In The End is a young adult coming-of-age survival tale penned by Ken Saik. Mr. Sanfield's life turns upside down as he watches his two-car garage devoured by a sinkhole, taking the lives of twelve high school students who were partying inside, including his son Sampson and his friends. Meanwhile, beneath the surface, the boys are trapped in a deep cavern with dozens of tunnels. Soon, the boys divide themselves into groups to explore the tunnels and find an escape route. However, one by one, each falls victim to the treacherous nature of the place. As hope and resources run low, they discover haiku poems describing the wonders of a mysterious place called Vanna. Will their friendship and camaraderie enable anyone to reach Vanna?

Filled with suspense and plenty of hair-raising moments, In The End is a tale of brotherhood and the act of letting go. There is a sense of warmth and heart you'll find in this survival tale, as author Ken Saik infuses a lot of touching moments into the story. You feel for the characters and find yourself caring for every single one of them as they fight for survival under harrowing circumstances. Despite the large cast, Saik manages to convey a strong dynamic between the friends with vastly different personalities. Their friendship forms the bedrock of the narrative. I have to say the ending took me by surprise. It felt a little bittersweet yet satisfying nonetheless. If you love coming-of-age stories about friendship, definitely check out In The End.

In The End is an adventure book by Ken Saik. Sampson, along with eleven of his friends, was hanging out in his father’s garage, or the man cave as they call it, when it all happened. The garage had fallen deep into the earth through a sinkhole, and miraculously all twelve boys survived. They agreed that the safest and most practical route to safety would be to explore an opening in the earth that was probably made by humans. At first, they were making progress in the dark, dank tunnels until they watched a close friend fall to his death. The group realized then that they were in a precarious situation and death awaited them at every turn of those black as night tunnels. To make matters worse, one of the lads couldn’t shake the feeling that something malevolent was watching them. What mysteries will they come across as they venture deeper into the unknown? Will they survive? Or will the darkness consume them?

In The End was an amazing book and one that I’m glad I got to read. The book had an incredible plot that had me really intrigued as to how it would all play out. The group's journey in the tunnels was conveyed with clarity, and it was very interesting as their explorations frequently unearthed mysteries and other points of interest that piqued my curiosity. The characters were also another great thing about this book as they were all well-written. Ken Saik definitely put a lot of thought into his characters as each is unique and authentic. Their lines, personalities, and convictions could easily be portrayed as is by actors in a film, and the scenes would still be very organic and life-like. I also appreciated the author’s creativity in how a character met their demise and that each was probable as I do enjoy a bit of realism in my books. I loved reading In The End and have no problem recommending this one to fans of the adventure genre.