2024 the best of everything novel review

Price: $8.99
(as of Dec 12, 2024 02:45:12 UTC - Details)

From the award-winning author of The Turnout and Dare Me: a "mesmerizing psychological thriller" about a teenage girl who disappears during a 1980s suburban summer (Los Angeles Times).

Thirteen-year old Lizzie Hood and her next door neighbor Evie Verver are inseparable. They are best friends who swap bathing suits and field-hockey sticks, and share everything that's happened to them. Together they live in the shadow of Evie's glamorous older sister Dusty, who provides a window on the exotic, intoxicating possibilities of their own teenage horizons. To Lizzie, the Verver household, presided over by Evie's big-hearted father, is the world's most perfect place.

And then, one afternoon, Evie disappears. The only clue: a maroon sedan Lizzie spotted driving past the two girls earlier in the day. As a rabid, giddy panic spreads through the Midwestern suburban community, everyone looks to Lizzie for answers. Was Evie unhappy, troubled, upset? Had she mentioned being followed? Would she have gotten into the car of a stranger?

Lizzie takes up her own furtive pursuit of the truth, prowling nights through backyards, peering through windows, pushing herself to the dark center of Evie's world. Haunted by dreams of her lost friend and titillated by her own new power at the center of the disappearance, Lizzie uncovers secrets and lies that make her wonder if she knew her best friend at all.

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0047Y0FKK
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Reagan Arthur Books; 1st edition (July 7, 2011)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 7, 2011
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1430 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 260 pages
Reviewer: JeniCarroll
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Proceed with Caution
Review: When I was in college, I begrudgingly read Lolita because it was required. I, personally, am not a fan of creepy fiction... So when I had nightmares about Lolita, I knew the book did its job. Same feeling as Flowers in the Attic from middle school... And later Little Children.The writing of this book, with the descriptions and teasing playful pop of colorful descriptions, the naïveté of the unreliable narrator (being an innocent 13 years old), and the sinking feeling you MAY know what's going on, but no...no... That's just me being gross.There were several times I had to put the book down and get myself together. I wanted to shake some of the characters. I found myself rereading whole chapters just to make sure that I read what I thought I had.The end of the book, I had chills. I had crazy chills, the ones that let me know that there is this whole world out there that I do not understand. People out there that are odd... And creepy... The sick feeling I have now, like Lolita and the other novels I mentioned: this book... It did its job.Proceed with caution. Excellent book! Great writing, great story, but not for the weak.

Reviewer: Colleen T.
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: The End of Everything
Review: I've never been a huge fan of Young Adult novels, but when this Kindle/Audiobook combo went on sale I thought it sounded like an interesting enough audiobook to give a go on my commute to work. I've become quite a sucker for a good mystery, and the promise of finding out what really happened to Evie and what these characters could possibly be hiding was a huge draw. I'm glad to say the story provided me with hours of entertainment, as well as an interesting coming-of-age tale that I wasn't quite expecting.I think the "big mystery" surrounding what really happened to Evie and the effects her disappearance has on everyone around her - especially Lizzie - and it's aftermath was well done if somewhat underwhelming from what I was expecting. It kept me listening as I was pretty sure what was unfolding was not the whole truth. Lizzie herself was such an interesting character, not only because the story is told from her point of view but because her growth outshines everything else for me, including Evie. This girl, who's in that awkward point in life when you're not really a girl but not yet a woman, thinks she knows so much about life but really knows so little and ends up making some horrific choices that change everything, all in the name of doing what she thinks is right for her best friend. I found it so sad to see Lizzie's magical illusions about her friend and her friend's family fall apart once she discovers the truth. Her innocence seems to disappear before the reader's eyes, and as everyone knows you can't un-know what you learn. This end of innocence ends up happening for more characters than just Lizzie, but it's Lizzie's struggle in growing up and facing the truths before her that I really enjoyed.The other big aspect that I enjoyed was the narrator herself. For me, a huge part of really enjoying an audiobook is the voice and talent of the narrator (or narrators if you're lucky enough to get more than one). The narrator of The End of Everything was phenomenal (Emily Bauer), having the perfect voice to represent a girl in her early teens. Beyond her ability to make me believe she was this young girl, she did an excellent job of keeping up a constant urgency and tension in her voice, making me feel like the strain and uncertainty always in the background of the story was going to burst open at any minute.At the end of the day, I found The End of Everything to be more of a coming of age story than a solid mystery. I did enjoy that we actually find out what happened to Evie, however it seemed somewhat anticlimactic compared to what I was expecting from the description. However I still found it quite enjoyable and I was impressed enough with the writing style of the author to have added more of her books to my wish list.

