This Is How It Ends by Jen Nadol

So I appear to be in the middle of a trend with the things I'm reading at the moment where the stories I'm getting are not what I expected based on the blurb. It happened with Last Seen Leaving and it's happened again with This Is How It Ends. The blurb of this book definitely makes it sound a lot darker than it is and even like it might have elements of horror in it. Instead we get a mostly contemporary book with a slight sci-fi element thrown in.

The bulk of this book is kind of a murder mystery, although you aren't given any clues and it's more like a character journey I guess. The magical binoculars that kick off the plot are pushed to one side fairly quickly and (while still talked about) everyone just sort of takes them in their stride. I found it frustrating that no one seemed to care enough about them when it's confirmed early on that they do indeed tell the future. The 'disturbing visions' mentioned in the blurb are also pretty tame for all but one of the characters. I guess they are emotionally disturbing for each person but again, it wasn't quite what I expected.

The characters are all decent enough I suppose. I didn't really 'get' Sarah, and the more we learn about her, the more confusing her motivations and feelings are. I dislike the trend in books of having someone have a crush on their best friend's partner and that partner never being weirded out by it or uncomfortable around them despite knowing. I know teenage friendships/relationships aren't as serious as those made after high school but it always leaves a sour taste in my mouth. Riley was fairly compelling but again, the lack of interest surrounding the binoculars made everyone seem a bit hollow. Tripp was irritating, Tannis was downright infuriating and again, her motivations could have used much more explanation.

The ending...without spoiling anything, I found it to be the weakest part. The murder mystery aspect is not satisfactory. The final binoculars bit makes very little sense and is a bit out there. I was surprised by one thing and I really liked that particular element but it wasn't enough to save the ending. Overall, it is a nice conclusion to the character exploration I suppose but it doesn't do much plot-wise.

Despite this book not being what I had hoped for, I still did really enjoy it. It's a quick read and worth checking out if you know beforehand what kind of story to expect. My opinion of it might improve the more I reflect on it but for now, it's slightly better than average.

Overall Rating:

.5