I wanted to like this book but I found it disturbing and unnerving. I persevered but it was difficult.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for approving me for this book.

I felt the writing was done well in this book but there was just something missing for me and I couldn't get into it and enjoy it as much as I hoped I would.

Found and bought in a charity shop without realising I also had a review copy from NetGalley.

This was almost a DNF. It was only wanting to know what happened that kept me going. I hated the writing style, purple prose and then some. WTF is a jangling expression?? But then after all that the ending was a complete weird letdown.

I just did not like this book, I struggled to connect with it and did not enjoy my time spent reading it. The ending was okay which managed to boost my rating to 2 stars but overall I found the book quite confusing and was not sure what was happening. There was a lack of intrigue and uncertainty over events, it all felt a bit obvious.

Tense, taut and thought-provoking, Megan Abbott’s The End of Everything is a powerfully written tale of broken promises, insidious secrets and devastating betrayal that will haunt readers long after they’ve turned the last page.

Lizzie and Evie are two girls on the brink of adolescence who are the best of friends. They tell each other everything and they spend as much time together as possible. There are no secrets between Lizzie and Evie and the two girls think that they are going to be friends forever…until everything changes one afternoon when one of the girls disappears leaving the other heartbroken, devastated and overwhelmed by guilt and despair.

Lizzie wracks her brains going over every single conversation she ever had with Evie. They had spent so much time together, did Evie ever hint or foreshadow her disappearance? Had Lizzie somehow missed all the clues coming from Evie that she had failed to follow? Could Lizzie have somehow prevented Evie vanishing forever from her life?

Torn between fear, worry and guilt, a determined Lizzie vows to track down Evie and bring her home. But will Lizzie manage to find her best friend? And just how well did Lizzie know the girl she had trusted with all of her secrets?

Megan Abbott is a brilliant writer with a gift for getting straight to the heart of her characters and bringing them to startling life on the page. The End of Everything is a dark, disturbing and harrowing tale that is not for the faint-hearted and will compel readers to travel down distressing and unsettling paths that often make for disconcerting reading, however, Megan Abbott has written such a compelling and brilliantly layered story that putting this book down is simply not an option.

Intelligent, nuanced and terrifying, Megan Abbott’s The End of Everything is the perfect book club read.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It was dark, chilling and almost gothic in its writing and atmosphere. It was well written with good characters and a good storyline. A really good read

Sorry, this one's not for me. It's creepy and disturbing and it's making me feel icky. I wasn't enjoying it so I decided to DNF.

The End of Everything by Megan Abbott is a dark and often disturbing novel about the disappearance of a young teenage girl. Evie and Lizzie are lifelong close friends ,often mistaken for sisters, negotiating the minefield and hormonal changes of adolescence when Evie disappears.
A distraught Lizzie searches her memory and at first helps the police then decides to investigate her friend's disappearance herself when they don't appear to be making much progress. At the same time she keeps in touch with the missing girl's family, finding herself coming close to Evie's father while meeting with confusing hostility from her sister..

Megan Abbot goes deep within the minds of her hormonal main characters and many readers might find their thoughts and feelings uncomfortable ,shocking or at least very near the knuckle.
The book is deep and thought-provoking with a twist that turns the whole thing on its head .

I’m not really sure how to describe the genre of this. I didn’t think it was a typical thriller, domestic drama maybe? This had quite a dark and unsettling theme throughout and topics such as child abduction and child sexual abuse. It definitely isn’t an easygoing read. The POV was that of Lizzie, who is a child, and the writing style mirrors that, I found it a bit confusing at first but got used to it. There was a strong theme of friendship between the girls which was really positive. There were however bits of this that were quite unsettling, including some of the relationships between the children and certain adults, which were often inappropriate and disturbing. I am a bit on the fence with how I feel about this one!

