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SusanitaI found the ending a little frustrating TBH. Somehow, though, I knew better than to expect everything to be tied up in a bow.1mo
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mcctrishThe ending was gripping - I was getting Walking Dead vibes sometimes in this because of how fraught it is for a pregnant woman to be alone in the world #idchoosethebear EP is a MASTER at building tension1mo
ImperfectCJThe ending feels right to me. The teenagers attacking her (and her self defense) seem brutal in comparison with her previous thoughts/actions, but I read it as an indication she was moving out of her ambivalence and into Mama Bear mode. She's accepted doing this on her own, even not knowing what happened to Dom. The birth scene uses language similar to how I describe my son's birth (although I was in my dining room, not a park), which was cool.1mo
AmyGAt some point I realized the ending. And all her doubts about being a mother….her instinct took over. It was all inside of her all along.1mo
DGRachelI did not like the near-feral teen scene. It felt thrown in for shock value, but I liked that she still hadn‘t found Dom. There was an inner strength that I think finally became clear to her when she gave birth alone, like@AmyG said.1mo
ButterfingerI liked the ending. Everything that@AmyG said. Instincts took over. Pattee even described her as snarling when she tried to pass the teens.1mo
Jas16I agree with@DGRachel I didn‘t really like the scene with the teens but the rest of the ending felt right to me.1mo
BookwormjillkI would have liked a more detailed ending but I do understand why it ended that way. You can‘t really tie up something like that neatly.1mo
ZuhkeeyahThe ending was fitting for her journey. Annie found a new axis to spin around despite all the uncertainty she had experienced since the morning.1mo
BarbaraBBTo me the ending felt inevitable in a way that matched the rest of the novel‘s tone.There‘s a sense that Annie has tilted permanently into a new reality: one where survival is about carrying forward with a new clarity about what matters. But maybe that‘s how I want to see it!1mo
BkClubCareI didn‘t “like” the scene with the teens either but I think it worked. She needed to be provoked into her fierceness and know she could be ready for what might be next. I am liking the book more and more upon reflection and I was on board for it before and during. (And the cover is perfect, too)1mo
vonnie862I had mixed feelings about the ending. The attack from the teens and the birth were fitting but I needed closer when it came to Dom.1mo
DeblovestoreadThe scene with the teens was tough but I think necessary so the we know at the end Annie has the determination to face the future with her baby in her now chaotic world.1mo
ChaoticMissAdventures@ImperfectCJ goodness! Can I ask, did you mean to have a home birth, or was it a surprise? I agree with your thoughts on the book, the ending felt good to me also. I like how you describe her going into mama bear mode.1mo
ChaoticMissAdventures@DGRachel I also like that she didn't find Dom, though I felt bad for her about it, I know she loves him but throughout the book IMO he did nothing but drag her down. She will be so much more without him.1mo
ChaoticMissAdventuresI was a bit nervous about the ending, you can feel the birth coming, and I was getting flashbacks from a book I hated (Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy - I despise the birth scene in this) but I think this one worked for me, it lead to this cumulation of Annie's development, bringing in new life, to her whole new life - being stronger, not having Dom, knowing herself better, and being in a physically new world after the quake1mo
JamieArcI didn‘t need her to find Dom. The reunion would have felt… I don‘t know. Not true to the reality of their relationship? But the abrupt ending left me a little “ugh.” I didn‘t love it.1mo
yourfavouritemixtapeI agree with@BkClubCare she needed to be provoked to have her do what she‘s able to. I knew the end had to be open, but somehow I kind of hoped that the story would end before her giving birth. I don‘t really know why.1mo
GatheringBooks@mcctrish agreed about the mastery in building up tension - it was such a gripping read and it is the perfect length for it. There is a tightness to the narrative - kind of like pared down to its barest essence and so subtle too, that it works well. Yet the lines are snappy, the momentum ever moving forward, and the story pretty engaging thruout. I am a fan of ambiguous open endings, plus it felt fitting for me.1mo
MegabooksI liked the scene with the teens. I think EP needed to show how far Annie would go on her own to save her life and the life of her child. I like that she finally finds her inner strength. Not knowing (or really believing) Dom was alive also made her realize she had to be strong enough to face the aftermath of the earthquake and parenthood by herself. TBH, at times I thought of him more as a millstone around her neck than a husband.1mo
ChristineI liked the ending! And I just assumed Dom was dead with the news of Old Town being flattened - anyone else?1mo
LesliereadsalotI agree with@Christine I liked the ending and I was sure Dom was dead. That “deadweight “ will not be around to hinder her growth and she and the baby will be just fine.1mo
willafulIt might be because I identified too much with my own situation, but I found the lack of closure upsetting.1mo
CBeeAt first I wanted more, but as I thought about it further, it needed to end that way. I had a feeling it would end with her giving birth. I was actually surprised she made it that long!1mo
