I had to read it. I love YA Contemporary that also has that hint of Mystery that has you trying to guess what's happened, and 'This is Where the World Ends' was completely compelling and captured my attention completely.

The story is told in duo POV between Janie and Micah, and while I liked getting differing POV's I also felt like this is where the story also became a little...repetitive and annoying. Micah as a character is incredibly hard to relate to because he has no idea what happened that night and he's on a journey to finding out what happened but because he has no idea he tends to lash out quite a lot and second guess things. I wanted to like Micah and in the beginning I was rooting for him; I was rooting for him because of his friendship with Janie but by the end of the novel the only feelings I had for him were hatred. I quite liked Janie. We didn't get to see the full story from her POV but what we did see was insightful and I could see how anyone would be friends with her.

The whole book is based on trying to find out what happened that night, the night of the accident and I was really looking forward to finding out but the end result was disappointing, I felt like it was a cop out, like it was the easy root to take and I just didn't appreciate that. I thought the whole twist would have been life changing but it just wasn't.

I'd still recommend the book because it was like nothing else I've read before and we all need something entirely out of our comfort zones to read.

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Review: Remix by Non Pratt

                                                  

Title: Remix
Author: Non Pratt
Genre: YA Contemporary
Publisher: Walker Books
Published: June 4th 2015
Page Number: 304
Rating: 2/5

Kaz is still reeling from being dumped by the love of her life...

Ruby is bored of hearing about it. Time to change the record.

Three days. Two best mates. One music festival. Zero chance of everything working out.

 

I've heard nothing but wonderful things about Non Pratt's writing, and I was so excited to read Remix. I'm not just a music lover, but I'm also a music festival lover as well, so I thought I would've really loved this book.

 

That did not happen.

 

Straight away I knew that I wouldn't like Kaz. She's one of those people who is in a constant daze after being dumped, but being dazed leaves them being stupid, childish and naïve. And that's what you got from her from Page 1 to Page 304. She didn't grow as a character, she just seemed to do things to make herself feel less guilty for being reckless.

 

And then we meet Ruby. At first she was a character I rooted for; funny and honest, which is something I love most in some people. However, she then turned into Kaz. All she did was moan, cry and then moan all over again. She was selfish and irresponsible, someone I just wanted to slap across the face.

 

I think my biggest problem with Remix was how unoriginal it was. Non Pratt included every music festival / concert cliché, and if I am honest the music festival was hardly even in the book. It was more like 2% music and 98% sex, arguments and getting drunk. Oh, and it's not a book if half of the secondary characters are cheating on their partners as well. (Can you note my sarcasm?)

 

Leaving the negative behind, focusing on the only positive about Remix. I did actually really like the tone of the book. It was light, fun and a little flirty.

 

Overall, I just wish that Non could have written characters that weren't spoiled brats who thought everything had to be about themselves.

 

 

 

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