The End or Something Like That

“The End or Something Like That dares you to suspend all disbelief and look at loss, and life itself, in an entirely new way.  This is a hilarious and awesomely weird ode to friendship and youth—with the kind of stellar prose that won’t let you look away.”

– John Corey Whaley, Printz Award winning-author of Where Things Come Back

“The End or Something Like That breaks your heart and mends it back together with hope and humor. After reading this book, I believe.”

– Ally Condie, author of the #1 New York Times Bestselling Matched Trilogy

“The Las Vegas setting powerfully contrasts the absurdity of life against the separation of death, and several truly uncomfortable scenes involving Emmy’s classmates lays bare just how ill-equipped many people are to handle death. A hard-hitting story about remembering the dead while not forgetting the living.”

– Publishers Weekly, starred review

“Ellis skillfully captures what it’s like to be a kid who flies beneath the radar and is afraid to speak up.”

– School Library Journal

“The choppy, edgy tone of Ellis’ dialogue illuminates Emmy’s longing for her old friend. She practically burns with intensity, even as she gradually begins to move on.”

– Booklist

“Incredibly funny, sad, magical, and real all at the same time. Count me as a major fan.”

– Holly Goldberg Sloan, New York Times bestselling author of Counting by 7s

“Ann Dee Ellis is my own personal J.D. Salinger. Sometimes haunted, sometimes haunting, but always achingly human, she finds truth in a burrito and a pizza boy, a fistful of gummy bears, and a dead science teacher. You will truly love this book.”

– Margaret Stohl, New York Times bestselling co-author of the Beautiful Creatures series  

“Ann Dee Ellis has one of the most interesting voices I know. I love the humor, honesty, and restraint with which she explores Emmy’s complicated relationship with the past, the present, and herself.”

– Sara Zarr, National Book Award Finalist for Story of a Girl

Overview

Can a friendship last forever?

Emmy would like to think so. But even though she and her late best friend, Kim, planned every detail in advance, from when and where to meet to what snacks to bring, Kim has yet to make an appearance from the afterlife. Which is making Emmy wonder if what happened right before Kim died changed everything.

Alternating between the past and the present and between the heartbreaking and the truly hilarious, Ann Dee Ellis's latest novel is an achingly authentic take on friendship, family, and what it means to let go and truly live.


For fans of Sara Zarr and Stephen Chbosky, an achingly raw and surprisingly funny novel about coping with loss