In The Beginning of Everything, the story centers around Mr. Perfect, Ezra Faulkner. He’s a 17-year-old boy who’s living the life. He’s the captain of the tennis team, has the best looking girlfriend, and he’s part of the in-crowd. It seems too good to be true, except when everything he has comes crashing down around him at the year-end party. The night ends for Ezra as he’s leaving the party to find that his girlfriend has been cheating on him with his best friend. On top of that, he ends up getting into a car accident, leaving him with a totaled car and a shattered knee, ending his sports career before it even started. From there on, he experiences the beginning of everything. He returns to school the following year, reuniting with his childhood best friend and befriending a new girl. Friendships blossom and love kindles.
This book is filled with laughter, tears, love, death, and of course, an animal best friend. There’s so much to love about this love story. There are twists and turns and mysteries like no other. Cassidy, the new girl, is a big enough mystery on her own. Robyn Schneider weaved jokes and riddles so harmoniously throughout the entire story. The characters themselves play out to be larger than life. Their problems become yours, their thoughts become yours. I could picture myself as Ezra thinking about what I would do if I were in his situation. Every single little aspect of the story wove its way into my heart. The way Schneider worded everything within itself had me swooning. She has got bits of John Green and David Levithan’s writing styles incorporated together. Her writing style is such a change for me that I was just waiting for her to pour out more of her wonderful words. The plot that Schneider played out projected like a movie in my head, as cliche as it sounds. I could envision everything perfectly.
This is a must-read novel. It shows you the ups and the downs and it plays out the way real life would be. If you happen to stumble across TBOE in a store, pick it up. It is worth the time. Everything about this book had me mesmerized, least to say that I’m head over heels for The Beginning of Everything. I definitely recommend it for anyone who’s interested in high school romances. 10/10 for sure. But remember, not all nice things have happy endings.
