It Ends With You // Review

It Ends With You by S. K. Wright

Published: 6th September 2018 by Hachette Australia
Format: Paperback
Pages: 256
ISBN: 9780349003177
RRP: $19.99

★ ★ ½

'If I'd told the truth, it would have been fiction'

Everyone loves Eva. Beautiful, bright, fun, generous - she's perfect.

So when her dead body is found in a ditch in the local woods the only thing anyone wants to know is: Who could have done this?

It has to be Luke, her boyfriend. He has the motive, the means, the opportunity and he's no stranger to the police.

Even though the picture is incomplete, the pieces fit. But as time passes, stories change.

Told from six narrative strands, this cleverly woven and utterly compulsive novel challenges preconceptions; makes you second, third and fourth guess yourself; and holds an uncomfortable mirror up to the way societies and systems treat those they perceive to be on the outside.

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It Ends With You is a fast-paced YA mystery thriller centred on the brutal murder of beautiful and popular high school student, Eva Pieachowski. Piece by piece, the truth about her relationships and the events leading up to the night of her death are gradually revealed through multiple different perspectives. 

The premise of the novel is intriguing and author S. K. Wright has employed various narrative techniques (including anonymous blog posts, excerpts from Eva's diary, and text messages between her two best friends, Siobhan and Rivka) to create a compelling story full of twists and turns. In addition, our three main point-of-view characters are unreliable narrators: Siobhan, Luke, and Carolina, a quiet, unpopular girl whom Eva befriended in secret, all have something to hide. The reader is constantly kept on their toes and wanting more.

However, I found some aspects of the story to be unrealistic at best and problematic at worst. Due to the nature of the novel, I can't go into too much detail without spoiling things, but essentially, every single character is self-centred and self-serving. Perhaps it was intentional, a reflection of real life in which everyone is flawed, but their actions rendered them unlikeable and prevented me from empathising with any of them. In particular, there are two adults who play significant roles in the story and both exhibit highly questionable and often unethical behaviour. Not only did this limit my enjoyment of the book, but it also called into question the credibility of some parts of the plot. 

Nevertheless, in mysteries and thrillers, it's often the ending that makes or breaks a book. Unfortunately, in this case, it was the latter. It wasn't bad, per se, but the conclusion of It Ends With You, ironically, did not seem to be the end. I found it entirely unsatisfying and some of the loose threads, in particular, made me quite angry. I appreciate that the author chose to go in more of a bold direction with the conclusion but the story felt unresolved, almost as if it was setting up for a sequel that shouldn't be necessary. 

Overall, It Ends With You is a captivating and engaging read that leads the reader to examine and question the way society perceives and judges individuals. As is often the case with this genre, I think you'll either love it or you'll hate it, but if you're a fan of YA mysteries and thrillers and are content with vague endings, then this might be the book for you.

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S. K. Wright is the pseudonym of British author, Sam Mills. She has written multiple novels for both YA and adult audiences, including the 2011 Carnegie Medal Nominee, Blackout. It Ends With You is her first book published under the name S. K. Wright.

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Thank you to Date A Book at Hachette Australia who very kindly provided me with an ARC of this book for review.

Niamh, xo.