Review: The Beginning of Everything

Title: The Beginning of Everything 
Author: Robyn Schneider 
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins 
Pub Date: August 27, 2013
Genre: YA 
Rec. Age Level: 13+ 
More by author: The Social Climber's Guide to High School

 

   
Ezra Faulkner had it all: gorgeous girlfriend, popularity, and athleticism and skill that held the promise of a full-ride to university. He had these things, but, after a fatal night where he first lost his girlfriend and then quickly lost everything else, Ezra's present and future are forever altered. Enter Ezra's one-time best friend (of roller coaster decapitation fame) and a mysterious new girl with a smile full of secrets and Ezra's life is suddenly taking off into unforeseen directions. Maybe what seemed like the end, is really the beginning of everything.

The most common statement I've heard in reference to Robyn Schneider's The Beginning of Everything is that it is perfect for John Green fans. This is absolutely true, but I also have to point out that Green's books, while they are very good reads with fantastic characters and plots, all feel very similar to me. Robyn Schneider, on the other hand, brings many things that I love about Green's books - male POV, sarcastic wit, nerdy romance, etc - while injecting her own voice and magic to the premise. So, yes, Green fans will enjoy The Beginning of Everything as it shares the same spirit as books like Looking for Alaska, but it is distinctly different in terms of premise than anything I've read from Green.

Notable Quotes:

“Life is the tragedy," she said bitterly. "You know how they categorize Shakespeare's plays, right? If it ends with a wedding, it's a comedy. And if it ends with a funeral, it's a tragedy. So we're all living tragedies, because we all end the same way, and it isn't with a goddamn wedding.”

 “Words could betray you if you chose the wrong ones, or mean less if you used too many. Jokes could be grandly miscalculated, or stories deemed boring, and I'd learned early on that my sense of humor and ideas about what sorts of things were fascinating didn't exactly overlap with my friends.”

 “You have this maddening little smile sometimes, like you've just thought of something incredibly witty but are afraid to say it in case no one gets the joke.”

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