REVIEW The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Scheider

Ezra Faulkner had the life of "those kids": he was a tennis star, he had the hottest girl in the grade, Charlotte, and was all set up to be Homecoming King in his senior year. Then at a party the week before prom, he catches his girlfriend with someone who is definitely not him,  and when he storms out and pulls his car off the curb, he's in a crippling car accident. With his knee shattered, and the realization that his friends suck after they don't even bother to visit him in the hospital, Ezra's left wondering who he is now that he can't play sports anymore. Enter Cassidy Thorpe and his childhood friend Toby, and suddenly his life is different entirely.

This book deals mainly with the themes of tragedy, of the idea of death and its consequences, and the idea of identity. Similar to how "Paper Towns" addressed the idea of imagining someone complexly, this novel addresses the idea of who we are verses how we let people perceive us. This is definitely one reason I loved this book, because it addressed the trope of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl in a unique way. The development of their relationship was honest and really well done. All in all, it was it really hard to find any fault in this book. I loved the intricacies and the beautiful way it's all interwoven.

What I appreciate about this book is that the focus of the book isn't the romantic storyline. One thing that I try to avoid in teen fiction is when the main storyline of the book is the romance-- maybe that was the root problem of "Love and Other Theories" and that's why I didn't like it. So the fact that this book uses romance to advance the other stories of the book- friendship, identity, loss- makes me really happy. This is one of those books you start reading and don't stop, that you think about after finishing it, that changes you. I will put this on my book shelf next to the books I'm in love with, and her second book came out really recently and as soon as my pneumonia clears up (because yes, I do have pneumonia) I plan on going out to go get it.

Ezra Faulkner is such a real character, the kind of effortlessly real and raw that only skilled writers can accomplish. Schneider, with all of her characters actually, didn't have to rely on quirks to make her characters relatable. I think the best way to illustrate this is a character similar to Kate Hattemer's in "The Vigilante Poets of Selwyn Academy" (see review here) who relies on quirks and idiosyncrasies to build her character and while that makes her character entertaining and endearing, it also makes him less real. That's not to say that Ethan from "Selwyn" is a lesser character, it just goes to show what a difference simplicity and a deep back story can do; Ethan's purpose in "Selwyn" is different than Ezra's and that's why he still works. Ezra however, is so real, and his story just makes him more complex.

Cassidy Thorpe is the Manic Pixie Dream Girl, and let me just say that I love her. I absolutely love her. And I mean, I probably shouldn't love her as much as I do, but I do. Because unfortunately I see myself in her, which is probably not for the best.

Basically it just comes down to this: I loved this book. I loved it so well, and it is so well written. Long story short, you should read it. Like now.

("Severed Heads, Broken Hearts" is the title of the book in other countries)

Rating: 5/5
Would I Recommend: Yes!
To: Any high schooler
If You Liked...
"Paper Towns" by John Green
"Eleanor and Park" by Rainbow Rowell
Literally any YA Fiction book ever

My Playlist for This Book:
"Mr. Right" by A Rocket to the Moon
"Trouble" by American Authors
"Heart Out" by The 1975
"She Don't Love You" by Eric Paslay

Links:
Buy this book on Amazon here, on Barnes and Noble here, on Powell's here, or be a boss and Buy Independent!!!
See this book on Goodreads here and on Shelfari here.
See a review of this book from the Guardian here and see the author's website here.

Love you

R