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The Beginning of Everything

Golden boy Ezra Faulkner believes everyone has a tragedy waiting for them—a single encounter after which everything that really matters will happen. His particular tragedy waited until he was primed to lose it all: In one spectacular night, a reckless driver shatters Ezra’s knee, his athletic career, and his social life.

No longer a front-runner for Homecoming King, Ezra finds himself at the table of misfits, where he encounters new girl Cassidy Thorpe. Cassidy is unlike anyone Ezra’s ever met—achingly effortless and fiercely intelligent.

Together, Ezra and Cassidy discover flash mobs, buried treasure, and a poodle that might just be the reincarnation of Jay Gatsby. But as Ezra dives into his new studies, new friendships, and new love, he learns that some people, like books, are easy to misread. And now he must consider: If one’s singular tragedy has already hit, what happens when more misfortune strikes?

Robyn Schneider’s The Beginning of Everything is a refreshing contemporary twist on the classic coming-of-age novel—a heart-wrenching story about how difficult it is to play the part that people expect, and how new beginnings can stem from abrupt and tragic endings.

Available in all formats and in french, spanish, german, portuguese, czech, polish, turkish, and more.

Honors and awards for

The Beginning of Everything

• goodreads choice award finalist

• indie next list, Top 10 (Autumn 2013)

• Milwaukee County Teen Book Award Nominee

• Abraham Lincoln Award Nominee

• Kentucky Bluegrass Award Nominee

• Black-Eyed Susan Award Nominee

• Best Book of the Year, bank street

• Best Fiction For Young Adults Nominee, YALSA

• Amazon Best Book of the Month

• Apple iTunes Editor’s Choice

• Barnes & Noble Editor’s Pick

• texas TAYSHAS reading list

• Illinois Teen Choice Award Nominee

• Teen Vogue book club pick

• Seventeen book club pick

• starred review, kirkus

• starred review, booklist

• starred review, publishers weekly

Praise for The Beginning of Everything

★ “Here are teens who could easily trade barbs and double-entendres with the characters that fill John Green’s novels…subtle turns of phrase make reading and rereading this novel a delight.”  – Kirkus (Starred Review)

★ “This thought-provoking novel about smart kids doing interesting things will resonate with the John Green contingent, as it is tinged with sadness, high jinks, wry humor and philosophical pondering in equal measures.”  – Booklist (Starred Review)

★ “An engrossing romance in which tragedy brings two teens together, then threatens to tear them apart…Schneider shows remarkable skill at getting inside her narrator’s head as his life swings between disaster and recovery.”  – Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

“An endearing book filled with similarly touching little moments and plenty of snappy dialogue” – The New York Times

“Quirky, smart and funny. This is a wonderfully told story.” – School Library Journal

“A tragic romance of the best kind that leaves the reader feeling as though they are part of the story, and wishing there was more.” – VOYA, Voice of Youth Advocates

“Truly one of those teen novels you will remember.” – Barnes & Noble

“Robyn Schneider has created the perfect mix of romance, heart break and sharpened wit” – The Guardian

“If you’ve already devoured John Green’s super buzz-y novel, The Fault In Our Stars, and are on the hunt for another book with a sweet story, you should definitely add Robyn Schneider’s new book, The Beginning Of Everything to your reading list!” – Seventeen

“The Beginning of Everything is an unforgettable coming of age story full of humor, hope, and heartbreak…Part love story, part fandom reference treasure hunt, part high school documentary, it delves into the lives of students as they rise and fall between the social classes and wade through the politics of the cafeteria.” – Hypable

“A light read that has the right amount of heart and wit.” – Buzzfeed

“Dazzling. Full of razor-sharp wit, a keen sense of observation, and surprisingly tender compassion.” –Jeannette Walls, New York Times bestselling author of The Glass Castle: A Memoir and The Silver Star

“Heartbreaking and hilarious. I have no doubt that girls everywhere are going to fall madly, deeply, hopelessly in love with Ezra Faulkner.” – Sarah Mlynowski, author of Ten Things We Did (and Probably Shouldn’t Have)

“Smart, funny, heartbreaking, and so true it hurts…this is a book you will never forget.” — Lauren Barnholdt, author of Two-Way Street and Sometimes It Happens