The Beginning of Everything is a touching, thoughtful contemporary that I found easy to get immersed in.
I have to tell you a story. When I first requested this book, I was attracted to it because of the title and the cover. I rarely let this happen. I usually need to know much more about a title. And it figures that soon after I was approved, both of these things changed. Here's the cover I saw first:
And you do find out about five pages into the story. But the term "Severed Heads" comes to mean something more later in the story.
Ezra has it all. He's a junior and a star tennis player. He has a hot girlfriend. Drives a sweet car. But Ezra believes that everyone is going to have a tragedy in their life -- a life-changing tragedy.
Ezra's tragedy happens when he finds his girlfriend in a compromising position with another guy at a party. He then leaves the party, and is the victim of a hit-and-run that damages his wrist and knee so that he will probably always use a cane and never be able to play tennis again.
When Ezra comes back to school his senior year, he redefines himself. He takes debate, and joins the debate team. There he hooks up with his old grade school friend, Toby, who he has pretty much dumped for the popular crowd. There's also a new girl who is in debate, and Ezra becomes attracted to her.
It is a struggle for Ezra to watch his old crowd as well as fit in with the new one. There are tense moments in both situations. But, there's also a lovely, realistic relationship developing between Ezra and the new girl, Cassidy. But Ezra knows she's keeping secrets. There's some reason she left her exclusive boarding school last year, but Cassidy isn't saying anything.
These teen characters really jump out and grab you. The situations they find themselves in mimic typical teen pressures and concerns. There is a big twist to Cassidy's mysterious story -- and I didn't see it coming.
I didn't like the way it ended. I understand the ending, and it was probably appropriate, but it's not the way I wanted it to end.
I recently read Beatle Meets Destiny and I found The Beginning of Everything to have a similar feel. A sweet, realistic teen romance about kids with some issues to deal with. I enjoyed both books very much. I think my teen contemporary fans will enjoy The Beginning of Everything and I'm anxious to hear what they think..
Published by Katherine Tegen Books, August 27, 2013
Ebook obtained from Edelweiss
352 pages
Rating: 4/5
They really did jump off the characters
ReplyDeleteGreat review Annette, I've been wondering about this one.
ReplyDeleteThis book was definitely one of a kind. It is also a book that I highly recommend anyone who loves a smart YA read.
ReplyDeleteZia
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