This very often dark and unsettling tale of friendship, loss and the dark undercurrents of adolescence is voiced entirely from the perspective of thirteen year old Lizzie. She lived on a quiet close knit street and was best friends with Evie Verver who lived next door. The two girls had grown up together, were as close as sisters and shared everything about their lives, or so Lizzie had thought. But then, one hot summer afternoon, Evie goes missing whilst on the way home from school and Lizzie finds herself plunged into a unknown and confusing world of hidden secrets and desires.
Seeing how the disappearance of his daughter is affecting Mr Verner and determined to help in any way that she can, Lizzie channels her inner Nancy Drew and launches her own investigation into her friend's disappearance. Where was Evie? Had she been kidnapped or simply just ran away? If she ever did return, would their lives be able to return to how they used to be or would that hot afternoon be the catalyst for the end of everything?

Lizzie was a realistic and relatable blend of innocence, intelligence and naivety, a young girl with a powerful voice and a strong sense of loyalty towards Evie and her father. The families had known each other for years and Lizzie, whose parents were separated had a close relationship with Mr Verver. I think all teenagers have a crush on a older person at one point in their lives, I know I did and from quite early in this story it became obvious that Lizzie had a bit of a crush on her friend's father. Mr Verver came across as a friendly, likeable individual but some of his interactions with his seventeen year old daughter Dusty and some of her comments could have been construed as inappropriate and made you wonder if his friendliness towards Lizzie was as innocent as it appeared or was there a dark meaning hidden behind his actions.

As this extremely well written story unfolded, Lizzie discovered that Evie had been keeping secrets from her and that not everything in life is as it appears to be. Love has many faces and forms and in the world of the adolescent there is a very thin line between innocent and inappropriate feelings and behaviour. This is a thought provoking,dark, captivating read that has a cast of vivid, relatable characters, a number of whom I still had mixed feelings about once I had finished the book. I think this story would raise some interesting questions and discussions if it was read by a book group. Very very highly recommended.

Wow, this is such a hard hitting, shocking and very intriguing look into how vulnerable kids really are amongst the adults that really should protect them and yet can use and abuse them. You only see it from one persons perspective and at times even that gets distorted and ugly. I did find some aspects of this novel highly disturbing and odd. But it is very well written and just wow.

Thank you to Anne Cater for my invitation to the tour and to Pan Macmillan for my copy of the e book via Net Galley in return for a fair and honest review.

The story begin with the introduction to Lizzie and Evie, two best friends so inseparable they are called each others shadows. They are close ,really close and Lizzie has kind of a crush on Evie’s family which she feels are better than her own.

Then Evie disappears to begin with it is not seen as serious but then Lizzie remembers something that she saw and everything changes. Lizzie becomes even closer to the Verver family, in the absence of Evie and Dusty who is Evie’s sister. This is a dark book told from the perspective of a thirteen year old girl, it is naive but also really shocking.

It is a difficult book to review without giving away spoilers, however it really hooks you in and even though you know that things are wrong you can not stop reading. It is unnerving and reveals so many things that are not immediately apparent on the surface. I found parts of the book uncomfortable to read when imagining this was a young girl writing it . Lizzie is determined to find out the truth about Evie but does she also know more than she is letting on ?

A claustrophobic, unsettling and disturbing read that you will need to finish, the author is a great writer as it is a real skill to write something that you don’t always want to read but are compelled to.

4 Stars ****

The End of Everything by Megan Abbott.
A deeply unsettling and profound story of girlhood and family.

The story is narrated by 13 year Lizzie following the disappearance of her best friend and neighbor Evie.

This isn't your typical mystery story. What follows is a complex and at times uncomfortable story which focuses on the impacts of the disappearance and changing relationships as a result. I dont want to spoil the plot but the subject matter does deal with complex adult situations described from the perspective and with the naivety of a young girl. Trigger warning for themes around sexual abuse.

The lyrical prose and style took me a while to get used to but I am so glad I stuck with it. The flowing, exaggeration and repetition of the words to reminds me of that time in adolescence where everything is larger than life and dramatic. I think the author really nails this feeling.

