Title: The End of Everything

Author: Megan Abbott

Genre: Fiction

Publisher: Picador

Publication Date: 19th August 2011

Rating: 4/5

Cover:

Summary:

Lizzie and Evie are inseparable. They walk home from school together, sleep over at each other’s houses, even flirt with boys together. And they tell each other everything. Or at least, that’s what Lizzie thinks – until Evie goes missing, and Lizzie suddenly realizes their friendship wasn’t quite what she thought.

Review:

Megan Abbott is a relatively new author to me, I read The Turnout a few weeks ago and absolutely loved it so I was thrilled to have the opportunity to read one of Abbot’s older books, The End of Everything. The story follows two best friends, Lizzie and Eve. Lizzie thinks Evie tells her everything and that they have no secrets between them. Then, Evie goes missing and Lizzie finds herself re-examining everything she thought she knew about her friend.

As with The Turnout, the thing that strikes me most whilst reading Abbott’s prose is how visceral it is. Her writing has a kind of dream-like quality to it which is a jarringly effective contrast to the often disturbing subject matter. Every page is loaded with atmosphere which unfurls itself in such an eerie and unsettling manner. Lizzie is the epitome of an unreliable narrator, seeing everyone and everything through a very particular perspective. Nothing is quite what it seems in this story and I had no idea where exactly it would end up. It is a short novel but it is one that will stick with the reader long after the last page. Evocative, intense, sinister and quietly unnerving. This is definitely not the last book from Megan Abbott I will be reading. Highly recommended.

★★★★☆

Thank you so much to Anne Cater of Random Things Blog Tours for inviting me on this tour and organising it. I kindly received a copy of the book from the publisher. My review is entirely my own honest opinion.