Reviewer: Kindle Customer
Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars
Title: I still have questions.
Review: Yes, this book is a very disturbing read. The author does write beautifully, but I feel like there are no true answers to this story. Megan did a wonderful job at making me remember a beautiful childhood, but I'm left with questions about the father. I won't say this is a horrible book because I did finish reading it, but I don't like reading books that leave me with so many questions, or feeling like I constantly have to read between the lines. I'm not saying give me a book that has to be straight forward, but it shouldn't have ended the way it did.

Reviewer: Debbie Wilson
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Fantastic!
Review: WOW! This is the first Megan Abbott book I have read. While this may be more of a 4 star book, it gets a 5 from me! I simply adore Megan Abbott! The beginning of this book had me all smiley and nostalgic. Never have I heard girl pubescence so exquisitely described. The scabs and bruises, the racing abandon, the deep desire to know of the elusive adult secrets. And damn, if Abbott didn't take me right down the road of these secrets. It gets dark, very dark.The story is told by 13 year old Lizzy. Her best friend is Evie, with whom she is inseparable, Evie's older sister Dusty, who oozes with all things girl, and also Mr. and Mrs. Verver. It is about how Lizzy idolizes their family and is completely drawn into what life is like outside her own. When Evie goes missing, Lizzy thinks she knows Evie to her core, yet can anyone really know another completely, and can she ever know the full dynamics of another's family? To quote Abbott, "And with Evie gone, I can see things have been changing for who knows how long. It was like the scar on her thigh, the one I could feel beneath my own fingers had slithered from my own leg back to hers."So much centers on Evie's disappearance and what happens after. At times, it reminded me of Lolita. While I haven't read this book, I do know the backstory. What I marveled at was how emotionally advanced girls are at this age. The real power they possess in many ways. How this power cannot be fully understood. Wanting more and not understanding the dangers in the wanting. Abbott shows that girls have a strong intuition, a knowing she infuses throughout this story.All I can say is I was all smiles in the beginning, then ricocheted into a tale that had my heart pounding and didn't let up! I loved it!

Reviewer: gerardpeter
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: This is the first of three recent novels by the author with similar themes; a fourth will be published shortly. She is a good writer who gets under the skin of her characters. The subject is, however, disturbing and some readers have found it troubling.As with the later Fever and Dare Me her protagonist is a teenage girl, the 13 year old Lizzie, who is just about to move on to high school. Her friend, Evie, suddenly vanishes. Lizzie desperately wants to have her friend back. She seeks even more to recover their friendship. She becomes amateur detective. In a confused way she comes to an understanding of what may have happened and why. In this process she unpacks much of inner self. She also discovers how some things called love, and even felt in that way, are deformed and false.As with the other two books, the adult world runs in parallel with the adolescent. They too are looking for clues to the vanished girl. Again parents and elders are shown up in a poor light; they do not guide and educate, they are poor role models, they even miss obvious clues to the mystery.In this book though things are darker. Abbott exposes dishonesty and corruption and the manipulation of innocence. While not especially explicit, emotionally it is not pleasant. I preferred the later novels [and look forward to the new one].

