Young Adult

Even If We Break

Even If We Break

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-09-25 17:16:07
  • Update Date：2025-09-24
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Marieke Nijkamp
  • ISBN：1728231965
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Marieke Nijkamp comes a shocking new thriller about a group of friends tied together by a game and the deadly weekend that tears them apart。

FIVE friends go to a cabin。
FOUR of them are hiding secrets。
THREE years of history bind them。
TWO are doomed from the start。
ONE person wants to end this。
NO ONE IS SAFE。

Are you ready to play？

Also by Marieke Nijkamp:
This Is Where It Ends
Before I Let Go

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Reviews

Crow Reichardt ，

At first I thought I was being really harsh not being able to tell the difference between characters and feeling the ‘diversity’ was forced （because all the characters are one dimensional。 I’m glad i’m not alone

V。S。 Holmes ，

I just finished--just as in， this very morning--Even If We Break， by Marieke Nijkamp。 It's an incredible YA horror/thriller， set against the backdrop of a stormy， haunted mountain in the southwestern U。S。 Five semi-estranged friends convene at one of their family's luxury cabins for their last tabletop gaming night before college， internships， and adult jobs sink their teeth in。 As their RPG characters unearth a fictional murder mystery， the teens--each hiding their own terrible secrets--begin t I just finished--just as in， this very morning--Even If We Break， by Marieke Nijkamp。 It's an incredible YA horror/thriller， set against the backdrop of a stormy， haunted mountain in the southwestern U。S。 Five semi-estranged friends convene at one of their family's luxury cabins for their last tabletop gaming night before college， internships， and adult jobs sink their teeth in。 As their RPG characters unearth a fictional murder mystery， the teens--each hiding their own terrible secrets--begin to uncover a bloody plot that is entirely too real。 This is my first foray into one of Nijkamp's gruesome， clever worlds， and boy did I enjoy it！ Her characterization perfectly captures the heartache of new adulthood， and the pain of realizing you have outgrown dear friendships--or they have outgrown you。 The confines of a hunted mountain， the game that binds the group together， and the secrets that drive them apart， all add a great modern gothic feel。 I was thrilled to find two trans characters--nonbinary and a trans guy--plus an autistic character， and two others with physical disabilities， all of whom were thoughtfully written。 While decidedly creepy， the real fear throughout the novel was whether each of the friends could remember to trust one another in time--or if they would be picked off when their time came。 ​For fans looking for a creepy， nerdy， yearning read！ 5 stars！ 。。。more

Amelia Whitney ，

big disappointment as i LOVED this is where it ends。 I felt like this book was so incomplete in so many ways and was not well written， granted i did want to find out what happened enough that i finished it and the representation was really great

Amber Hathaway ，

Even if We Break is a cabin in the woods horror story at its core。 Five former friends come together for a final play of the RPG they have developed over the past three years， but things soon take a deadly turn。One thing to note is that the RPG is central to the storyline， so if you’re not interested in reading about RPGs， this may not be the book for you。Nijkamp does a good job setting the scene and building the characters。 This is not your typical cabin in the woods slasher， and the cast of ch Even if We Break is a cabin in the woods horror story at its core。 Five former friends come together for a final play of the RPG they have developed over the past three years， but things soon take a deadly turn。One thing to note is that the RPG is central to the storyline， so if you’re not interested in reading about RPGs， this may not be the book for you。Nijkamp does a good job setting the scene and building the characters。 This is not your typical cabin in the woods slasher， and the cast of characters is unique compared to typical casts in this genre。 We have four queer characters， two trans and two “bisexual disasters。” The cast also includes folks with various disabilities。 One of our protagonists is autistic， two have physical disabilities， and one character’s little sister is grappling with anxiety。 As an anxious person， I found the little sister’s anxiety eerily relatable。 This book doesn’t feel like diversity for diversity’s sake， either， at least not in my opinion。 The characters are reasonably well fleshed out， particularly in regards to these salient facets of identity。 I think sometimes people forget that social misfits often band together， so having a cast composed primarily of queer and disabled people is not unrealistic。My biggest issue with the book was that the author tended to place long flashbacks at points of high tension in the story。 It’s tricky because this backstory did help develop the characters， so I do think it needed to be in the story somewhere， but having these pages long flashbacks killed the mood at times。 I wish it had come earlier in the story， but I know also many people will DNF a book if it doesn’t get into the action soon enough， so I get the author’s choice。Also， the villain needed work。 In a lot of ways， I think the story could have been stronger， had the author not tried to keep the villain’s identity secret。 With such a small cast of characters， it’s not that difficult to put two and two together， and when the big reveal comes， it feels inconsistent with the rest of the story。 While it’s important that the characters don’t know who is picking them off， letting the readers in can add to the horror， and I think that would have worked well here。If you like cabin in the woods horror and RPGs， then you may want to check out Even if We Break。cw: physical violence， anxiety， panic， transphobia， transphobic violence， ableism， death， murder， blood 。。。more

