The Beginning of Everything is a young adult coming-of-age novel by the accomplished American author Robyn Schneider. First published in 2013, it is Schneider’s debut novel and has been nominated for numerous YA book awards. It is published in multiple countries, in the UK under the title Severed Heads, Broken Hearts.

Schneider, who lives in Los Angeles, is the author of several other bestselling YA books: Extraordinary Means; Invisible Ghosts; You Don’t Live Here. Her newest novel, The Other Merlin, was released in September 2021 to critical acclaim.

Content Warning: This novel uses offensive terminology for physical disability, which this guide reproduces in direct quotes.

Plot Summary

Ezra Faulkner, the narrator and protagonist, begins the story of his life-altering high school experience by reflecting on his belief that everyone’s life has a tragedy waiting for them, after which “everything that matters will happen” (1). Ezra’s best friend, Toby, was 12 when his tragedy occurred: He caught the head of a decapitated tourist on a roller coaster. After that event, Ezra distanced himself from Toby, not wanting to be associated with the boy who caught the head. Ezra’s narration skips five years ahead to high school, where he thrives—he is captain of the tennis team, gets good grades, and is dating Charlotte, the most “popular” girl. Ezra’s idyllic high school life is shattered at the end of junior year, when he catches Charlotte cheating on him at a party. As he leaves the party, Ezra’s car is struck by an SUV, a hit-and-run crash that leaves him with a permanently damaged knee. Ezra’s friends abandon him, so when senior year starts, Ezra struggles to find his place at school—no longer an athlete, no longer dating Charlotte, no longer the golden boy. The only person who accepts him straightaway is his old friend Toby.

Ezra meets a quirky new girl, Cassidy, in Spanish class. Charlotte and the other girls mock Cassidy for her unusual style, but Ezra finds her fascinating and ends up in debate class with her and Toby, who is captain of the debate team. It turns out that Cassidy is a renowned debater, known to Toby and the rest of the team from school tournaments. Ezra is embraced by this new group of friends but still struggles to accept his reality. Cassidy and Ezra become close; she is a breath of fresh air, introducing him to philosophy, poetry, and chemistry and encouraging him to expand his horizons beyond the limited expectations set by his “good-enough” life. Ezra worries about an overnight debate tournament, concerned that it will show that he doesn’t belong in this new group. Instead, Ezra fits in perfectly and falls in love with Cassidy.

Ezra, who is nominated for homecoming king, asks Cassidy to the homecoming dance, and she happily accepts. On the afternoon of the dance, Ezra and Cassidy have an unremarkable phone call, during which Ezra incidentally tells Cassidy details about the car in his accident. That night Cassidy stands Ezra up, cruelly claiming that she was dating him as a joke and that her old boyfriend is back. Devastated, Ezra misses the dance and the announcement that he was chosen homecoming king. Unable to make sense of Cassidy’s rejection, Ezra returns to his old group of friends—now that he is “king,” he is accepted—but he finds them too shallow. Ezra realizes that the debate team, particularly Toby, are his true friends, and he apologetically returns to them. Ezra is determined to find out the truth behind Cassidy’s mysterious behavior. With Toby’s help, Ezra discovers that Cassidy’s brother, Owen, died at the end of Cassidy’s junior year. Ezra believes that Cassidy still loves him and is pushing him away because of Owen’s death. As a gesture of reconciliation and understanding, Ezra makes a tumbleweed “snowman” outside her house, taking his dog, Cooper, with him. Cassidy rejects Ezra again. As Ezra is angrily leaving, a coyote attacks Cooper. Cassidy and Ezra rush Cooper to the vet, where—emotionally drained—Cassidy tells Ezra that they cannot be together because Owen was the driver of the hit-and-run car in Ezra’s accident. Owen, who claimed he hit a tree, died a few days after the crash. Ezra wants to stay together, but Cassidy explains that she cannot see Ezra without thinking of Owen and the accident. When the vet calls Ezra into the room to tell him that Cooper has died, Cassidy disappears from Ezra’s life.

Ezra attributes much of his personal growth in high school to Cassidy, even though she insists that all he needed was a spark to ignite what was already there. Mature Ezra, looking back on this period of his life from his East Coast college, can see that his personal tragedy was the catalyst for making his life-changing decision: to start living his life rather than just existing. Cassidy just “tendered the flame” while he made the choices (335).