We Begin at the End
If you enjoyed this review, please consider purchasing this book from my Amazon Associates link (applies to Kindle purchases as well): https://amzn.to/3Dd5wXJ. The commissions I receive from your purchase help pay for the costs of running this website. Thanks for your support!
We Begin at the End has taken on new meaning for me, as it marks the end of my friendship with Abby Dowd.
If you’re unfamiliar with the Abby saga, you need to catch up sheeple! Several years ago, she recommended All the Ugly and Wonderful Things, which was brilliant and haunting. It’s on my Top Picks list and it’s one of my go-to recommendations. Several weeks ago, she betrayed me and recommended Deacon King Kong, which I did not like. Then, she recommended We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker, which I like even less. She may be on recommendation-probation, but she’s still a real one. Abby, if you do in fact read this (she says she refuses out of defiance and if she did, I don’t think she’d ever admit it) I continue to think you’re one of the coolest people I know.
Enough flattery to cover up the fact that I’m shitting on her recommendation, let’s talk about the book. The story: something tragic happens and it leaves a small town reeling. One of the main sufferers is 13-year-old self-proclaimed outlaw Duchess Radley. She’s clearly supposed to be the star of the book, and she is an interesting character in theory. Unfortunately, I think she’s overwritten. Sure, she’s had a really hard life, so she probably wouldn’t speak like me at age 13, watching Arthur and playing Barbies (shout out to DW, the best Arthur character, and shout out to Ken, hot boy). Still, I absolutely do not believe Duchess’ dialogue one bit. Oftentimes, she speaks in formal parables way above her age-level, presumably to flex the author’s prose muscles. I might be able to suspend disbelief with regards to her age-- she is forced to become too mature too soon-- but it’s simply not how people talk to each other.
Overall, his try-hard prose has the opposite effect than he probably intended. Instead of becoming more familiar with the characters and their relationships within their city, I had to double-back and reread parts for clarity. Plus, he throws wayyyy too many characters in the mix. I don’t get to know them well enough individually, and I think that problem would have been fixed with less characters and 1st-person narrative instead of the 3rd-person he uses.
My last main issue lies with the plot itself. It has the guise of a whodunit thriller, despite the fact that it’s predictable. There are some slight twists and turns but nothing I didn’t expect in the back of my mind.
Simply put, there are just so many really good books out there, whodunit thrillers included, and this is not one of them. It receives 1 out of 5 flames. Don’t read it! But do go to Blue Haven East where Abby works in NYC and tell her I love her and give her a big fat tip.
