How It Ends
By: Laura Wiess
Published: August 2009
Format: Trade Paperback, 368 pages
ISBN-10: 1416546634
ISBN-13: 9781416546634
Publisher: MTV Books/Pocket Books
Fifteen year old Hanna goes off to private school, and drifts apart from Helen, who had been Hanna's companion for most of her young life. Helen, referred to affectionately by Hanna as Gran, longs for the days when she and Hanna were close, while Hanna's parents' marriage was in trouble. While ignoring Helen, Hanna is busy thinking of ways to catch the eye of Seth, who despite Hanna's affections, doesn't treat her well. Startling and powerful events intervene in Hanna's life changing her forever, in Laura Wiess' page turning and engrossing novel How It Ends.
Laura Wiess creates a believable teenage high school world, complete with concerns about dating, clothing, and parties. At the same time, the author introduces darker forces that affect the lives of all of the characters. The novel is, at its heart, a love story. While Hanna may believe that the love story is between herself and Seth as the object of her affection, that is not the case. The deeper, underlying love story is of Hanna and Helen, and how their lives become entwined when Helen suffers an illness. During that time together, Hanna discovers the truth about love, secrets, and lies.
Laura Wiess (photo left)
While ostensibly writing a teenage coming of age story, Laura Wiess delves more deeply into human relationships, and how what is seen on the surface may be only a mask. Helen hints at at darker secrets from the very outset of the story, as the author sets the stage for the intense and unforgettable conclusion. The story is one of the power of love for redemption, and of respect for life and human dignity. The story is also about self respect and loving oneself. Hanna learns that love also involves respect and sacrifice, and that in the end, love can redeem every soul.
I highly recommend the thoughtful and realistic novel How It Ends by Laura Wiess, to anyone seeking a teen novel that combines elements of real world teen life, with deeper themes of love, respect, and redemption. The love story between Helen and Hanna forms the cornerstone of the novel, and from that base, Hanna learns that there is truly a power to love. She also learns that love is complex, and often involves sacrifice and very difficult choices. In the end, however, Hanna learns that love can overcome the lies of the past, and redeem those in the present.
Read the inventive and touching novel How It Ends by Laura Wiess, and enter a world where love past and present combine to change Hanna's life forever. The well drawn and intriguing characters, and their unique relationships, will stay with the reader, long after the book ends.
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