The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider
Published: August 27, 2013
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.
I started this book and was enjoying it for the most part, but then it started becoming like every other contemporary I’ve read. Which is super frustrating. I really want to enjoy contemporaries and I feel like the world is against me with these books!
The plot feels super flat, like nothing really dramatic happens and it just feels like a semi-rip off of Paper Towns (figuring out the why this girl you’re dating all of a sudden stops consistently coming to school) and Looking For Alaska (tragic event that ends up looping to a close a the end of the book).
I enjoyed both of those books, but The Beginning of Everything really didn’t have much to offer. Ezra wasn’t that great of a character, and Cassidy was even worse I do believe. I found no common ground or ties to any of the characters and just found the whole book pretty bland.
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