Emily Fluke ，

WHAT DO I RATE THIS？！ Help！ I’m at a fork in the road。 One path reminds me how wonderfully this book started。 But the other…the other path is long， plain， and boring。 It’s there to represent the seemingly unending drag at the second half of this story。 2。75？ I’ll say 2。75 and round up for the amazing cover。 Even if We Break takes on on a journey up the mountains with 5 kids who seem like they don’t even like each other but are forcing themselves to get together one last time to play Dungeons and WHAT DO I RATE THIS？！ Help！ I’m at a fork in the road。 One path reminds me how wonderfully this book started。 But the other…the other path is long， plain， and boring。 It’s there to represent the seemingly unending drag at the second half of this story。 2。75？ I’ll say 2。75 and round up for the amazing cover。 Even if We Break takes on on a journey up the mountains with 5 kids who seem like they don’t even like each other but are forcing themselves to get together one last time to play Dungeons and Dragons before they go off to college。 Then the night turns deadly。 AWESOME premise。 I was hooked by the blurb。 But then， multiple POVs from first person perspective and all the voices sound the same… 👎What about the wonderful references to all things nerdy？ Cons， quotes from Lord of the Rings， cosplay， TTRPG， I loved loved loved all of those！ 👍But the dang confusing voices… and the characters weren’t developed… 👎Then creepy things happened and I got excited！ 👍But then it was clear who was the killer and the killer had a lame motivation and it was just so， so unbelievable。 👎Can’t forget the atmospheric setting on the dark mountain with shadows and music box songs 👍But， but then the romance… the random romance… and the over-the-top drama after drama after epiphany after unbelievable character realizations in the last 3rd were akin to a soap opera ABOUT CHARACTERS WHO ARE FLAT AND WE DONT KNOW THEM SO WE DONT CARE ABOUT THEM！ I’m not kidding。 This book started out contemporary YA， then grasped for horror/thriller with some blood and chasing but didn’t quite make it， then in a very very very VeryVeryVeryVeryVeryVery long-winded ending it turned into a soap opera。 *sigh* this had so much potential。 。。。more

Yan Paulino ，

First off， I really liked the representation on this book。 It was great to have such diverse cast。This was an interesting read。 It’s not going down my memory lane as a fave， and honestly only gave it 3 stars because there was potential， but it fell flat along the way。 I was spooked at some point with all the ghost stories and how things where going while they were at the cabin， but then it went downhill。 It was kind of obvious who the killer was and the motive didn’t make sense to me。 However， I First off， I really liked the representation on this book。 It was great to have such diverse cast。This was an interesting read。 It’s not going down my memory lane as a fave， and honestly only gave it 3 stars because there was potential， but it fell flat along the way。 I was spooked at some point with all the ghost stories and how things where going while they were at the cabin， but then it went downhill。 It was kind of obvious who the killer was and the motive didn’t make sense to me。 However， I kind of enjoyed reading it， ngl。 It was an okay book for me。 。。。more

Shannon ，

My current rating for this novel has to be around 3-4 stars。 I’d say this because while I did enjoy some of the book and it was a good start to my reading for school it felt clunky Sometimes。 And it had weird character decisions and writing choices。 I’d say it’s good if you’re starting out rereading again （like I am for school） or want to read something that isn’t too awful in your last time。

Holly ，

I wanted more of an ending。

Catherine ，

I thought there was no way this one character could be the villain of this story it’s too obvious。 There’s basically a giant light up arrow pointing towards this character！ That must be a misdirection！ Nope。I was bored through most of this and the end was very predictable and underwhelmingAnd the vibe at the end was too much « and the moral of the story was that… »