I'm keen to read more by this author.
This is the kind of story that will stay with you long after finishing the last page.

Overall, a wonderful, thought provoking contemporary story with a unique lyrical style.

What to say about this book; a disturbing read but eye opening.
This is a book that you’ll love or hate; the story is about friendship, love and family. Toxic families and love; the doubts of being a teenager and the idillic friendship that believes in perfection.
This book is read like a 13 years old; so, even if it’s difficult sometimes to understand the emotions and feelings of our main character, Lizzie, will feel when her best friend, Evie, disappears.
The book talks about relationships between adult and teenagers; illicit? Probably, but seen with the young eyes seem something marvelous and exciting. This book reflects the different perspective of how these illicit relationships can be seen when you are young or adult; and that’s why this book is so important. It shows how the young ones see it as their first love, but as an adult, this could be seen as abuse.
The story is centered in a summer when Lizzie is copping with disappearance of her best friend, Evie, her need to know what happened and find her alive.
The book is told in a beautiful way even if it treats very difficult themes, never being explicit but the doubt and questions are always there…
This is a book to make you reflect what you’ve read and to be angry; we should protect our children, always.
Are you ready for “The End of Everything”?

Tense, taut and thought-provoking, Megan Abbott’s The End of Everything is a powerfully written tale of broken promises, insidious secrets and devastating betrayal that will haunt readers long after they’ve turned the last page.

Lizzie and Evie are two girls on the brink of adolescence who are the best of friends. They tell each other everything and they spend as much time together as possible. There are no secrets between Lizzie and Evie and the two girls think that they are going to be friends forever…until everything changes one afternoon when one of the girls disappears leaving the other heartbroken, devastated and overwhelmed by guilt and despair.

Lizzie wracks her brains going over every single conversation she ever had with Evie. They had spent so much time together, did Evie ever hint or foreshadow her disappearance? Had Lizzie somehow missed all the clues coming from Evie that she had failed to follow? Could Lizzie have somehow prevented Evie vanishing forever from her life?

Torn between fear, worry and guilt, a determined Lizzie vows to track down Evie and bring her home. But will Lizzie manage to find her best friend? And just how well did Lizzie know the girl she had trusted with all of her secrets?

Megan Abbott is a brilliant writer with a gift for getting straight to the heart of her characters and bringing them to startling life on the page. The End of Everything is a dark, disturbing and harrowing tale that is not for the faint-hearted and will compel readers to travel down distressing and unsettling paths that often make for disconcerting reading, however, Megan Abbott has written such a compelling and brilliantly layered story that putting this book down is simply not an option.

Intelligent, nuanced and terrifying, Megan Abbott’s The End of Everything is the perfect book club read.

This is a confusing book to write a review for. Not because it was badly written, or the story was bad.. But because of how disturbing and dark the story gets. Megan Abbotts style of writing makes this story so easy to read, even with the unsettling plot.

Honestly, I looked online after I'd read it, to read other peoples reviews. I wanted to know whether anyone else felt the same, uneasy feeling I did once I'd finished the book

At the start, you think perhaps open and shut story. Nothing more to it than a kidnap by a a middle aged man. A girl named Evie Verver has been kidnapped, her best friend Lizzie wants to help. Shes clever, she knows something isn't quite right. They know who did it, and as the story progresses, move evidence is gathered.

This slow burner offers the us the perspective of Lizzie. Her suffering and her gut feeling that Dusty( Evies big sister) knows more than shes letting on.

Mr Verver, he is so very strange. He gave me an uncomfortable feeling all throughout the book. And although not written, its hinted to throughout the book that Dusty and him may have a slightly different relationship.

When Dusty retreats from him during Evies missing time, Lizzie becomes his new Dusty. She fancies him and it's clear, and I think he knows it too. The innocence of 13, is she doesn't quite understand that some of the things he says are a little strange.

