The Beginning Of Everything
By: Robyn Schneider
Readers Into Contempary Fiction, look no further! The Beginning Of Everything Is here!
“Sometimes I think that everyone has a tragedy waiting for them, that the people buying milk in their pajamas or picking their noses at stoplights could be only moments away from disaster. That everyone's life, no matter how unremarkable, has a moment when it will become extraordinary - a single encounter after which everything that really matters will happen." -Ezra Faulkner
Synopsis
Plot: "The Beginning Of Everything," written by Robyn Schneider, stars prom king and tennis player, Ezra Faulkner. He has it all, or so he thought. A few weeks before prom he gets into a car accident, and becomes crippeled (leg). Over the summer, he loses his current friends and attempts to remake his life, this time actually trying to live. Days into his senior year, he falls for the new girl, Cassidy Thorpe. She's mysterious, and has a lot of secrets. Ezra and his bestfriend, Toby search for clues to find out who she really is, and what she's hiding. Will the truth tear them Ezra and Cassidy apart?...Or bring them even closer together?
Setting: Eastwood
Conflict: Man vs. Himself. Ezra realizes he is hanging with the wrong crowd, that isn't truly himself. He soon leaves and hatches memories with old friendships.
Main Characters
Ezra Faulkner
Former prom king and star tennis player finds himself at a loss during his senior year. He is very athletic, and seems to change his way about going at life through the plot. Ezra is very shy, but also unique. He is on a mission, and won't stop till he can solve it.
Cassidy Thorpe
The new girl that just transfered to Eastwood high, has secrets. Lots of them. She is very mysterious, and can never seemed to be solved. Nobody knows why she left and came her, but they all hope to find out.
Toby Ellicott
Toby has been Ezra's friend since the 2nd grade. Except the last time they talked, was actually 2nd grade. On Ezra's mission to remake his life, their old friendship refroms again and it's almost has if they never skipped a beat. Toby is very intelligent, super witty, and down to Earth.
Theme: Overcoming Adversity
It's hard losing your friends, but espcially hard not being able to play the sport you love ever again. Ezra was bitter at the beginning of the story, trying not to deal with the fact of starting over. Except as time went on, he learned to embrace it. Being in this accident made him realize he wasn't really living the life of HIM. He intended on changing that.
Overall Review
I give this book a 4 star rating. I always find myself reading contempary books, so this was a perfect fit for me. I took .5 off because of the overall read. For me, it felt like I was reading just another teenage story. Also, I took another .5 off because the ending was crazy. It was for sure a plot twist, but the last few pages threw me for a loop because they didn't have the same affect as the previous pages where the plot twist has occured.
Awards
Nominated for the Abraham Lincoln Award and Goodreads Choice Awards Best Young Adult Fiction.
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Also avaliable at: Target, Walmart, and Barnes & Noble
The Beginning of Everything Book Trailer