We Begin at the End - Chris Whitaker

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Just an achingly beautiful story. Whitaker’s writing is effortless, atmospheric, and captures so much emotion in his characters without ever being too fluffy or overdone. It’s important to note that this is a slow-building, large-cast-of-characters, quieter story. Immensely powerful nonetheless, but when I first picked this up, I was expecting something very different. 

I went into this thinking it would be a fast-paced thriller; don’t make my mistake and you’ll appreciate every page of this one from the start. Each one of the countless characters in this serves a profound purpose, and each one of them are completely plausible and deeply human. Perhaps what I loved most about this title is that it felt like such a real story from every angle. 


Admittedly, there were parts in the middle that became a little slow for me, so much so that I almost went with 4 stars. At some places the huge ensemble of characters grew a little dense for me and I had trouble recalling who was who. But by the end, every last piece of this story wove together so perfectly that I sat back in total awe after the last page. 

Astounding characters and just a deeply-moving tale story of things lost, things found, and the journey to true redemption. I dare you to not love the teenage outlaw Duchess with every fiber of your being; she could be the next great literary character.

Rating: 5 Stars

Publication Details: 2020 Backlist, Henry Holt & Co. 




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