I have been thinking about book endings a lot lately. There has been many occasions where I was absolutely loving a book but then the ending comes and I am left feeling disappointed or unsatisfied. I can actually feel myself getting nervous when I come to the end of a fantastic novel. I am just hoping that the end will live up to the rest of the book. Does anyone else feel this way?
I am going to take this opportunity to share some things that I like, and things that I dislike when it comes to book endings.
Things I Love in an Ending
A twist that I didn’t see coming, but there were clues
I think most of us like a twist ending, but there has to be clues throughout the novel. If a twist comes completely out of left field, and there were zero hints as to what was coming, it completely cheapens the story for me. I want to be able to look back and think “I am completely shocked by the ending, but this line or this scene was foreshadowing what was to come.”
Characters has an ‘aha moment’
One of the things that I love most in a novel is character development. I love when a character, at the end of a book, has some sort of epiphany. It is interesting to read about a character who has a moment of self awareness or insight. I love when that ‘aha moment’ occurs near the end of a novel and seeing how to story comes together or wraps up because of it.
Open-ended
I appreciate an ending that leaves things up for interpretations. It allows the reader to come to their own conclusions. I love endings that get everyone talking and debating about what happened. These are the kind of endings that make a lasting impression and the books that I recommend most to other people. I just need them to read it so that I can get their opinion on what the author meant by the ending!
Leaves no plot holes
There is nothing more frustrating than finishing a book and having way too many questions. I do not need everything to be wrapped up in a neat little bow, but at least give me some answers! I am not a writer, but I can see how it would be difficult to tie up all of the loose ends. I am in awe of authors who manage to do it seamlessly.
Books With Great Endings
Things I Dislike in an Ending
Too predictable/Generic
This is more specific to thrillers, but it can applied to many novels from other genres as well. When the ending ends up being something that I predicted would happen only 50 pages in to the book then I am left feeling disappointed. There also a lot of ‘twist’ endings that I find to be too generic or cliche. The ‘it was all dream’ or ‘the hero saves the day and they all live happily ever after’ ending for instance.
A twist that came out of nowhere
I touched on this when talking about how I like twist endings that have clues throughout the book. If there was no foreshadowing, and there was no way that anyone could have ever in a million years predicted the ending, it actually makes me angry. I know other might not agree with me on this, but I need to be at least given a chance of figuring it out. Do not get me wrong, I love endings that leave me with my jaw on the floor, but not when they make no sense!
Cliffhangers
This will be controversial, but I HATE cliffhangers! They feel cheap, and a ploy to try and get me to buy the next book in a series. In a series, I still want a satisfying ending at the end of each book. Of course there will be some questions left open so that the reader will be excited to read the next book, but do not torture me by having me guessing whether or not my favourite character dies at the end!
Books With Unsatisfactory Endings
So that is it! In general, this is what I love and dislike in endings! There are obviously exceptions to each of these points! For example, when I read a romance, I want a predictable ending where the couple is together in the end. Admittedly, I am often cheering for the hero to destroy the villain. It is just that these endings are not memorable!
I would love to know whether or not you agree or disagree with me, as well as what you like and dislike in endings?
:O why do you think that Mockingjay was unsatisfactory? (What from all of it XD I think only about 2 things for that ending XD)
I think there were just a lot of plot holes, and things that did not make sense to me. I also think her ended up with Peeta was too obvious! I would have much preferred if she ended up alone. It was like she was mad at Gale so Peeta was just the default choice!
*my heart* Ending alone would have been acceptable if I tell you the truth XD But I was team Peeta so I love that ending XD
I don’t remember those plot holes, but I think I will be reading them again next year :3 (Then I will tell you XD)
I love Peeta! Just not for Katniss. You’ll have to definitely let me know what you think when you reread them!
He will be nice next to … I don’t know…me? Haha JK. *Plans calendar for 2019* hahaha
Great post! I love a great plot twist, but I agree I should be able to look back at the story and have some idea where it came from. For me, I don’t like when a book is left completely open ended at the end. I like to have at least some closure otherwise it drives me crazy thinking about it, but I guess that is the point…
I totally understand not liking open ended endings! For me, they have to be done in a certain way. I think it takes a truly talented author to nail that kind of ending!
A cliffhanger for a book … nooooooo! Can’t be doing with it. Great idea for a post … love it!
Thank you! I am so glad you agree about cliffhangers! Those are the endings I hate the most!
Yup! It’s just sucks of .. “Buy my next book if you want the ending!”
I like when books are open-ended and I get to imagine where the characters go next, but I also dislike when a book feels unfinished and nothing gets resolved. I also dislike when I’m getting so close to the end and there are still a million questions and then everything gets wrapped up way too neatly, too quickly.
It is definitely a tricky balance between leaving the reader to come up with their own conclusions and leaving the reader with too many questions! I totally agree about everything getting resolved too quickly. It just feels too convenient!
Ooh interesting post! I kinda do not love open ended endings because I want to know if my characters are happy or not but I can respect it. I feel like it takes guts, especially in contemporary, to not make it outright happy or sad. I feel like Morgan matson is really good at that. Her endings are always like on the uphill path to happy. Not right at the happy ending but on their way. Which kinda bug me but I wouldn’t have it any other way. And I AM SO WITH YOU ON CLIFFHANGERS. I feel CHEATED when it just ends with so much to tie up. Like excuse me???
