The End of Everything. Finished audio 4-19-14, rating 3/5. fiction, pub. 2011

Unabridged audio 8 1/2 hours, read by Emily Bauer

Thirteen-year-old Lizzie Hood and her next-door neighbor, Evie Verver, are inseparable, best friends who swap clothes, bathing suits, and field-hockey sticks and between whom, presumably, there are no secrets. Then one afternoon, Evie disappears, and as a rabid, giddy panic spreads through the balmy suburban community, everyone turns to Lizzie for answers. Was Evie unhappy, troubled, or upset? Had she mentioned being followed? Would she have gotten into the car of a stranger?

Compelled by curiosity, Lizzie takes up her own furtive pursuit of the truth. Haunted by dreams of her lost friend and titillated by her own new power as the center of the disappearance, Lizzie uncovers secret after secret and begins to wonder if she knew anything at all about her best friend.

from Goodreads

Once I finished this book, the one word that kept coming to mind was creepy.  Our narrator, Lizzie, perhaps most of all.  Her reaction at the disappearance of her best friend was puzzling to me, mainly because there didn’t seem to be one.  Her almost-casual willingness to help find her was all about spending time with Mr. Verver.  There were a lot of damaged characters in this book, but none so more than Lizzie.

The writing was good and the mystery surrounding Evie kept me reading, so I’d consider checking out another from this author, but the over-sexualized barely teen girls of this one will probably leave a bad taste in my mouth for awhile.

I know lots of bloggers loved this one, so I do wonder if the narration led to some of disappointment.

I own the hardcover book (even though I listened to the audio) and since it’s not something I want to keep, I’m offering it to one of you free of charge!

Leave a comment with your email address and I’ll throw your name in to win.  I’ll draw a winner on May 15th!