Reviewer: Lauren Jeannette
Rating: 2.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: I was not impressed by this novel at all. When you read the description you expect it to be a "whodunnit" kind of story - who kidnapped her, are they still around, why did they do it - and obviously something must have been a shocker for the girl to suddenly believe that she never really knew her friend. Maybe even if it wasn't that intense (it is supposed to be about a 13 year old afterall) you at least think there would be a "Harriet the Spy" vibe, sneaking through backyards - going through peoples desks.No. None of that happened.It is much more of a family drama. Rival sisters (although you don't know they're rivals until the last 10 pages or so) vying for their fathers attention and love. Then there's the best friend, who spends 99% of her time mooning over her lost friends father. I'm going to be honest (reminder that I began reading this book thinking it was supposed to be a mystery/ thriller) I thought the twist in the novel was going to be that the father was a pedophile for how much they were going on about how amazing he was. He's not (that's a good thing, but for some reason it just made the long descriptions of his wonderful smile, and how when he touched your arm you felt special, even more awkward.)I will admit there were some good plot points that SHOULD have and COULD have been used (me and my shadow picture point at the end of the book) but the problem is, those points DO NOT come up until the last chapter or so. They leave you confused with... wait, that was supposed to mean something?There was a lot of the 13 year old thinking "... wait there's something at the edge of my memory..." and you expect those stories to add up to something - most of them don't. Then you have a lot of talk of sexuality (the first time a boy touched me, the first time i thought about this or that)much of which had nothing to do with the main point of the girl disappearing.Overall, the girls obsession with the older men left me a bit disturbed (and I've read Lolita) and the author seemed to be stuck deciding whether they wanted it to be very literary, or very childish with the narrative. I'd say it was meant for a younger audience - but with the potential rape stories and sexual ideas... I don't think it's meant for them.It was an awkward book. I don't know what else to say

Reviewer: Magre
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Megan Abbot is the best! This dark, strange, cruel story is really disturbing, powerful and wonderfully written. I don't want to say more, just read it and be prepared because you won't be able to leave it.

Reviewer: Charles
Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Curieusement, ses autres livres (the song is you, Die a little) ne m'ont pas plu: trop "fifties", trop maniérés. Celui-ci a un vrai sujet, délicat à traiter, cachotteries entre amies et amours adolescent/adulte, mais sans voyeurisme. Rare et intéressant.

Reviewer: xekinai_mia
Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Well. I am not uncomfortable with reading about teenage sexuality, or with characters that are rather complicated and ambivalent than sweet and kind. That's what makes a book interesting. It's what makes THIS book interesting (for me, at least.) I am not uncomfortable with books that deal with the ugly things there are, such as pedophilia, because they ARE there. As long as the book doesn't glorify them – and it sure doesn't. It shows us, in a rather realistic way, the confused and confusing feelings of the thirteen-year-old narrator. And, definitely, Megan Abbott CAN write. She is good at creating that claustrophobic atmosphere of adolescence, of the suburbs. At capturing the dramatic and romantic spirit of teenagers. At portraying the knowing and half-knowing of awakening sexuality, the romanticizing where there is nothing to romanticize, the swaying between fear, apprehension, curiousness, and sense of power. (Although for a European reader it seems uncommon that teenage girls would enjoy engaging in rough sports and celebrate their injuries, but maybe it's different in the US...)She's good at that. It's terribly realistic. It would make a great short story. But I don't need that for 250 pages. And apart from being stuck in that atmosphere, not much is going on. The story develops, as Lizzy might have expressed it, "ever so slowly". There is, to my taste, way to much dark sense of foreboding, too much droning and dragging on, too much "gold" and "butter" and "pink" and "fluff", too many "so's" and "ever so's", and too little plot. And the little there is, is (as opposed to the atmosphere and the psychology) NOT very realistic. (A mother drawing her teenage son into conspiracy in order to help her pedophile husband on the run. A thirteen-year-old discovering things a professional police team has missed, over and over again, just driven by the feeling of closeness for her friend. Glaring lies glossed over by this same police.) Abbott doesn't care much about constructing a plausible way for Lizzy to find all the evidence, either (when Lizzy had the third sudden recall, strange feeling or prophetic dream just at the right time, I started getting tired of it.) And personally, I don't think there are many surprises. Most of it is too predictable, the author keeping telling us that "there's so much more" and dropping hints that stick out a mile. You wouldn't know all the details but you would have expected "something of that kind".***SPOILER****One thing surprised me, though. I have always been waiting for glorious Mr. Verver to turn out to be the (real, worst) pedophile. But it didn't really happen. What a pity, I would have liked to see him deconstructed a little more...