The Best Part Is at the End

Thank you to NetGalley, West 44 Books, Rosen Publishing Group, and Mel Mallory for the opportunity to read The Best Part is at The End in exchange for an honest review.

This is a hi-lo novel written in a poetic verse style, where at times there is a seemingly intentional beat and a method to the poetic storytelling craft.

This novel explores the power of friendship and the magic of movies. Anna, the narrator, is a teenager who is struggling to find her place in the world. Living with her parents in rural Pennsylvania, Anna feels trapped and longs for a more exciting life. If her life were a movie, there are many dicetional changes she would make without a second thought, or rather, with very careful perscision. 

Her pregnant sister returning from college only adds to her sense of claustrophobia. Seeking solace in her love of movies, Anna befriends her crush, Aiden, a cashier at the last remaining video store in the state. Through Aiden's virtual film club, Anna finds a community of like-minded people who share her passion for movies and even finds enjoyment in genres she previously didn't have a taste for.

The novel expertly weaves together themes of family, love, and the power of cinema, saying a lot with very few words. The characters are relatable, and it deserves a comment that there aren't a lot of novels out there about one's passion for film-making. This is a great novel for a young adult audience.

This novel is written in verse and tells the story of Anna, a teenager who longs to leave her small Pennsylvania town. Her sister left a while ago but then comes back pregnant, having been dumped by her boyfriend.

Anna connects with Aiden, a boy at school who works at the video rental store, which still exists in their small town. From there, you kind if know how the rest of this book will go.

A very quick read, it took me.about and hour.

I can dig it!

I love a good novel in verse. It's natural ebb and flow is a sort of bop that keeps me pulled in. The Best Part Is At The End does a fine job of this. In it, we are invited into Anna's world. A young teenaged girl who would rather be anywhere else than stuck living under her parents roof. What Anna needs -- the softer side of life -- she comes to find they just do not know how to give. In fact, so much so that she dreams of writing herself away from her rural town and her parents' grasp. After all, her sister is gone and all she could ask for is a return so that things can go back to normal. That is, until her sister returns swollen and pregnant. With her parents arguments and her sister encroaching upon what had become her safe space, Anna is left feeling stuck and stagnant.

At one of the only video rental sites in the state, Anna meets Aiden (a cashier there) who becomes the friend she didn't know she needed. As we journey with Anna and delve into her story, it is easy to come to like her and root for her, knowing that small victories matter all the same.

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review!