The Innocent Smiley: Do Endings Mean A Lot To You?

Thursday, July 23, 2015

Do Endings Mean A Lot To You?

I've recently noticed that most of my reviews mentioned endings affecting my like or dislike of the book. Whether it's a cliffhanger, a closed ending, an open ending, a plot twist, I end up taking note of it one way or another. Just off the top of my head, I can recall that:

(NOTE: If you love going into books completely blind, skim through this. There is nothing spoiler-y, except for types of endings.)

We All Looked Up had an open ending, and even though it fit the type of book it was, I just wasn't content with it.

The Storyspinner had an ending that just randomly ended.

Grasshopper Jungle had an ending that I wasn't expecting at all.

The Falconer had a great cliffhanger ending that I'm sure you've all heard of at this point.

Magonia had an ending that made it so that it could've been either continue as a series or a standalone.

All The Light We Cannot See made me sad, because the ending came way sooner than I thought it should've.

What do my favorite endings consist of then?

Good question! From my list above, I really am picky with my endings! At the moment, I can think of two books that I felt had great endings.

The first being Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda. It was a happy ending, that involved closure to everything.

And the second, is The Book Thief. Even though it's only the saddest book on the planet, it was meant to happen. Plus we still got to see one final character before the book ended.

In conclusion, I need my endings to be perfect. If they aren't, I get all frustrated. I need to know all the answers to my questions, I need a solution or a conclusion to the problem, and I need it to actually make sense. Above all, it needs to satisfy me (Because I am so important haha).

When it comes to series, this is even more important. I don't want to waste all my time with a series if it's only going to end badly (for me). This is kind of why I am avoiding the Divergent series (sorry), and also the Delirium series, which I actually have already read the first book to.

(Also random thing, do you know who spoiled the ending for the Iron Queen in the Iron Fey series? It was the author herself, Julie Kagawa. I may still read it though, but still. Hahah.)

How about you? Do endings play a huge part in your enjoyment of a book? Or do you not care? Is the journey more important than the end?

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aentee 54p · 506 weeks ago

Unless an ending is very unsatisfying I usually feel that the journey is enough for me. I rarely ever see an ending I feel perfect because I always want more, and I read series so leaving the characters and world are extra hard. Due to this, I find I am quite lenient on the ending. As long as it wasn't a trainwreck and I enjoyed the rest of the book, a slightly off key ending doesn't ruin the experience for me.

Great discussion point :)

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venosag 72p · 506 weeks ago

I feel like I always mention endings in my review - just whether I liked them, was satisfied with it, if it was a cliffhanger, etc. They definitely affect my feeling on a book. With two of the series mentioned above - I am with the masses that Divergent ended pretty terribly but then I guess in the minority with Delirium because I really liked how it ended. SO it really is so subjective but totally know what you mean - Great discussion!
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jazmen · 506 weeks ago

Endings definitely make a difference for me--that is if it's confusing, open-ended, or just plain wrong. For example I was really enjoying The Scorpio Races, and then it ended--and it dropped my rating significantly. I wasn't pleased. So, I definitely feel like an ending can affect a book. Great discussion post, Val. Definitely interesting to see what people think!

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joyousreads 92p · 506 weeks ago

It does...quite a lot, actually. So much so that sometimes, I read the ending pages of a book first before anything. Yes, I spoil myself. Lol. You know what I hate? Fade-to-black, vague endings. Yep.
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dvasso 64p · 506 weeks ago

Endings matter to me so much. Because if i hate the ending, it will probably make me not like the book overall

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preciousok 36p · 506 weeks ago

Endings are important to me, too, because it can either save or ruin a book for me. For instance, if a book is generally slow-paced and lacking, a great ending could make me end up liking it more, but alternatively, if a great book has a horrible ending, I could end up hating it. But that's just me.

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nerdgirl93 9p · 506 weeks ago

Endings are generally important to me. I like my endings to wrap everything up and leave me feeling satisfied and without too many questions.
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Nicole @ TQC · 506 weeks ago

Endings are definitely important to me but I haven't considered how much until reading this post. I think the ending just needs to make sense to me. It needs to fit with the story. So it doesn't have to be a HEA as long as its believable. I would rather not have cliffhangers in books in series but I kind of accept them when they happen. My biggest pet peeve is when authors give characters new personalities to get themselves out of a whole they've dug themselves into or write in something dramatic just for shock value.
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Emily · 506 weeks ago

endings almost always factor into my overall rating of a book, however I don't always discuss them in my blog because I don't want to spoil things for other readers. I love your little summary of different books and types of endings. I don't think I'm organized enough to put anything like that together.

