The End of Everything
Megan Abbott
Reagan Arthur 2011
246 pages
You have not read anything quite like The End of Everything by Megan Abbott. This psychological thriller, to find an imperfect niche for it, is enthralling and disturbing. There is also a certain evanescence to The End of Everything that makes the reader share the uncertainty of the book’s narrator. If you like non-violent mysteries, not that this is a cozy in any way shape or form, and want to experience something different and well worth reading, The End of Everything is a sure bet.
The End of Everything is narrated by thirteen year old Lizzie Hood. She has been best friends forever with Evie Verver who lives next door. Lizzie also envies Evie for her dad, Mr. Verver in part because her down dad is absent and in part because Mr. Verver is her ideal dad. When Evie disappears, Lizzie is left wondering what happened and starts looking into the disappearance to help find her best friend. To be clear, this is certainly not a tween girl investigator type of mystery. This is a very adult book.
Lizzie does find clues but has to carefully set them up so as to not make the police question their source. She also gets closer to Mr. Verver but his eldest daughter Dusty, whom both Lizzie and Evie are in awe of, becomes more and more distant with her.
It is Lizzie’s perseverance that brings matters to a head. What she discovers and learns just as she is hitting puberty will trouble her for a long time.
The End of Everything is one of those books you very much enjoy but also keep wondering about for a while after reading it.