This Is Where the World Ends

December 14, 2015
Eighteen-year-old Micah Carter cannot remember what happened on the night his “soul mate” Janie’s house burned down. Though Micah is questioned by therapists, police officers, and his friend Dewey, his memory is disjointed, a problem exacerbated by frequent drinking. As he sifts through recollections of Janie, Micah realizes that despite their secret friendship and mutual desire, Janie, an artist obsessed with dream boyfriend Ander, is a stranger. Zhang (Falling into Place) switches between Janie’s thoughts before the fire and Micah’s after, bridging the two with unsettling fractured fairy tales from Janie’s senior English project that highlight her change after being assaulted. While Zhang’s subject and tone recall books like Paper Towns and Thirteen Reasons Why, the symbolic aspects of the text (Janie’s fascinations with Virginia Woolf and metaphors, for example) turn repetitive and blunt the emotional underpinnings of the novel. The mystery of the fire propels readers forward, yet Micah’s final lesson learned—“Just be a better friend, you idiot”—comes across as glib, and his relationship with Dewey underdeveloped. Ages 14–up. Agent: Emily Keyes, Fuse Literary.

December 15, 2015
A twisty, stylized examination of a catastrophic relationship. Eighteen-year-old Janie Vivian believed in fairy tales and metaphors and true love. Her best friend, Micah, believed that he loved Janie. Despite her crazy ideas and unrelenting mind games, he believed he loved Janie "apocalyptically." Little did he know that the end of their world was right around the corner. The story of the two friends' sometimes beautiful and oft-dysfunctional relationship is slowly revealed through an interesting combination of Micah's present-day accounts, Janie's flashbacks, and her occasional journal entries. Though it is Micah who wakes up in a hospital room unable to explain to police how he got there or what happened to Janie, the novel, just like Micah's world, revolves mostly around her, and she is a force. Watching Janie toy with Micah's heart while executing a plan to make another classmate fall hopelessly in love with her is cringeworthy and at times difficult to bear. When Janie's plans take an unexpected and horrible turn, it becomes equally difficult to watch her unravel and to drag an unsuspecting Micah down with her. Zhang weaves a dark, complicated tale, steeped in obsession, painful secrets, and mind-numbing vodka. Readers will be left to decide for themselves whether this is a tragic love story or a psychological thriller; regardless, this is most definitely a novel that will have fans talking. (Fiction. 14 & up)

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January 1, 2016

Gr 9 Up-Edgy, taut, and compelling, this is a story of unrequited love, betrayal, and apocalyptic changes using lyrical language wrought with symbolism. Janie and Micah have been next-door neighbors and nighttime ninjas since childhood. Micah has long loved Janie from (not-so) afar while Janie remains elusive. Despite her steely exterior and manipulative ways, Janie loves Micah as much as he loves her, but she toys with him nonetheless. Similarities to John Green's Paper Towns (Dutton, 2008) end here. Micah wakes up at the hospital after a night of binge drinking; he vaguely recalls a fire, but details are missing. Where is Janie? Why are the police questioning him? Events unfold through the alternating voices of Janie and Micah in nonlinear fashion until Janie's past and Micah's present collide. Ultimately, this narrative choice creates suspense and works, yet initially it may confuse readers. Zhang tackles heavy subjects such as rape and suicide directly, realistically, and in a way that speaks to teens. Micah's quick acceptance after learning the tragic facts presents perhaps the novel's only real flaw. This abruptly tidy ending does not keep with the lugubrious tone. Both Micah and Janie are well-drawn, complex, and sympathetic. Janie explains her connection with Micah, "We had already drawn lines on our soul and stabbed little flags on it"; language such as this sets this novel apart. VERDICT The breadth of topics covered, figurative language employed, page-turning suspense, and spot-on delivery render this novel a must-have for high school libraries.-Laura Falli, McNeil High School, Austin, TX

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from January 1, 2016
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* Since they were children, Micah has been ebullient Janie's constant companion on outlandish adventures, but now she is moving out of the house next door to his, and as she removes the bookshelf bridge from between their windows, she says she loves him more than anything. That's the last thing Micah remembers when he wakes up in the hospital, where the police ask him about a party, drinking, and a fire, and no one seems to be able to tell him where Janie is. In chapters headed After, Micah pieces together his memories from the days leading up to the party, while Janie's effervescent yet snappish chapters, labeled Before, fill in what leads up to her disappearance. Zhang gradually unspools Micah's frustration with Janie, and his memories painfully erupt, uncovering the sequence of events that changes everything forever. Meanwhile, Janie's narrative divulges her deep, abiding furyin sharp contrast to her seemingly insouciant attitudewhich emerges powerfully in fractured fairy tales that drip with anger about her family and reveal the troubling source of her pain. As their narratives intertwine, the discomfiting truth about their friendship comes to the fore. Zhang's effortless exploration of the complex intersection of memory and perception, and intricate, menace-laden plot is a perfect fit for fans of E. Lockhart's compelling We Were Liars (2014).(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)