I totally get why open endings are not for everyone! They can be frustrating! They have to be done is a certain way and make sense to the story. I will have to read more Morgan Matson! That sounds like the kind of ending I would enjoy. I am so glad people agree about cliffhangers!! It such a cheap way to end a book!
i so much agree with twists that come out of nowhere!! they always feel like the author got tired of developing the plot and the immersion is pretty much broken at that point. mockingjay is the PERFECT example <3 and I adore open-endings bc they drive me insane and at the same time are extremely satisfying?? love this post 😀
That is so true! You need foreshadowing or it just feels sort of lazy. That is exactly why I love open endings!
Love this post! I think endings can make or break a book! It’s such a shame when they’re not as good as they should be.
Thank you! They really can! Endings are so important and I think they are difficult to write well.
I hate endings that are too predictable, like the “it was only a dream” ending kills me, like i hateeee it!!
and ending on a cliffhanger is just cruel! 🙁
That ending is truly the worst!! Cliffhangers are a close second!
Great post, I also did not like the ending of Everything Everthing.
Thank you! One of my least favourite endings.
Your welcome ☺
What i hate most is the plot twist for the sake of plot twist. It usually ends up being something dumb, and out of character. Not everything need multiple plot twists, but it seems to be a trend nowadays.
I completely agree with this. Not every book needs a plot twist!
Loved this post! I definitely think that predictable endings and ones that come out of nowhere are the most annoying – and completely agree with you on Everything, Everything; it was one of my least favourite endings to a book ever!
It is one of my least favourite endings too! It was so predictable and I had a lot of problems with it. I would have been more surprised if it didn’t turn out that way.
yes!! I hate it when there are loads of plot holes, or the book just ends completely on a tangent and they don’t actually make sense?!?! And uugrrrh yes those cliff-hangers are SO annoying, and personally, I prefer it to be a well-rounded ending because then the sequel is even more shocking because I think “OMG THERE’S A SECOND ONE???! I THOUGHT IT WAS FINISHED!!” where as cliffhangers sort of set the second book up to be really amazing and thrilling and my expectations just get TOO high!!
This was such a great post!
Thank you so much! Plot holes are so irritating! I love a well rounded ending for books in a series for the same reason. It is a nice surprise to find out there will be more books, but if I never get around to reading it at least I feel like the story wrapped up nicely in my head. That is also true about cliffhangers setting up the second book for failure! We expect something epic and it is almost impossible to live up to that.
YESS!! I think that’s why I felt so.. underwhelmed with the ACOTAR P1 ending… it left SO much open.
Yes exactly!! The literally scream “the next book will start so action packed and blow you away” and then… it doesn’t :((((((
I completely agree with all your points!!!! ❤️
Thank you!!
So true!! Especially cliffhangers. I hate cliffhangers in all forms they present themselves! Even as I’m binge-watching a Netflix show, I’ll think about how lucky I am that all the seasons are already out because I know that I’d go crazy waiting for a whole other season to solve the cliffhanger in the last episode.😂
I hate cliffhangers in TV shows especially when you do not know if the show will be renewed. They could cancel the show and we will never know what happened!
Argh! Open-ended ones. Not for me. I need a direct answer or I get frustrated thinking of a bunch of possibilities. Only few open ended ones have worked for me.
I actually don’t mind cliffhangers, if another book follows it.
So many mixed opinions on open endings! That’s what I like about them – they lead to discussion!
That’s true, probably the only thing I like about them, but grrr…they annoy me so much too.
I so get that. They can be frustrating!
Yes I agree with everything!! I actually love open-ended endings! Fight Club and Life of Pi are two of my favourite endings ever!
Open endings are probably my favourite when done right. Those are my two favourites as well! The ending of Life of Pi blew my mind!
Oh wow, My Sister’s Keeper had such a shocking end to me. Had no clue it was coming and I wasn’t sure how I felt about it!! Life of Pi is a favorite. Great post! <3
My Sisters Keeper ending just came out of nowhere and was a bit too ridiculous for me! Life of Pi ending is definitely one of my favourites too!
Lovely post! I love endings that provoke feelings to me: either warm, happy ones or frustrated, sad, touched feels. I actually loved how the ending of My Sister’s Keeper really evoked so many feelings for me. A book ending that’s wrapped up perfectly is also what I love, especially in a last book of a series, like the ending of Friends (the TV show) 😀
Thank you! I like that about endings too. As I was writing this I was thinking about TV series finales. There have been so many shows that I loved that had horrible series finales! I loved the Friends one though!
I read a lot of books last year that had really underwhelming endings which was so disappointing, it’s definitely made me a lot more nervous to finish books! I totally agree about Everything Everything, that ending was ridiculous!
Endings are probably really difficult to write. I am often disappointed by them! I am glad you agree with me about Everything, Everything- terrible ending.
I can’t imagine how hard they are to write!
Such a thorough post! I really agree with most of these- especially about how a predictable ending can ruin a book. I will admit to liking cliffhangers though- but I totally get why people don’t like them. Great post!
Thank you! Endings can really make or break a book. I totally understand why some people like cliffhangers!
You’re welcome! Absolutely!
great topic!! and i totally agree with you! i like cliffhangers, only if i have the next book right next to me. 😀 and predictable endings suck. this ruined my recent read for me :/
Thanks! If there is a cliffhanger you definitely need to have the next book ready! It is so frustrating having to wait a year for the next book!
definitely!! that’s why i am always hesitant about starting new series if they aren’t completely out yet!