The End or Something Like That by Ann Dee Ellis

Compelling. Raw. Powerful. These are the words which came to mind as I was reading The End or Something Like That. Emmy considers herself a loser: plain, insecure, and nothing when standing beside her gorgeous best friend Kim. It sounds like a cliche teenage novel right? Unpopular girl secretly jealous of her perfect bestie who forever steals the spotlight. Except this isn't a stereotypical book. And Kim is dead. This is the novel of one teenage girl, trying to strive past her inner struggles as Emmy tries and tries again to communicate with Kim's spirit. Because Kim promised, she carefully spent her last days planning to return and make everything right.
Ellis uses the word "said" a lot, which I didn't appreciate very much, but the awkward, informal writing gives a unique aspect to the book. You can strongly feel Emmy's voice coming through and her emotions are straightforward. There are no intricate descriptions or wordy dialogues to blur anything out. Everything is right there. Her grief is so real as the book jumps back between the past and the present. Emmy goes through much more than just crying in her closet regretting everything (although this does happen). Ellis manages to skillfully portray the very real emotions that go through the mind of a young girl- and she doesn't take the worn path to do so.

My biggest problem would have to be the ending. Despite masterfully developing the story and Emmy's character, Ellis wraps everything up with extreme speed- which is simply messy.There was so much room to create a moving ending, but she just drops it. Excuse my SPOILER!! here because I think this is very important to mention: In the final scene, Emmy goes to Kim's favorite place, really hoping that this time she will actually appear (Also, is this fantasy or not? There are spirits, but not really? I CAN'T TELL?) and she has her family and friends supporting her. Instead, she sees the boy that she's kind of starting to have a crush on. He's been waiting for her all day. He kisses her in the rain. Emmy can't believe a girl like her actually has someone who likes her this way. They hold hands and go back together. She's very happy and she's finally over all that grief that's been pulling her around this entire book. Kim is probably watching from somewhere and is happy for her. The-End. It's almost as if Ellis is saying a girl needs a boy to pull her out of the darkness. As if having a boyfriend makes a girl complete and fixes all her problems.
I'm very torn by this book. I really grew to love it until I reached such a disappointing end. I can't help but wonder if Ellis had something more planned but forgot and just cut it off there thinking "this is good enough." I'm seriously at a loss. What's the message of this book supposed to be?
For the perspective of one wonderful character and the raw story told, I think it is still worth reading.
Tell me in the comments what you think. Do you agree?
~Mushu