Nobody really wins in this book. Evie says 'its over' and Dusty does too, but realistically, everyone is broken. Everyone had secrets they hid from themselves in the book, and now they are out in the open for them to live with. Evie has to suffer what has happened to her.


Throughout this book, you will read things that make you cringe, that make you feel sad, disturbed. So, whilst read at your own risk, it is a great book.

Having recently read and loved The Turnout by Megan Abbott, I was intrigued to have the opportunity to read one of her earlier books, The End of Everything and it proved to be quite a read! It’s a dark book, somewhat disturbing at times, but strangely compelling - I suspect not a book for everyone but beautifully written and one that had me intrigued.

When 13 year old Lizzie’s best friend and neighbour, Evie, disappears, Lizzie finds herself growing up very quickly as she is forced to deal with some very adult issues whilst trying to solve the mystery of Evie’s disappearance. Abbott’s skill lies in her ability to write in such an evocative manner - we see the world through Lizzie’s eyes, a girl on the cusp of womanhood and struggling to figure out herself and the world in which she lives. Add to that the fact that when you think you know where the book is going and it then takes some unexpected turns and it had me gripped. It is a relatively short book but packs a punch and will certainly leave you reeling.

This is a dark, noir-ish novel that examines the facts around the case of a disappearing year old girl, from the perspective of her best friend. What could be worse than losing the other half of you, that person who knows you inside and out, the one who looks like a mirror image, until puberty hits? What's worse is if she comes back....

What makes this book so dark is what makes it so powerful, it is told from the perspective of a 13 year old girl who, whilst walking home from hockey practice, offers a lift to her best friend. She declines, walks away, and is not seen again for 19, excruciating days.

During that time, Lizzie has the 'survivor syndrome' in spades, she is questioned, at length, by the police, her mother, and missing Evie's father. She has known this girl her entire life, known her better than herself, and so it seems understandable that she wants to insert herself into the investigation, be the one who finds the clue that makes everything make sense.

And yet, Lizzie is a ghost in her own life, she haunts her family-brother Ted and her mother are both getting on fine since the divorce and Lizzie's father moving out-and the Ververs, going around constantly, putting herself in danger and looking for clues as to where Evie has gone. Without her, she is just Lizzie and so, she tries to reinvent herself, make herself feel needed, because she is young, because she feels invisible and powerless. And yet, she has these huge feelings and sensations going on inside her, and narrates some things that as an adult reader, make you feel deeply uncomfortable. It is not in Megan Abbott's nature to give you an easy ride, and she effortlessly inhabits a teen's psyche to the point that you feel almost voyeuristic peeking into Lizzie's feelings.

Half remembered conversations lead to the pointing of the finger to a local , middle aged man, who has also run away at the same time. Coincidence? As rumours swirl around, the potential for violence and manipulation against young girls becomes a tangible threat of evil, it is a rude and cruel awakening to suspect that the man who sells insurance, the innocuous Mr Shaw , could have desired this girl and taken her away from a loving family.

However, this narrative is flipped as Lizzie insinuates herself into the lives of the Ververs, trying to solve the mystery of older sister, Dusty, and her impenetrable façade, coping with her confusing, and growing, feelings towards Mr Verver , at the same time as feeling the presence of a man who is not her father in her own home. Her mother is moving on, her brother is moving on, so is Lizzie confusing her sexual awakening with a need for a father figure?

She wants, and needs, validation and to be looked at with a love which is so great, so powerful, that it hurts the bearer to hold it, and , in recognising this, she becomes increasingly aware of the source of power which she holds, as a young girl, and, stepping out of the shadows of her best friend, can she stand on her own two feet? And how far will she be prepared to go to get to the bottom of why Evie left?

