Publishers Weekly
First-time novelist Schneider offers an engrossing romance in which tragedy brings two teens together, then threatens to tear them apart. Ezra Faulkner has a bright future as a tennis player until a car accident leaves him with a serious knee injury. Along with losing his spot on the team and his prospects of being recruited by colleges, he is dropped by his popular clique (“I had been Ezra Faulkner, golden boy, but that person no longer existed”). At the onset of senior year, he makes major changes, rekindling a childhood friendship he’d dropped after a gruesome mishap, joining the debate team, and getting to know Cassidy Thorpe, an the enigmatic new student with a reputation as a stellar debater. Ezra is mesmerized by Cassidy’s intelligence, wit, and philosophical ideas, but after they become a couple, her mood swings set off unexpected sparks. Tension builds as Cassidy’s past comes to light, and a shocking climax culminates in an emotional crash to rival Ezra’s physical one. Schneider shows remarkable skill at getting inside her narrator’s head as his life swings between disaster and recovery. Ages 13–up. Agent: Merrilee Heifetz, Writers House. (Aug.)
From the Publisher
Praise for THE BEGINNING OF EVERYTHING: “Smart writing and a compelling narrator raise this book above ordinary depictions of high school drama. Efficient use of language, evocative descriptions and subtle turns of phrase make reading and rereading this novel a delight.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“This thought-provoking novel about smart kids doing interesting things will resonate with the John Green contingent, as it is tinged with sadness, high jinks, wry humor, and philosophical pondering in equal measures.” — Booklist (starred review)
“Schneider shows remarkable skill at getting inside her narrator’s head as his life swings between disaster and recovery.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“This is a wonderfully told story. The dialogue moves the plot along at a fast pace, and Ezra, with all his flaws, is a character to whom readers can relate. Teens won’t want to put this one down.” — School Library Journal
“The Beginning of Everything is a tragic romance of the best kind that leaves the reader feeling as though they are part of the story, and wishing there was more.” — Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA)
“Dazzling. Full of razor-sharp wit, a keen sense of observation, and surprisingly tender compassion.” — Jeannette Walls, New York Times bestselling author of The Glass Castle: A Memoir and The Silver Star
“Heartbreaking and hilarious. I have no doubt that girls everywhere are going to fall madly, deeply, hopelessly in love with Ezra Faulkner.” — Sarah Mlynowski, author of A Little Bit Broken
“Smart, funny, heartbreaking, and so true it hurts…this is a book you will never forget.” — Lauren Barnoldt, author of Two-Way Street and Sometimes It Happens
“Robyn Schneider can write.” — New York Times Book Review
“It’s an endearing book filled with similarly touching little moments and plenty of snappy dialogue.” — New York Times Book Review
New York Times Book Review
Robyn Schneider can write.
Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA)
The Beginning of Everything is a tragic romance of the best kind that leaves the reader feeling as though they are part of the story, and wishing there was more.
Jeannette Walls
Dazzling. Full of razor-sharp wit, a keen sense of observation, and surprisingly tender compassion.
Booklist (starred review)
This thought-provoking novel about smart kids doing interesting things will resonate with the John Green contingent, as it is tinged with sadness, high jinks, wry humor, and philosophical pondering in equal measures.
Sarah Mlynowski
Heartbreaking and hilarious. I have no doubt that girls everywhere are going to fall madly, deeply, hopelessly in love with Ezra Faulkner.
Lauren Barnoldt
Smart, funny, heartbreaking, and so true it hurts…this is a book you will never forget.
Julia DeVillers
A witty and unexpected, smartly-crafted and slightly twisted coming-of-age story.
Kirkus Reviews
Smart writing and a compelling narrator raise this book above ordinary depictions of high school drama. After finding his vapid girlfriend going down on another guy, Ezra Faulkner is seriously injured in a hit-and-run accident, leaving him out of the loop with the jock-and-cheerleader set. When senior year begins, he gravitates toward his old friend Toby, no stranger to tragedy himself. Toby and his debate team welcome Ezra to their lunch table when they find out that the prom king is as smart and funny as they are. Schneider takes familiar stereotypes and infuses them with plenty of depth. Here are teens who could easily trade barbs and double-entendres with the characters that fill John Green's novels. Ezra falls in love with Cassidy, an enigmatic transfer student fascinated by Foucault's notion of society as panopticon, flash mobs and puns. Ezra is forced to confront his complacency about the direction his life has been taking, but it's an uneasy passage. The author takes care with the telling of Ezra's story, allowing time to develop her characters. Narrator Ezra's point of view is an unusual one, that of an introspective athlete reflecting on events from the slight remove of his first year in college. Efficient use of language, evocative descriptions and subtle turns of phrase make reading and rereading this novel a delight. (Fiction. 14 & up)