Anna ，

VELHO！！！No início esse livro estava um porre super lento e todas as referências a RPG foram extremamente entediantes tanto que eu tinha dado uma abandonada nele no capitulo 7 ai quase um mês depois resolvi continuar。。。 velho eu devorei o livro！！ minha ansiedade atacando um pouco por causa do pessoal sumindo， mas foi uma ótima experiência！！O plot é meio óbvio mas eu só fui perceber depois pq sou lerda。 Não tive tanto medo assim o suspense que me matou um pouco。Não consegui me conectar com a Liva VELHO！！！No início esse livro estava um porre super lento e todas as referências a RPG foram extremamente entediantes tanto que eu tinha dado uma abandonada nele no capitulo 7 ai quase um mês depois resolvi continuar。。。 velho eu devorei o livro！！ minha ansiedade atacando um pouco por causa do pessoal sumindo， mas foi uma ótima experiência！！O plot é meio óbvio mas eu só fui perceber depois pq sou lerda。 Não tive tanto medo assim o suspense que me matou um pouco。Não consegui me conectar com a Liva e o Carter foi bem mais ou menos tipo eu entendia ele as motivações e como é frustante ser pobre， mas ainda sim blé。 Mas eu AMEI Ever， a Maddy e o Tinn （acho que errei os nomes） so que sério gostei da construção deles poderia ser melhor， maaas é muito foda pegar um livro com representatividade pcd autista e trans e OWNVOICE！！！ A questão identitária parece muito bem feita pra mim as crises de ansiedade da Maddy foram bem palapaveis eu me identifiquei！！Foi um ótimo contato com um thriller com representatividade pra mim e eu nao me borrei de medo。 Como não tenho muito contato com o gênero a história é ótima， mas acho que quem é fã de carteirinha não ia gostar muito não。。。 Recomendo demais pelas representatividades e pelo romance slow burn transcentrado （primeira vez que leio um assim tbm）。 。。。more

Haley ，

This book had a lot of potential， but the last 20-25 pages were so pointless。 The author seemed to really hate “popular” people and made them the villain without even giving her a good reason to be a villain in the first place。

Nate Olsen ，

I was expecting a thriller， it was so much more。 I loved trans characters being portrayed so positively and accurately。 Characters with disabilities overcoming them and showing they are not defined by them。 Friendships built to last。 Pleasantly surprised by the takeaways。

Jordan Corso ，

3 stars。I felt like it was just an eh read。 It was interesting and fun at the start but really I didn't like the twist。I loved the representation of all the characters， I don't know how good of a representation it was as I haven't read a lot of books with the kind of representation that Nijkamp has， but it was interesting to follow along and read。I didn't really like the romance in the book， like I understand the purpose but I didn't fall in love with them and maybe didn't ship it and in the end 3 stars。I felt like it was just an eh read。 It was interesting and fun at the start but really I didn't like the twist。I loved the representation of all the characters， I don't know how good of a representation it was as I haven't read a lot of books with the kind of representation that Nijkamp has， but it was interesting to follow along and read。I didn't really like the romance in the book， like I understand the purpose but I didn't fall in love with them and maybe didn't ship it and in the end， didn't care that some people got together， but I guess if was cute。Not one of her best books but an average one at that。 。。。more

Tara Chadderdon ，

All the characters were very confusing to follow。 I knew pronouns were going to make into literature eventually， but it is very hard to read。

Hayden ，

3。5 starsRTC

Liza Koppens ，

2，5。 Het was niet goed， maar ook niet slecht。Ik zal beginnen met wat ik heel goed vond，De representatie en diverse cast。 Trans， disabled， bi， autisme， kleptomanie， verslaving， armoede， rijkdom， ptst。 Het moment dat ik las hoe een van de karakters werd benoemd als een hen， maakte mijn hart een sprongetje。 Er werd geen big deal over gemaakt。 Hen was wie hen was en werd net zo normaal behandeld als het aanspreken van de een met hem en de ander met haar。 （Yay voor het normaliseren van gebruik van ne 2，5。 Het was niet goed， maar ook niet slecht。Ik zal beginnen met wat ik heel goed vond，De representatie en diverse cast。 Trans， disabled， bi， autisme， kleptomanie， verslaving， armoede， rijkdom， ptst。 Het moment dat ik las hoe een van de karakters werd benoemd als een hen， maakte mijn hart een sprongetje。 Er werd geen big deal over gemaakt。 Hen was wie hen was en werd net zo normaal behandeld als het aanspreken van de een met hem en de ander met haar。 （Yay voor het normaliseren van gebruik van neutrale pronouns）。 （WAARSCHUWING: De representatie voelde wat vlak en eentonig， maar in intrest van het geven van het voordeel van de twijfel ga ik er van uit dat dit niet bewust was。） Het verhaal zelf was oke。 De gbs （grote boze slechterik） was best voorspelbaar， er zaten aardig wat stukken in die eeuwig leken te duren en de terugblikken naar het verleden （die de karakter gefocuste kan van mij kon waarderen） haalde alle spanning die op dat moment in het plot plaats vond erg onderuit。 Nu wat me dwars zat，Deze quote:"Toen Ever na Zac's vertrek voorstelde om er een andere speler bij te halen， kapte ik hen af voordat hen was uitgesproken。 Ik wist wat hen bedoelde - hen wees er terecht op dat onze groep witter was dan wit， en hen kende wel een paar mensen die er goed tussen zouden passen als ze zich aan tafel op hun gemak voelde。 Want je gaat toch njet jete repareren als het helemaal niet kapot is。" ？？？ Of dit nu haar gedachten was dat hen dit zo bedoelde of werkelijk zo was。 Bah。 Gewoon nee。 Kan aan mij liggen maar als ik bij een groep zou worden betrokken omdat: ze nog geen （insert wat dan ook van sexualitijd tot grote van voeten） in de groep hebben。 Zou ik zwaar beledigd zijn。 Dat is geen vrienden maken， dat is een sierraad om mee te nemen om de wereld te laten zien hoe geweldig je wel niet bent。 （Om eerlijk te zijn had ik hier het boek bijna neer gelegd。 Daarom ben ik ook erg aan het twijfelen er een 2 sterren revieuw van te maken）。 。。。more