There are uncomfortable truths to be revealed, ones that make slick and twisted reading. As an adult, and a parent, trying to unravel the kernels of truth from a pubescent girl's observations , I found this challenging and difficult, and it shows how, even in the 21st century, the changing of a girl into a woman is both corruptible and still, ultimately, blamed on the girl for processes which she cannot control.  I thoroughly enjoyed it, though that sounds like the wrong word to use, and found myself thinking about this novel long after it had ended. I am looking forward to reading more of Megan Abbott's books as Pan Mac re-release her back catalogue.

Yes, I know this one has been out for quite some time, but with the release of The Turnout, the publisher is, rightfully so, bringing some attention to her backlist as well!

Next door neighbors Lizzie and Evie are the best of friends. They grew up together. They share just about everything. And they have no secrets between them. Or that's what Lizzie thought until Evie went missing.

Lizzie wants to help. Especially when she remembers the car. And the cigarette butts in the backyard.

But as Lizzie becomes determined to solve the crime on her own, she find out that Evie didn't quite share everything with her.

This is actually a reread for me, which is very atypical considering how HUGE my looking TBR is. But I read this way back in 2011, when it originally released. I found the subject matter disturbing then—and still do!

Set in the eighties and built around two young teenage girls, The End of Everything is an unsettling story amidst gorgeous prose. How is this possible? Because Abbott writes very well and very prettily. Which contributes to making this story even more unsettling than the subject alone.

That jarring effect helps too, in that the story is one told from the perspective of a fairly innocent thirteen year old. And this time in her life should be about getting to know herself, not getting a front row seat look at the nasty parts of life!

It makes the reader uncomfortable in a way that really sneaks up on you. I think, too, that it's a perfect melding of all of the things that start to happen to a girl at this particular age.

Thirteen is still a girl. But on the cusp of becoming a young adult. Everything is changing and even though we, as girls, are taught to be wary and to be on guard for potential dangers even from such an early age, thirteen is not a time that you ever think think to consider those things. Thirteen is invincible!

Thirteen is when you start to realize you have a bit of power in your charm. Thirteen is when you desperately want to be older and enjoy the things all the older kids get to enjoy. But thirteen is the age when you realize those things are only open to you if you pretend to be something that you're not.

And it's an age when everyone around you should be protecting you and sheltering you from those things!

In Abbott's story, Evie and Lizzie are missing at least some of that protection. They're vulnerable without knowing it. And they pay the price for that.

The End of Everything makes me sad. And it makes me angry. Because while this is fiction, it's also reality for so many. Too many. Abott deftly taps into that fear, that knowledge that we, women and girls, aren't safe.

If you've yet to dive into Megan Abbott's work, now is absolutely the time to do so! Her prose has so much power! It elicits so many emotions and feelings. It ingrains itself in your thoughts. And, if you're like me, it makes you examine long held fears and be grateful that you were lucky enough to have enjoyed the good parts of the kinds of stories she writes (close friendships, for one) without the bad. While also feeling so terribly sorry for the fact that anyone would ever suffer that fate.

I enjoyed this read, it was very fast paced. I do have to say, the topics discussed is this book are disturbing and may cause distress. It is a dark story which is very gripping and full of lies, deceit and secrets.

It tells the story of Lizzie and Evie. It is told from Lizzie’s perspective and it is a mixture of present day and memories from the past. Lizzie is at the centre of Evie’s disappearance investigation as she was the last person to see her. I enjoyed Lizzie’s character, she was naïve about the situation and she really showed the girls’ age in the story. They are still children but Lizzie shows this more than Evie’s does. It was shocked to be reminded of their ages when I thought about the situation Evie was in, even more when we learnt more about it.

I enjoyed the voice the author gave the characters, their personalities were so strong. The authors way of writing was so mysterious, I thought the plot was well thought out. Clues and information about the situation were given in small amounts to keep the suspense. I enjoyed the thriller element to the book, it made the book fly past. I was so eager to find out what happened.

I don’t want to say too much about the story line because I don’t want to spoil it, but be wary of the trigger warnings of this book.