mcctrish@DGRachel@ImperfectCJ@Jas16 the teen scene has been niggling in the back of my brain - it did feel shocking or had greater shock impact to me because the other moments of violence were fleeting. So many adults were tethered by concern/worry-their loved ones, their property, their jobs so they don‘t react poorly, but the teens have had their ties to normalcy cut so gang mentality reigns.1mo
Jas16@mcctrish it some ways it just seemed too soon for me for the teens to be roving around in violent packs. Which I know sounds silly but if it had been a day or two of chaos later- sure.1mo
mcctrish@Jas16 I get that completely - these ones were already bad to the bone 😂 they needed no persuading to go to the dark side1mo
Hooked_on_booksI thought the ending both worked for the book and was realistic in the sense that such a major shock spurring early labor is unsurprising. It was also a nice ending for Annie character arc.1mo
TEArificbooksAt first I wanted more at the end. I wanted confirmation that Dom was dead. I wanted her to find her home was still standing and give birth inside her own home. And I wanted her to have a safe place to recover for a few days at least. But I respect the author ending it when she did and adding the teens drove the Annie‘s character development to believing she has to do it alone and she can do it alone.1mo
BarbaraJeanFor me, the ending was both too abrupt and also the only way this could have ended. I assumed Dom was dead (I‘m with you@Christine and@Lesliereadsalot!), especially after the bridge. And with what‘s revealed about their marriage and how little support I assume Annie would have had as a mother—no matter what, it was still going to come down to just her and Bean in the end. It was just the most extreme version of that! ⬇1mo
BarbaraJean(Cont'd) So it was as expected and it felt right to me… but I was also disappointed. I wanted more answers, more resolution. I wanted to know definitively what had happened to Dom, to Taylor and her daughter, to so many others… but in the end, all that Annie was going to have was Bean. And that was enough. That felt right.1mo
JamieArcOne thing that drove me a little crazy was why did Annie think that Dom would stay where he was instead of going to look for her? It felt risky. I would have just gone home first.1mo
Leniverse@JamieArc Agreed! Although it made more sense to me with the ending. Her instincts were telling her to find her partner. Although I kept thinking that nesting at home would make more sense, I am also reminded that I paced the hospital hallways for about 12 hours on the day I gave birth to my first child 😂 Being still didn't feel like an option.1mo
LeniverseI hate open ended books. This wasn't even an ambiguous ending, it just stopped. The only thing that had been resolved was her feelings about her baby. And as cathartic as the birth scene was, unless Annie has watched a YouTube tutorial on how to safely cut the umbilical cord with a razor blade coated in someone else's blood, I hope whoever is out there with a flashlight has some medical training. 🤪1mo
Suet624@Leniverse I laughed out loud when I read your comment about the book just stopping and how to safely cut the cord. I felt the same way.1mo
Suet624I am so glad that I‘ve been able to read other‘s thoughts about the book. The comments have offered some insights that I hadn‘t thought about. Generally speaking, I enjoyed reading the story but was disappointed by the ending.1mo
MeganAnn@BarbaraBB I agree that the ending felt inevitable. I thought it matched the tone of the novel and that we are getting the parts of the story we need to show that with the birth of Bean, Annie‘s reality has tilted into being a mother. It didn‘t really bother me that we don‘t get more answers.1mo
MeganAnn@Leniverse your comment made me laugh as well as@Suet624 🤣 I‘m just going to assume that whoever is out there knows what to do and will take care of Annie and Bean.1mo
Christine@Lesliereadsalot@BarbaraJean@Suet624 I wonder whether Annie also immediately thought he was dead but pushed past that? Can't remember if that was alluded to in the book. @JamieArc I 100% would have gone home!! Though I guess the fact that Annie didn't might be saying something about what she knew or thought she knew about Dom... 1mo
Lesliereadsalot@Christine I think she continued to think he was alive, but when she couldn‘t get to him, decided to go home. She couldn‘t let her mind go to where he might be dead.1mo
Chelsea.PooleThe only part about the book I didn‘t like was the teen girl attack. It felt…wrong, somehow.@DGRachel I agree. And@Jas161mo
Chelsea.PooleI agree with@christine and everyone else who assumes Dom is dead. And@JamieArc I agree—Annie should have gone home to find him. I thought about what I would do in her situation and I like to think I‘d go home, but who knows how I‘d react in such a disaster. I‘m usually the panicking type.(edited) 1mo
rockpools@Zuhkeeyah Love your comment about her finding a new axis to spin round - and describes really well her relationship with her Mum and with Dom. The whole day has been a conversation with Bean, so ending with her birth seemed right, even if everything is unresolved.1mo
Maggie4483I think we‘re all so used to disaster movies, where the MC‘s husband (played by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) would show up at just the right moment to rescue her. Real life‘s not like that; it will likely be weeks or months before Annie knows what happened to Dom (if ever). So I think the ending, while somewhat unsatisfying, was more realistic.1mo
@JamieArc I 100% would have gone home!! Though I guess the fact that Annie didn't might be saying something about what she knew or thought she knew about Dom...
1mo