Sarah Hernandez ，

this book had an interesting premise， but it didn’t deliver for me。 there were a lot of characters in this book， and they kinda ran together in my head😂 in the beginning， i thought that every character had a really big secret that would get revealed， and they didn’t？ that was a let down for me， especially because i feltthat it could’ve been a better motivator for the killer if the other had betrayed them， but no。 the killer’s motivation ended up feeling very weak to me。 i had a hard time caring this book had an interesting premise， but it didn’t deliver for me。 there were a lot of characters in this book， and they kinda ran together in my head😂 in the beginning， i thought that every character had a really big secret that would get revealed， and they didn’t？ that was a let down for me， especially because i feltthat it could’ve been a better motivator for the killer if the other had betrayed them， but no。 the killer’s motivation ended up feeling very weak to me。 i had a hard time caring about the characters， since i never felt like i really got a chance to know them。 also， there was A LOT of self-reflection and inner monologue （especially towards the end） and all i could think was “you are about to die？？？ you are literally running away from a murDERER RN🤨” but since i haven’t been chased by a murderer （yet） i will not judge too harshly😌as for the plot， i didn’t mind it。 it was fairly well paced， and i wasn’t bored （save for the self-reflection。） i did think that the killer was pretty obvious， which doesn’t take away from my reading experience， but it might for other readers。 all the points for a really creepy atmosphere though， bc now you will never catch me in a fancy high tech cabin in the middle of nowhere😬 seriously， at one point i had chills up and down my arms bc i was so creeped out by one part in particular， and i don’t scare easily。 i’m the idiotic character in books that has no sense of self preservation， and goes straight into danger， but i would have been running down that mountain as fast as my legs could go…which。 isn’t very fast。 but anyways yes。 the setting was very well done👌🏻not the book for me， but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give it a try🤷🏼‍♀️ 。。。more

Mandy ，

Good， but had me freaked out for days！

Chandra ，

I like the concept and love the incorporation of RPG。 I like the diversity。 I love the use of they/them pronouns。 BUT it went way too far into the diversity， which made it feel forced and fake。 Diversity is good， but this book is a competition to fit EVERY kind of diverse into a small group of characters。 Completely unrealistic and doesn't allow each character and type of diversity to be done justice。 I like the concept and love the incorporation of RPG。 I like the diversity。 I love the use of they/them pronouns。 BUT it went way too far into the diversity， which made it feel forced and fake。 Diversity is good， but this book is a competition to fit EVERY kind of diverse into a small group of characters。 Completely unrealistic and doesn't allow each character and type of diversity to be done justice。 。。。more

Fei ，

This is a spoiler-free review， so if you haven't read the book， it's completely safe to read this。 However， it may also be really confusing because I won't be explaining my thoughts that much to avoid spoilers。So。。。 I enjoyed it， I guess？ The description really drew me in， and I knew the reviews weren't the greatest， but I still wanted to give it a try。 I wasn't disappointed， really， but。。。 I didn't feel that excited or anticipated when reading it。It was easy to understand the characters， but th This is a spoiler-free review， so if you haven't read the book， it's completely safe to read this。 However， it may also be really confusing because I won't be explaining my thoughts that much to avoid spoilers。So。。。 I enjoyed it， I guess？ The description really drew me in， and I knew the reviews weren't the greatest， but I still wanted to give it a try。 I wasn't disappointed， really， but。。。 I didn't feel that excited or anticipated when reading it。It was easy to understand the characters， but they seemed a little flat and it was hard for me to like or dislike any of them。 I don't mind unlikable characters （in fact， when they're well-written， I actually quite enjoy unlikable characters even if I dislike them）， but these characters。。。 seem a little bland。Also， what was the motive of the killer？ I may have missed something， but it doesn't seem like the killer has a motive at all。So， I enjoyed it， but it's a pretty forgettable book and I don't think I'm ever going to be rereading it。 。。。more

