The End of Everything - Megan Abbott

Evie and Lizzie are thirteen-year-old best friends and next door neighbours with an incredibly close bond between them, doing virtually everything together, playing soccer, having sleepovers, and so on, knowing so much about each other and sharing so much. Lizzie lives with her mother and elder brother, but spends much time with Evie at her house discussing the activities of Evie's attractive elder sister Dusty, and Lizzie evidently likes to spend time around Evie's father Mr Verver. 

Then one day Evie suddenly disappears, and Lizzie becomes even closer to Evie's family, in particular her father Mr Verver. Lizzie's relationship with Dusty becomes more difficult and strained however whilst Evie is missing. Lizzie begins to question how well she does actually know Evie, and what exactly were the circumstances behind her disappearance. The reader is aware of the likely suspect who Evie is with, and the novel is not so much of a whodunit as a why and how they did it, and Evie's motivations. Some of the themes and occurrences, without giving any plot away, are mostly more hinted at and suggested than explicitly described, but they do deal with discovering sexuality and relationships. 

I was looking forward to reading this novel and I have to say that on finishing it I was a bit disappointed. Perhaps other readers will find it more fulfilling and rewarding than I did. I felt that as it went on it that rather than becoming more engrossed by the story, it actually became harder work to read and did not engage me, and somehow Lizzie's voice as a thirteen year old and the way she thought and spoke did not quite ring true for me. I feel the writer has a definite writing talent and way with words but I didn't find myself drawn into this novel.