ARC REVIEW (#31): The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider

The Beginning of Everything
by Robyn Schneider
Expected Publication: August 27, 2013
Source: ATW Arc Tours

Golden boy Ezra Faulkner believes everyone has a tragedy waiting for them—a single encounter after which everything that really matters will happen. His particular tragedy waited until he was primed to lose it all: in one spectacular night, a reckless driver shatters Ezra’s knee, his athletic career, and his social life.

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, fiercely intelligent, and determined to bring Ezra along on her endless adventures.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 and everything after it has mattered quite a bit, 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

I can't even beginning to describe my admiration for Schneider's writing.  Her writing style makes the characters so relatable and she had me hooked from beginning to end.   After I finished, I had to sit there and just think over and over again about what I had just read.  The ending is just so unnormal, and not in a good way.  We're all used to these happy go-lucky endings but this ending isn't really like that and that made this book so unique!  This book was truly and honestly hard to put down and I finished it all in one day!

Ezra was the golden boy of his high school: tennis star, perfect looks, upcoming Homecoming king.  But all of that changes after a hit and run accident ends up shattering his knee and fracturing his wrist.  All summer he avoids his previous friends and has no idea where he is going to fit in when he goes back for his senior year.  Then there is Cassidy Thorpe.  As the new girl, she quickly becomes friends with the debate club, which relates to her past.  We don't know much about Cassidy and why she acts so mysterious sometimes.

I love Cassidy.  I loved guessing what was up with her and why she acted the way she did.  I made all these guesses but there was always something that contradicted what I guessed.  When you guys read this and finally find up what is really up with her, you will be shocked.  I could not believe what she tells Ezra!  I loved following Ezra throughout the book too.  I loved watching him try to find out the real him and just where he fits in.

I wish they wouldn't of changed the title from Severed heads, Broken Hearts.  I didn't understand the severed heads part but in the first couple of pages of the book, you understand completely.  And it's sort of funny to see why it was there.

I recommend this book to everyone and I play to read anything from Robyn Schneider in the future.