The Shot That Changed Everything
Mary DiMaggio
This Is Where It Ends
By Marieke Nijkamp
Nothing exciting or eventful ever happens in the ironically named town of Opportunity, Alabama, until the day high school dropout Tyler Browne shatters the peace with a bang. He feels his class has wronged and mistreated him, so he returns to Opportunity High to seek revenge. He enters the auditorium when Principal Trenton is giving her usual start-of-semester inspirational speech, where the entire school is conveniently gathered for the assembly, and starts shooting people. Mayhem and chaos break loose as everyone scrambles to avoid the shots and aid the wounded. The minutes tick by and the only thought going through people’s minds is to stay alive, as they suddenly find themselves in a life or death situation. Tyler inflicts panic in his victims by describing in detail how each person made his life miserable, calling them out by name, and killing them one by one, for everyone else to watch. The few students not in the auditorium during the assembly are stricken with fear and anxiety as they suddenly hear the gunshots but don’t know what’s happening, and all they can do is hope is that their loved ones aren’t dead. With this attack on Opportunity High, Tyler makes sure no one at Opportunity High will forget him, and how they made him feel.
This Is Where It Ends is filled with suspense and is extremely engaging. Tyler controls the whole school with the possession of his gun, ordering people to lock the auditorium doors and threatening to shoot anyone who disobeys him. There is little hesitation to obey Tyler’s orders- people are paralyzed with fear and do everything they can to avoid being shot- and “The simple fact that he carefully picks out his targets, among the hundreds of students in the auditorium, makes him more of a threat” (96). Tyler takes his time to select his victims, rather than shooting everyone very quickly, which makes his attack more personal, as he is singling out specific people. The events unfold slowly as he gives a detailed justification for shooting each person. The suspense builds as time goes on because the reader develops various questions while reading the book, such as the origin of Tyler’s motive and how the shooting concludes. These questions remain unanswered until the very end of the book, which makes the reader want to continue reading to seek answers to these questions. The story is told from multiple students’ perspectives, and so the narrator changes frequently and abruptly. This makes it a bit choppy, but in a positive way for the impact of the book. Each time the narrator switches, it feels like their story is cut short in the middle, which increases the suspense because the reader is left to wonder what will happen to them.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys mystery books or adventure books. This Is Where It Ends has the element of mystery since, for the majority of the book, the reader is uncertain of exactly what Tyler’s goal is, and who is dead and who is alive, until the very end of the book. Tyler’s act of violence is mysterious; nothing like it has ever happened in Opportunity before, and no one knows how to handle it. Everyone at Opportunity High, including those trapped in the auditorium and those elsewhere in the school, tries to figure out a way to notify the police and put a stop to Tyler’s attack, almost like they are trying to solve the “mystery” of finding a way to stop Tyler, but quickly, so the least amount of deaths occur. Tomas and Fareed, two students not in the auditorium during the shooting, work to unlock the auditorium doors to let people out without Tyler noticing. Tyler’s sister Autumn escapes but later reenters the school to reason with Tyler and try to convince him to stop killing people. Autumn “shivers as we cross the threshold of the hallway” (236). These students risk their lives for the greater good of their classmates and their school to try to put an end to the shooting, rather than only thinking of themselves leaving the building when they have the chance. Tomas, Fareed, and Autumn act heroically to stop the violence, which gives the book a sense of adventure and gives the reader hope that the shooting will end soon.
This Is Where It Ends tackles the issue of gun violence, which is an especially relevant topic in our society nowadays. When the shooting ends and some time has passed, the students and teachers of Opportunity High get together and light candles in memory of those killed by Tyler. Fareed gives a speech, saying “We are not better because we survived. We are not brighter or more deserving. We are not stronger. But we are here” (280). This novel helps prove that gun violence is a serious issue, and gives incentive for actions be taken to prevent events like this from happening in the future. It shows how big of an impact acts of gun violence can have; many people lost their lives in this shooting, and the survivors will be permanently affected by this event as they will live with this grief for the rest of their lives. I’d additionally recommend This Is Where It Ends to anyone interested in learning about gun violence, because it provides an example of how gun violence can negatively impact people’s lives. This Is Where It Ends also brings up the concern of dealing with mental health issues, which I enjoyed reading about because I feel that mental health is a topic that should be discussed more openly in school. Tyler felt alone and like he had no one to confide in, so he turned to violence to help him solve his problems. This novel teaches the lesson that help for people with mental health issues should be more readily available in schools, because people may feel like they have to deal with their problems on their own, and may turn to violence for a solution.
