Now THAT’s how you end a book! Here are a few fantastic books where the last few
pages are so monumentally shocking that
they're almost guaranteed to leave you
staring in awe.
For this list we're
counting down 6 of the most shocking
book endings. We've looked at books with
literary conclusions that stuck with
us long after turning the last page.
Needless to say a spoiler warning is in
order.
Number 6: The Fault in Our Stars by
John Green.
Pass the tissue box.
This shocking ending is emotionally loaded and truly tragic.
The book tells the unique love story of two teenagers who have cancer.
Hazel and Augustus find each other during the toughest time in their lives and end up falling in love.
Things take a turn for the worse as Hazel gets sicker and sicker. Ultimately one of the
characters tragically dies. But it's
Augustus who's been getting worse all along.
It's an ending that's left us in
puddles of our own emotions.
Number 5:  Life of Pi by Yann Martel
The confusing ending heard around the world.
Readers that make it to the end of the novel about a young PI being trapped in a
lifeboat with a tiger and various other
zoo animals will discover a different
version of the story.
One that paints a much darker and
emotionally disturbing variation of
events.
Pi may have been trapped with other people instead
and told the animal story as an allegory because the reality
was far too traumatic to process. It's a
question intentionally left unanswered
so that readers can make up their own
minds.
Number 4: Fight Club by Chuck
Palahniuk
Before the movie there was a book
David Fincher's 1999 movie Fight
Club is based on Chuck Palahniuk's book by
the same name which came out just three
years before.
We'll skip the twist that Tyler and Joe
are really one in the same and skip
right to the shocking ending.
At the end of the novel Tyler Durden wants to die
in the explosions he is setting off. To
save his own life
the narrator shoots himself in the head.
The book ends with the narrator waking
up in the hospital thinking he is free
of Space Monkeys and Tyler Durden until
one of the orderlies reveals himself to
be a loyal Space Monkey.
"Everything's going according to the plan" he whispers
"We look forward to getting you back".
It's a grim and hopeless finale that ties up
the book's themes in a way that the film doesn't.
Number 3: We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
The story will have you so
invested that you'll have no choice but
to finish the book in one sitting.
Candice Sinclair spends her summers on a private island with her family and her
group of friends, the Liars.
But when she's 15 she suffers a terrible
accident and has trouble piecing
together her memories of that summer.
She returns two summers later with the Liars
there to help her remember what happened
before the accident.
Except that the Liars aren't actually there.
They're ghosts because they all died in a fire the summer that she was 15.
It's one of the twistiest, turniest books in 
young adult literature that will have you looking back through
the beginning to see the subtle hints
you've missed.
Number 2: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
The book itself isn't your usual fast-paced thriller
so it gives you plenty of time to try to guess who
the culprit is.
And then you'll be staring at the last page with your mouth wide open.
Hercule Poirot's friend is
murdered in mysterious circumstances and
the famed detective takes on the task of
finding Roger Ackroyd's killer.
Nothing unusual so far until you find out that
the narrator himself did it.
Roger Ackroyd was murdered by dr. James Sheppard, the very man who tells us about his death.
He only admits to his crime in
the final chapter, claiming that the
whole account leading up to the
revelation as the history
of one of Poirot failures.
The signs are there but they're subtle unless you're Hercule Poirot.
Number 1: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
It's the kind of shock that makes you
bolt upright in your chair, feverishly
turning the pages and think
"Did she really just do that?"
2012's Gone Girl novel left readers reeling with
unreliable narration of plot twists and
suspense.
After Amy Dunne frames her
husband Nick for her murder
as revenge for him having an affair
among other complicated reasons, she
makes a triumphant yet dramatic return.
Just as Nick is about to tell the world
about Amy's sociopathic behavior
she hits him with one more surprise:
Amy's pregnant
The real shocker? The fact that
Nick chooses to stay with Amy forever
to protect his child from her as one
incredibly messed-up family.
It's a happily ever after ending that's
frustrating on so many levels
but it sure does win the prize for the
world's most dysfunctional marriage.
What book ending left you awestruck?
Let us know in the comments
