This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp

🌟🌟🌟🌗 out of 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Synopsis:
10:00 a.m. The principal of Opportunity High School finishes her speech, welcoming the entire student body to a new semester and encouraging them to excel and achieve.

10:02 a.m. The students get up to leave the auditorium for their next class.

10:03 a.m. The auditorium doors won't open.

10:05 a.m. Someone starts shooting.

Told from four different perspectives over the span of fifty-four harrowing minutes, terror reigns as one student’s calculated revenge turns into the ultimate game of survival.
 
Wow! This book packs quite a punch! My heart was in my throat for the majority of it. It does not take long at all before the shooter reveals himself and the terror begins. The rest of the book is spent on the time that the shooting takes place inside of the school and how long it takes for help to arrive. I thought that the numerous points of view in the book were a nice touch. We get to see how each of the characters are effected by what is happening as well as where they are all at as events unfold. I would have liked to have had more character development but I can understand how it could be difficult with this particular type of book. It was interesting to see how each of the characters were effected by the shooter and how they effected him. Each character provides a different perspective on him and the place that he held in their lives. I thought that the flashbacks that they each had involving him provided insight into the shooter and how his mental health appeared to decline as time went on. I would have liked to have seen more depth for him. The author really only gives a taste as to what his life was like and what led him to bringing firearms into school with the end goal of violence. Anyone who reads this book should prepare themselves ahead if time as it is very intense and dark.