Sunday, June 5, 2016

review: how it ends, by catherine lo

HOW IT ENDS
Author: Catherine Lo 
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary
Pub Date: June 7th, 2016
Publisher: HMH Books
Pages: 304 (hardcover version)
Source: ARC (won from a giveaway)
goodreads / amazon / book depository

There are two sides to every story.
It’s friends-at-first-sight for Jessie and Annie, proving the old adage that opposites attract. Shy, anxious Jessie would give anything to have Annie’s beauty and confidence. And Annie thinks Jessie has the perfect life, with her close-knit family and killer grades. They're BFFs…until suddenly they're not. 


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when i first received this book, i hadn't heard much about it. the only thing i had read about it was the mini description on the back (which is different than the one above), but it was enough to intrigue me. i picked up this book not knowing what to expect, and was pleasantly surprised.

when we meet jessie, it is clear that she isn't one of those "popular" girls. she's the shy one who sits with the video-game-lovers, that is bullied by popular girls, but is also very smart and gets good grades. i appreciated the fact that this character seems realistic. jessie, in a way, reminds me of myself. i'm shy, don't have a HUGE amount of friends, but still care about my schoolwork. i haven't read a lot of books where the main character wasn't the star of the school, so it was nice to be reading from a different point of view. 


annie, on the other hand, is the opposite. she's fun, outgoing, and has (or, had, at her old school) a lot of friends. my first thought was "oh no, she'll be joining the popular squad" but i was wrong. right away, she decides she wants to be friends with jessie. this was another major thing i loved about how it ends. it shows that anyone can be friends with anyone, and that labels aren't everything. like they say, opposites attract. the fact that annie chose jessie over the popular group made me tear up. these kind of things don't happen often (at least, at my school they don't) but i sure as heck love to see it happen.


how it ends takes place in high school, so i found myself relating to and knowing about lots of the events that took place, such as parties, drinking (ew) and relationships. (not that i am ever a part of these events, NO WAY. but i've heard stories from others) it reveals the harsh realities of high school, and what it is like to be in both jessie's and annie's shoes.* 


*is this correct grammar? i can't remember...


they say even the best of friends have their fights, right? no friendship is perfect, including jessie's and annie's.* through the ups and downs, they learn the truths about one another and unravel the secrets that until now, had remained untold. could one little secret tear apart their friendship? i guess you'll have to read to figure this out ;) wow. that sounded like i was either reading off of the synopsis (which i'm not, i swear!) or trying to sell the book (heck yeah i am cause you all gotta read this).


*sorry if this grammar is still incorrect


ooh! ooh! another thing i'd like to say i loved about this book: PARENTS WERE PRESENT!rarely see this in YA anymore, but i'm not quite sure why. jessie's parents are super supportive, and willing to help her in any situation. annie, on the other hand, hated her step-mother and step-sister (her real mom died, dad remarried) so it was interesting to see their family lives play out as well as their school lives.


~SPOILER ALERT: AVOID THIS PARAGRAPH~

the only thing i didn't necessarily like about the book was the pregnancy. if the character were, say, age 20, i'd be okay with it, but FIFTEEN?! that just isn't realistic nor is it likely. so, um, yeah. that is all i have to say about that.
~SPOILER OVER~

how it ends is a book primarily based on friendship, which is one of my favorite things to read about. even though their friendship isn't perfect, this book was a beautiful read. i already wish there was a sequel, because i need more of jessie and annie!


***quick note: i tried to make this review non-spoilery, so i didn't include too much detail! that being said, sorry this review was short. 

to sum up this review, how it ends is an outgoing, heartbreaking, meaningful story of friendship that will leave you wanting more of jessie and annie's story. i give it a 4/5 stars! you won't want to miss this one, so pick it up when it hits shelves june 7th!

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