The End Of Our Story by Meg Haston

The End Of Our Story by Meg Haston
Release Date - April 4, 2017

Publisher Website - Harper Collins
Publisher Social Media - Twitter/Facebook/SavvyReader/Frenzy
Pages -  228 pages
My Rating - 4/5
**received for an honest review from publisher**

**mild spoilers, and a large spoiler hide under a spoiler tag**

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

Meg Haston's romantic and thrilling new YA novel explores a star-crossed high school relationship in a tale rife with deeply buried secrets and shocking revelations.

Bridge and Wil have been entangled in each other’s lives for years. Under the white-hot Florida sun, they went from kids daring each other to swim past the breakers to teenagers stealing kisses between classes. But when Bridge betrayed Wil during their junior year, she shattered his heart and their relationship along with it.

Then Wil’s family suffers a violent loss, and Bridge rushes back to Wil’s side. As they struggle to heal old wounds and start falling for each other all over again, Bridge and Wil discover just how much has changed in the past year. As the fierce current of tragedy threatens to pull them under, they must learn how to swim on their own—or risk drowning together.

This is a hard novel to review. The synopsis doesn't give you the heart of this story and that can be both a good and bad thing. It's a novel about second chances, and forgiveness. It is about the truths we share, and things we hide. It's a book that surprised me and that is part of what made this novel have the impact that it did.

This is the story of Bridge and Wil. It is a story of their romance, but it is also so much more than just that. We see the before and after of a drunken mistake that tears them apart. If cheating is something that will ensure you don't pick up this novel, you'll be missing out on an emotionally complex read. It ends up being a very minor plot point as this novel isn't really about the cheating, or about their relationship. While this may partially be the story of how they (possibly)  make their way back to each other, it is really about forgiveness in all its forms.

This brings me to my only qualm about this novel. It is a gut punch of a novel because of how surprising it is, but it really should have a trigger warning. I get that they wanted this journey to be taken with the characters, and it was meant to be a big reveal, but as someone who understood this part of the story a little too well, I found it, at times, hard to read (as it should be). I am going to put this trigger warning under a spoiler heading for those who want to know before picking up this novel. Be warned, they are major spoilers for the book.

This novel portrays a very unflinching look at domestic abuse. You feel every moment that is walked on egg shells waiting for the next moment of violence. You feel the helplessness that is felt as a character sees someone they loved tormented and abused. You feel the fear of having these violent tendencies ingrained in you because of your upbringing and DNA. It is remarkably well done, and because of that fact I feel people who have experienced this may want to tread carefully. It could be the book that someone finds themselves in, but it could also be the book that inflicts painful memories.

This novel also looks at the notion of how well we really know someone. Both Wil and Bridge have to struggle with the reality that perhaps they didn't know someone they loved as well as they thought. We have all had this experience to some degree, and that struggle is very well handled in this novel. You can love the person while still being disappointed and furious with them. You can love them, and hate them at the same time. It is hard to reconcile this dual feelings, and this truth comes through in these pages.

Those looking for a nicely wrapped up ending will not find that here. The ending is just as murky and grey as every other part of this story. It is an messy ending that is perfect for the messy situations this book holds. There is no right or wrong in this circumstances, and that is something that remains true right up to the very end.

Meg Haston has written a novel that will stay with you long after you finish reading it. It is the type of novel that makes you ponder some really difficult questions. I would recommend it, but with caution as it will not be for everyone.