Review: The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider

Book Title: The Beginning of Everything

Author: Robyn Schneider

Published Date: August 27th, 2013

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Genre: YA Contemporary

Standalone

Book Link: Goodreads

Purchase Links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, The Book Depository

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Golden boy Ezra Faulkner believes everyone has a tragedy waiting for them—a single encounter after which everything that really matters will happen. His particular tragedy waited until he was primed to lose it all: in one spectacular night, a reckless driver shatters Ezra’s knee, his athletic career, and his social life.

No longer a front-runner for Homecoming King, Ezra finds himself at the table of misfits, where he encounters new girl Cassidy Thorpe. Cassidy is unlike anyone Ezra’s ever met, achingly effortless, fiercely intelligent, and determined to bring Ezra along on her endless adventures.

But as Ezra dives into his new studies, new friendships, and new love, he learns that some people, like books, are easy to misread. And now he must consider: if one’s singular tragedy has already hit and everything after it has mattered quite a bit, what happens when more misfortune strikes? 

Robyn Schneider’s The Beginning of Everything is a lyrical, witty, and heart-wrenching novel about how difficult it is to play the part that people expect, and how new beginnings can stem from abrupt and tragic endings.

Disclaimer: This book is a library book.

Review:

Ever read a book in on sitting and then try to talk about the things that happened in the book, but come up wordless? Well that was me with this book. I read it in one day and I honestly can't think of anything major that happened in the book. It felt like a whole lot of nothing.

Normally I like relationships that burn slowly, but I have no idea what drew Cassidy and Ezra together. I didn't feel the spark between them. I didn't want to root for them which is never a good sign. Obviously I liked Cassidy better than I liked Ezra's ex, but that still doesn't say much.

I am not someone who has to like the characters in a book in order to like the book itself, but in this book, the only characters I actually liked were secondary characters, Toby & Phoebe. I didn't care for Ezra or Cassidy. Ezra was not swoony and I found myself confused for the majority of the book about what exactly had happened to him. Cassidy was flaky and I felt like the circumstances behind her tragedy were brushed over too quickly.

The ending was too rushed. I felt like a lot of things happened very quickly at the end and I was having to reread pages to make sure I didn't miss something major. The thing with Cooper at the end was brutal and I think totally not needed. It actually upset me because of how graphic it was. I'm sure the same effect could have been made using a different tactic.

I'm so bummed that I didn't enjoy this book. I had such high hopes for it, but it just didn't work for me. I didn't feel the chemistry between the main characters, it didn't feel like much happened until the very end and the ending was quite rushed. For that reason, I have to give it 2 stars.