The teenage ingenue is a staple character for authors, and Amy Zhang’s novel is reminiscent of John Green’s Paper Towns, in which a misfit boy is in love with his vibrant and untouchable neighbour. This Is Where the World Ends differs, however, in that this neighbour, Janie, claims to also love Micah, the protagonist. The novel switches perspective between Janie’s ominous ‘before’ point of view and Micah’s ‘after’.

We know that something awful has happened, but it takes half of the novel to get there. The first half is frustrating. There are a lot of questions and Janie is quite unlikable. She treats Micah terribly, and although she’s supposed to be alluring and talks of the two of them ‘sharing a soul’, she will not allow Micah to talk to her in public, which is difficult to forgive. Micah’s friend Dewey, who is there throughout but who we learn little about until the end, is far more complex; their relationship is interesting to follow.

I was bewildered by the change in tone after the shocking event halfway through the story; it took me by surprise and I was genuinely gripped to see what happened in the middle of ‘before’ and ‘after’. Nonetheless, unattractive characters abound and although Micah’s shyness and belief in the inherent goodness in Janie is redeemable, it’s difficult to believe that the relationship between the teenagers is anything more than melodrama.

Reviewed by Julia Lloyd Bruin
Age Guide 14+