Going back to reading

It was hard to get back to reading, I'm always occupied with work or distracted by something else entirely (read: make up). But I decided to pick some titles off the shelves which are relatively easy to read, to return to my old, satisfying habit: reading. Those relatively easy read are young adults novels. I started with one particular book that was recommended by a You Tuber, The Beginning of Everything.

It's not a new book. In fact, it was published in 2013. I was 2 year too late. Or not. I guess better late than never, right?

Written by Robin Schneider, it's a coming of age book, definitely addressed to young readers, with high schoolers as the characters. Our main hero is Ezra Faulkner, a golden boy who is raised in a rather wealthy family. Ezra has everything: at school he's at the top of the social status: a popular kid, the captain of the school's tennis team, with a girlfriend who is said to be the prettiest. His life should've been easy. He'll become the prom king, get a scholarship from a university with his sports achievements, and land in a stable job, just like everyone's expectations. But this perfect picture is shattered because of one fatal accident. at prom night, he finds out his girlfriend cheated on him, and he got into a car accident that ruin his possibility to play tennis ever again. Suddenly, Ezra finds himself at the very start of everything: an empty slate, not knowing who he is or what he's doing. That is, until he meets a girl, Cassidy Thorpe, who will bring about changes in his life, who will make him re-think of things that matter, and they're definitely not popularity or plastic crowns. 

Joining Ezra in his quest to find himself is easy. As each chapter unfolds, we learn more about the characters, with mysteries and background stories that surround them. It's a witty, heart-wrenching tragedy, that turns into a hopeful bud that will soon bloom into beautiful flowers. It's poetic and simple, the perfect example of how misfortunes can move people's lives forward to the better. I was happy somehow when Ezra closed a chapter of his life with Cassidy and open a new one. It was rare of me to feel satisfied with the hero not having a happy ending with the heroine. I guess it's because since the beginning, this book doesn't have a heroine. It's purely about a hero, Ezra, and his growth in life, with a severed head, a lot of misfits, misfortunes, misunderstandings, and tragedies in the middle, all of which bring us to the end of this useless review. A clean finish and a fresh start. Ready to read again.