Emily @ Follow the Yellow Book Road

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carlisajc 14p · 506 weeks ago

I totally agree. The ending of a book is my favorite part and it holds A LOT of potential. It can either ruin or make a book for me. I've actually been thinking of doing a discussion on this soon, so I love that you posted about it, too. Awesome discussion!
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wonderwritten 6p · 506 weeks ago

I definitely agree with you! Since endings are the last I'm going to hear of the story, I need them to fit the rest of the book. They don't have to wrap everything up, for me, but I need to feel satisfied and like I actually finished a book. I don't want to read a book and, at the end, think "so, what happened?" To me, that's the whole reason I was reading it in the first place!

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hannahsophialin 91p · 506 weeks ago

Great question! I'm honestly not sure. It just has to go well and make sense for the most part. Some open endings I'm fine with - I don't WANT to know what the author decides forth characters and I just want to decide for myself with my imagination.
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Sydney · 506 weeks ago

So here's a thing: endings are important to me, but I will love any ending that does the story justice. *puts on Raven Cycle cap* I know SO many people who are like "If Gansey dies I'm never touching this series again" and, to me, Gansey's death would be the right ending to the story. I mean, from the beginning we've been told that Gansey is going to die. So if he died I would be outrageously upset, but I would understand. HOWEVER, if anything happens to Ronan or Adam I WILL burn some things down. I promise you that one.

ANYWAY, endings are important to me. LOVED the ending of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda. I am so glad it was a happy ending, and that there was a conclusion for the characters. There's potential for an adorable short story about Simon and Blue, but basically: their story is finished. I love endings like that, but I don't mind open endings. I think they give the reader some wiggle room. :P
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Karina · 506 weeks ago

Endings are really important for me as well! I don't like cliffhangers or open endings. I just want stories to be wrapped up that won't leave any questions. I haven't read We All Looked Up because it kind of feels really predictable.

~Karina @ A Reader Under The Sea
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Shay@TheStoryGoes · 506 weeks ago

I think I tend to think of the ending as the MOST IMPORTANT part. But, um, I like open endings most of all. I'm a huge weirdo and I just feel so sad when, mainly my favorite series, end so I hate epilogues and I'd so much rather have an open ending which is why I'm one of the only people to like how Delirium ended. Also, though, I mean, it has to make sense for the book. Like, don't give me an open ending just cause you don't know how to end the book, that's not okay! =)
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Heather Duff · 506 weeks ago

No the ending is important, I hate to commit to a wonderful story only for it to have a less than satisfactory ending, it would spoil the whole books for me.

Great post!
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journeythroughfiction 50p · 506 weeks ago

Endings have a HUGE impact on my overall opinions of a book or series. The absolute worst thing that can happen is an ending that doesn't make sense. Most of the books I've been reading lately are part of a series or trilogy, and if the last book sucks, it changes my opinion about the series as a whole. The worst ending I've ever read was the conclusion to the Sookie Stackhouse/Southern Vampire series by Charlaine Harris. I'm still not okay with it! And sometimes, it's the epilogue that completely ruins a book. And just when you mention the Iron Fey series, it reminded me of another thing that bothers me: when the titles and covers in a series gives the ending away! Aargghh! So annoying! Great topic, Val, and have a fab weekend :)
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shannonmiz 83p · 506 weeks ago

I skimmed because I DO need to go in blind, but I agree- the ending DOES have to be good. I mean, honestly, if the ending sucks, why bother? Still grumbling about the aforementioned Allegiant debacle and Requiem's non-ending. Even a lackluster ending can be problematic. Like, there were two series that I LOOOVED (Ashfall and Dust Lands) that didn't have like, awful endings or anything, but just "meh" ones. And I was let down, because the rest of the series had been so good. Same with Penryn and the End of Days, though I think some people liked that ending? Idk, but I do agree with you so much!
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Tanya · 505 weeks ago

Great topic, Val. Endings are definitely important to me. A great one can salvage an otherwise mediocre book. And a bad one can taint one that I'd been loving up until that point. As for types of endings, I really do *NOT* like open endings (when there's not another book coming). When things are left up in the air and the outcome is largely based on the readers own interpretation. Ugh! Drives me insane. I feel almost tricked. And like the author didn't do their job by providing me with a satisfying conclusion. If I wanted to make up my own ending I'd write my own book. LOL As for what I *do* like, I admit I'm a sucker for a well-done epilogue. :)
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drewolf 48p · 505 weeks ago

Endings can make or break your reading experience. I usually go blind when reading books, that's why bad endings bite me in the ass. There were instances where I hurled a book towards the wall. I love proper epilogues. I love proper closure. I like realistic endings. :)
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Thursday, July 23, 2015

Do Endings Mean A Lot To You?

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