The End of Everything by Megan Abbott | Rating: ★★★★★

...like all that you are is the wanting, and the rest of you just burns away?

If there's only one thing to be said about an author like Megan Abbott, it should be this: she breathes life into her words and the characters only grow from there. She understand the complexities of being a young girl or woman--she just knows how the tone of life is for us. More than this, she is able to speak to parts of us that are often ignored in literature; teasing us with that ounce of fiction mixed in with what connects us to the characters. The End of Everything is just the same, a story of girlhood and the possible loss of innocence.

There's a dreamy quality to it that bridges the characters thoughts (both realistic and not) to our own way of processing things. As usual, the flow of it is vivid and velvety smooth, exactly what literature is meant to be. It is thought provoking and compelling, tying us to the pages of the bigger mysteries we see unraveling. I've always felt that Abbott understands things about what a reader finds captivating better than her peers and even in some of her weaker releases, this much is clear.

Something about The End of Everything feels like real time. Abbott writes the story in a way that pulls you from the start and holds you firmly. Each chapter provides an insight the previous didn't and keeps readers on their toes. The further you fall, the more you find yourself lost in the most delicious ways possible. The End of Everything feels like more than a book. It feels like a world or a film all in its own right.

We've got nostalgia and mystery. Youth and adults. Relationships that may or may not border on inappropriate. Characters that are quite close to being reliable but just aren't. There's a lot going through your mind as you dive into Evie's disappearance, Lizzie's desire to help her best friend's family, Dusty's mysterious air, etc etc. All of ties into a bigger picture that you may or may not see coming and that's what's always compelling.

That's what Megan Abbott does best. She messes with your mind in the most mundane ways and it is chill inducing. I love the way her mind works and the way she spins stories from thoughts and words. No one can pen a teenage girl's mind half as well as she can--and the same can be said about the way crimes, violence, mystery and sexuality are woven into her novels. The End of Everything has more than enough to offer a reader and is a story you won't soon forget.