Review: This is Where The World Ends

Janie and Micah, Micah and Janie. That’s how it’s been ever since elementary school, when Janie Vivien moved next door. Janie says Micah is everything she is not. Micah is shy, Janie is outgoing. Micah loves music, Janie loves art. It’s the perfect friendship – as long as no one finds out about it.

Then Janie goes missing, and everything Micah thought he knew about his best friend is coloured with doubt.

Micah wakes up in the hospital one day with police asking him questions, and no recollection of what happened. What follows are non-linear “before” and “after” perspectives between Janie and Micah, which gives the reader (and Micah) the opportunity to figure out what happened.

This Is Where the World Ends is, to put it simply, an interesting read. The great style of writing keeps the reader engaged, and had me flipping through to the end pretty quickly. For me, this was the highlight of the book.

str2_suloworldR_sharmilla_1 Unfortunately, the rest of the book fell a little flat for me. Micah and Janie’s relationship is the epicentre of the story, yet their relationship feels forced and makes the reader wonder why they are friends in the first place. They’re best friends, and it’s clear from the start that they are both in love with each other (Micah more that Janie). Yet Janie ignores Micah in school because she’s a cool kid and he’s not. Their friendship is their secret, Janie’s secret, that is. She admits that Micah is her soulmate yet she begins dating the gorgeous and popular Anders.

Micah, on the other hand, would do anything for Janie. She would call him in the middle of the night, and he would go. Janie tells Micah what to do, and Micah dutifully does it.

The problem is, neither Janie nor Micah are very likeable characters. Janie is too self-absorbed, and Micah is too Janie-involved. In fact, Micah is so obsessed with Janie that he treats Dewey (a really good friend) almost as badly as Janie treats Micah.

The secret that Janie harbours also doesn’t touch the reader the way it should. I’m not sure if it’s because Janie is not the most relatable character, which is a shame because Amy Zhang is a great writer, with a flair for charming prose.

This novel had more lows than highs for me, but all in all I found it an OK book. The mystery at the core of the story is interesting enough, and if you’re a fan of mystery novels, then you might like this one.