We Begin at the End-Chris Whitaker

There are two kinds of families: the ones we are born into and the ones we create.

Walk has never left the coastal California town where he grew up. He may have become the chief of police, but he’s still trying to heal the old wound of having given the testimony that sent his best friend, Vincent King, to prison decades before. Now, thirty years later, Vincent is being released.

Duchess is a thirteen-year-old self-proclaimed outlaw. Her mother, Star, grew up with Walk and Vincent. Walk is in overdrive trying to protect them, but Vincent and Star seem bent on sliding deeper into self-destruction. Star always burned bright, but recently that light has dimmed, leaving Duchess to parent not only her mother but her five-year-old brother. At school the other kids make fun of Duchess―her clothes are torn, her hair a mess. But let them throw their sticks, because she’ll throw stones. Rules are for other people. She’s just trying to survive and keep her family together.

A fortysomething-year-old sheriff and a thirteen-year-old girl may not seem to have a lot in common. But they both have come to expect that people will disappoint you, loved ones will leave you, and if you open your heart it will be broken. So when trouble arrives with Vincent King, Walk and Duchess find they will be unable to do anything but usher it in, arms wide closed.

Chris Whitaker has written an extraordinary novel about people who deserve so much more than life serves them. At times devastating, with flashes of humor and hope throughout, it is ultimately an inspiring tale of how the human spirit prevails and how, in the end, love―in all its different guises―wins.

---

Review

Thank you Netgalley for an audio arc in exchange for an honest review!

I am disappointed. I went into this book with high expectations because of all the praising reviews, but for me, it didn’t catch my attention.

The story follows a police chef named Walk. He was a close friend of Vincent King, the guy who killed Sissy, Star’s sister, and is also the one who got Vincent sent to jail. But many years later, Star has two kids named Duchess and Robin. Star isn’t a mother to them, as she deals with her ever-growing problem of alcohol abuse. Walk tries his best to be there for everyone, Star, Duchess, and even Vincent. Vincent is released from jail, and Walk is right there when he is released to the world. The story follows another crime that ensues in the release of Vincent, and Duchess as she tries to fix her ever collapsing world.

I don’t know if it was just the person reading the audiobook, but it was difficult to stay focused on the book when I first started reading it. I read a lot of audiobooks and have no problem following along but the way the person spoke made me get very lost and let my mind wander. I also thought the reading didn’t have a lot of emotion and I would have liked to see a more defined change in voice for each person. The tone of the narrator was pretty similar throughout the whole book. Once I got my head wrapped around who the characters were and the plot of the story, I didn’t have trouble following along, but it did take a decent amount of time for that to happen.

I think it tugs at people’s hearts because Duchess has to take care of her younger brother as well as her drunk, basically hopeless mother. But I thought that the age of the characters wasn't well presented in the way they act. I understand that she might have grown up faster because of the situation she was in, which if so, the author does well at showing that. Duchess acts like she is 18 instead of 13. He talks back to every single adult and refuses to listen to anyone. Her sole focus is on protecting her brother, no matter the outcome her action results in. But I just think that for both Duchess and her brother they acted a lot older than what they are supposed to be. I also really didn’t enjoy how this 13-year-old girl curses and just the way she spoke. I think the author wanted to show how fed up she was and how she was strong-willed, making her point clear to everyone, not afraid of people, and not afraid to stand up to people, but I also found it very annoying how sassy and rude she is. For most of the book, she is this way but as the book continues, we do see a gradual shift in how she acts and thinks. I think the book did well in showing how Duchess’s new situation and the people who are in her life change who she is. Dare I say she even becomes a little soft, especially to one very helpful young boy who never gives up on her.

I think the plot itself was good and I like that the story had that strong background about the past of Star, Vincent, and Walk. But I was also kind of disappointed that the murderer is basically given to you from the start. The main focus of the book really isn’t figuring out who did it, it’s figuring out how to show he did it. But the book was action-packed. There were a lot of shocking twists, not in revelations but just in events that happened.

Overall, it was okay, but I don’t think it wowed me as much as I would have liked. It wasn’t bad but it also was world-changing.