Mel ，

I tried to like it。 I really did！！ But no。

Marit ，

meh， it kept me reading tough the characters were kinda interesting， but i wish to know more of Livia and the storyline wasnt very excited in the last part

Erica Warner ，

Rating: 7。5/10RPG/LARPing goes real life。 To be honest， I was super confused at the beginning。 You don’t get much of a background on anyone and when you do you’re still left with questions。 Also gotta admit， I didn’tguess the ending。 I thought it was one person but turned out not to be and was deeply surprised。

Mikayla Narracott-Page ，

V confusing！ I do normally love when you can read each chapter from each main characters point of view but this was a lot way too many characters I couldn’t keep up with who’s who。 Only finished because I wanted to know what happened at the end。

Kayla Ann ，

Eh this was。。。 rough。 Like halfway through I thought everyone was being a little dramatic it was a 3 star book but the whole second half went on way to long， complete mess。

Mackenzie Holcomb ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 3。5 Stars As the story was very original， I didn't see the need for the RPG aspect。 Although it was nice to see that in a novel， for being a stand-alone， that part of the plot got lost。 The LGBTQ representation in this novel was superb。 Granted， in another's point of view， I see how it might have been overdone。 My favourite character definitely had to be Carter。 He was just living life in the background and I enjoyed that about him。 I was very upset when he was killed but， wasn't the 1st to die 3。5 Stars As the story was very original， I didn't see the need for the RPG aspect。 Although it was nice to see that in a novel， for being a stand-alone， that part of the plot got lost。 The LGBTQ representation in this novel was superb。 Granted， in another's point of view， I see how it might have been overdone。 My favourite character definitely had to be Carter。 He was just living life in the background and I enjoyed that about him。 I was very upset when he was killed but， wasn't the 1st to die （To which you find out later is a lie and he was the first。） Having a main character on the spectrum was a different experience for me。 While I enjoyed this， I despised Maddy as a character from the start。 I am still unsure of what the masks on the cover have to do with the story。 I felt that Zac's mentions in the story were pointless other than to throw off the reader about who the suspect was。 I can say with full confidence I was suspicious of Maddy the entire time and was thrown off by it being Liva。 。。。more

Tisa ，

I just remembered that I had actually started this book？ I don't even remember when。 Got like two chapters in I think？ I don't think I'll get back to it though。 I just remembered that I had actually started this book？ I don't even remember when。 Got like two chapters in I think？ I don't think I'll get back to it though。 。。。more

Freyja （courtofmoons） ，

It was so confusing in the second half！ I really expected more from the author。

Hâf ，

I don't really know what happened。。 I don't really know what happened。。 。。。more

Emma Blakeley ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 OMG。 This book leaves me completely speechless。 The plot， the characters， everything about it。 Crazy。 It pulled me in from the start and left me finishing it in 7 hours。 Nijkamp was very diverse with the characters， especially having most of the group being in the LGBTQIA+ community。 I was very happy seeing a non-binary person in a book， never mind the fact they were a main character。The twist and turns in this book left me speechless， I even began sweating at some scenes because I was so scared OMG。 This book leaves me completely speechless。 The plot， the characters， everything about it。 Crazy。 It pulled me in from the start and left me finishing it in 7 hours。 Nijkamp was very diverse with the characters， especially having most of the group being in the LGBTQIA+ community。 I was very happy seeing a non-binary person in a book， never mind the fact they were a main character。The twist and turns in this book left me speechless， I even began sweating at some scenes because I was so scared to what would happen。 Whenever I thought the author wouldn't go there， she did。 I was amazed。I feel like having more background about why Liva did what she did would have me give 5 stars。 I sort of understood why， but I would have loved more details， about her mental state or more reason why she thought the group would ruin her success。 But， overall I loved this book so much。 This is the second book I have read from this author and she has not failed me yet。 Can't wait to read more of her work！ 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Even If We Break

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Even If We Break&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Even If We Break&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0