Fiction Pick of the Week: The End of Everything

The End of Everything by Megan Abbott 2011

Thirteen-year-olds Lizzie and Evie have been best friends forever. Lizzie, the narrator of this story, is fascinated by Evie’s seemingly perfect family, especially her glamorous older sister Dusty, a beautiful boy-magnet girl and accomplished sportswoman. She also idolizes Lizzie’s father, Mr. Verver, a cool and approachable man, the king of the beautiful Verver kingdom. Lizzie’s own family is in disarray, ever since her parents’ divorce, with her mother striking up a relationship with a married man. Then one day, on the way home from school, Evie disappears. The police and her family are desperate for clues and Lizzie feels something nagging at the back of her mind until she remembers….she remembers a maroon car that had been following them and a whispered conversation with Evie about someone who had been watching her from outside her window. It soon becomes clear that Evie has been taken by Mr. Shaw, a married, older man who had been observing her for a while. In the ensuing days, Lizzie tries to make sense of what is happening. She searches into Evie’s disappearance and uncovers secrets and lost memories that cause Lizzie to question if she ever really knew Evie at all.