This Is Where It Ends is filled with suspense and is extremely engaging. Tyler controls the whole school with the possession of his gun, ordering people to lock the auditorium doors and threatening to shoot anyone who disobeys him. There is little hesitation to obey Tyler’s orders- people are paralyzed with fear and do everything they can to avoid being shot- and “The simple fact that he carefully picks out his targets, among the hundreds of students in the auditorium, makes him more of a threat” (96). Tyler takes his time to select his victims, rather than shooting everyone very quickly, which makes his attack more personal, as he is singling out specific people. The events unfold slowly as he gives a detailed justification for shooting each person. The suspense builds as time goes on because the reader develops various questions while reading the book, such as the origin of Tyler’s motive and how the shooting concludes. These questions remain unanswered until the very end of the book, which makes the reader want to continue reading to seek answers to these questions. The story is told from multiple students’ perspectives, and so the narrator changes frequently and abruptly. This makes it a bit choppy, but in a positive way for the impact of the book. Each time the narrator switches, it feels like their story is cut short in the middle, which increases the suspense because the reader is left to wonder what will happen to them.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys mystery books or adventure books. This Is Where It Ends has the element of mystery since, for the majority of the book, the reader is uncertain of exactly what Tyler’s goal is, and who is dead and who is alive, until the very end of the book. Tyler’s act of violence is mysterious; nothing like it has ever happened in Opportunity before, and no one knows how to handle it. Everyone at Opportunity High, including those trapped in the auditorium and those elsewhere in the school, tries to figure out a way to notify the police and put a stop to Tyler’s attack, almost like they are trying to solve the “mystery” of finding a way to stop Tyler, but quickly, so the least amount of deaths occur. Tomas and Fareed, two students not in the auditorium during the shooting, work to unlock the auditorium doors to let people out without Tyler noticing. Tyler’s sister Autumn escapes but later reenters the school to reason with Tyler and try to convince him to stop killing people. Autumn “shivers as we cross the threshold of the hallway” (236). These students risk their lives for the greater good of their classmates and their school to try to put an end to the shooting, rather than only thinking of themselves leaving the building when they have the chance. Tomas, Fareed, and Autumn act heroically to stop the violence, which gives the book a sense of adventure and gives the reader hope that the shooting will end soon.
This Is Where It Ends tackles the issue of gun violence, which is an especially relevant topic in our society nowadays. When the shooting ends and some time has passed, the students and teachers of Opportunity High get together and light candles in memory of those killed by Tyler. Fareed gives a speech, saying “We are not better because we survived. We are not brighter or more deserving. We are not stronger. But we are here” (280). This novel helps prove that gun violence is a serious issue, and gives incentive for actions be taken to prevent events like this from happening in the future. It shows how big of an impact acts of gun violence can have; many people lost their lives in this shooting, and the survivors will be permanently affected by this event as they will live with this grief for the rest of their lives. I’d additionally recommend This Is Where It Ends to anyone interested in learning about gun violence, because it provides an example of how gun violence can negatively impact people’s lives. This Is Where It Ends also brings up the concern of dealing with mental health issues, which I enjoyed reading about because I feel that mental health is a topic that should be discussed more openly in school. Tyler felt alone and like he had no one to confide in, so he turned to violence to help him solve his problems. This novel teaches the lesson that help for people with mental health issues should be more readily available in schools, because people may feel like they have to deal with their problems on their own, and may turn to violence for a solution.
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