The Beginning of Everything
Author: Robyn Schneider
Series: None
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Release Date: August 27, 2013
Publisher: Katherine Tegen
Summary:
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 and fiercely intelligent.
Together, Ezra and Cassidy discover flash mobs, buried treasure, and a poodle that might just be the reincarnation of Jay Gatsby. 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, 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.
First Sentence: Sometimes I think that everyone has a tragedy waiting for them, that the people buying in their pajamas or picking their noses at stoplights could be only moments away from disaster.
My Review:
The Beginning of Everything is a book with a lot of hype ever since it was released last year. I, of course, stayed away from it since contemporaries aren’t really my thing and the premise turned me off because if gave that “this book will focus on a lot of philosophy type stuff” vibe. The hype for The Beginning of Everything has died down since then, but recently, a famous Youtuber I’ve never heard of praised it and recommended it, causing The Beginning of Everything to be out of stock on Amazon. That has gotten me very curious – what’s so amazing about The Beginning of Everything that it was out of stock? – so I took my copy off my bookshelf and decided to give it a chance. Not a good idea as you can see from the title of this post.
So who was I in the aftermath of my personal tragedy?…An invalid, if you will, which is probably the most horrific word I’ve ever heard to describe someone who is supposed to be recuperating. (13)
I’ve read only 56 pages of The Beginning of Everything and I just couldn’t do it anymore. In the 56 pages I’ve read, only one main event that took about four pages happened: Ezra was in a car crash. The rest of the pages I’ve read is about the school’s reaction to Ezra’s injury, which I could easily sum up with four words: boring to read about. Nothing in the book sparked any interest in me.
I also couldn’t connect with any of the characters. All the characters were so stereotypical: Ezra is the quirky kind of smart guy, Charlotte is the typical popular mean girl, and Cassidy is the unique girl that doesn’t care about what anybody else thinks about her and values the fact that she’s just being herself. The characters were just cardboard cut characters, which is what ultimately convinced me to DNF this book.
I cleared my throat. Charlotte cleared hers…She looked horrified to see me there, in the doorway.
“Ezra, I-I-,” Charlotte blabbed. “I didn’t think you were coming.” (9)
Overall, I didn’t really want to DNF another book after I just DNF’d My Last Kiss by Bethany Neal, but I’ve been struggling with The Beginning of Everything for two days already until it left me with no choice but to DNF it. I already skimmed a few pages in the middle of the book and could tell that I was missing nothing much by DNFing the book.
I’ve also been avoiding reading this because of all the hype its had. I am always wary about hyped up books, they most often then not or disappointments in my experience. I have also been avoiding it because the premise didn’t look like anything I would enjoy at all. So, I was probably not going to read it before reading this review, but now I can say for sure that I’m not going to read this one.
Sorry you keep getting DNF books :(
Kim @ Kimberly’s Novel Notes recently posted…Summer TBR
Yeah. I almost DNF’d it myself. But I pushed through and was incredibly underwhelmed in the end. Meh.
I’d had such I hopes b/c of the concept, too.
Jenna recently posted…The Savages Blog Tour: Dream Cast + Review + Giveaway
Okay…what does DNF stand for? I am sorry you didn’t enjoy this read :( Hopefully, the next book you read will be much better!
Meredith recently posted…Bittersweet Review
Awwwww D: I remember I loved this one! (If not loved, then at least liked.) Sad you didn’t love it but I can see where you’re coming frommmm
Nikki Wang recently posted…Leap of Faith by Jamie Blair
The popular Youtuber was some fashion Youtuber I think, and since I had nothing better to do, I watched the video. I managed to cringe through minutes of her voice to reach the part where she talked about the book, and I wanted to laugh at her description of it. I DNFed The Beginning of Everything too because it didn’t have anything much about it. I skipped to the ending and it was definitely not something I would have wanted to spend a whole book reading to reach up to that ending. It all seemed so stereotypical, and it’s not something I would praise at all. It was just so insanely generic.
Shannelle C. recently posted…Book Review: Split Second
I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy this one! I saw it in the library the other day and was tempted to pick it up some time this summer but now I’ll have to creep around more on some other blogs to see if it is worth it. Thank you for the honest review! And DNFing whenever is fine–these just aren’t the books for you. Have a great day! (:
Gabbie recently posted…In Case You Missed It…(1)
I’m sorry this book didn’t work out for you. I haven’t read it, and it really isn’t at the top of my list, either, because I’m not sure it’s for me.
What youtuber sparked a lot of people to buy it, though? I’m so curious.
Quinn @ Quinn’s Book Nook recently posted…DNF Review: Nobody’s Baby but Mine by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Cardboard characters, hard to connect with, no interesting plot: definitely a contemporary I’m not going to read!
Mel@thedailyprophecy recently posted…Top 10 Tuesday 33. Summer TBR pile.
Aww, I actually loved this book, but I see your points. I will say the last half of the book was better than the first half and I loved how it ended, because it wasn’t what I expected at all.
Even though we don’t always agree in our reviews, I always enjoy reading your opinions.
Jess @ Such A Novel Idea recently posted…Waiting on Wednesday (54)
Oh no, I was excited about this book! :( I guess I can put it off until I run out of books to read… and that might be a while, lol :)
Anairis recently posted…BOOKCON 2014!
ahhh, I was looking forward adding this to my summer reads list. I think I’ll skip this time. Thanks!