I Don't Know How the Story Ends

By J.B. Cheaney

A film project in early Hollywood needs a perfect ending. Can it bring a family together?

3.8/5 Goodreads · 185 ratings

288 pages

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Bookroo's summary

In 1918 Hollywood, Isobel Ransom faces a summer of uncertainty with her father away at war. Her cousin Ranger's film project offers a thrilling escape, but the movie lacks an ending. As Isobel and her sister Sylvie dive into the world of early cinema, they must find a way to craft the perfect conclusion—one where the hero returns home safe. Will their creative journey help them navigate the challenges of a world at war and bring their family together? Discover the magic of storytelling in a time of change.

From the publisher

Our story begins in a dusty little town in California, a bustling place called Hollywood…Isobel Ransom is anxious. Her father is away treating wounded soldiers in France, leaving Izzy to be the responsible one at home. But it’s hard to be responsible when your little sister is chasing a fast-talking, movie-obsessed boy all over Hollywood! Ranger is directing his very own moving picture… and wants Izzy and Sylvie to be his stars.Izzy is sure Mother wouldn’t approve, but scouting locations, scrounging film, and “borrowing” a camera turn out to be the perfect distractions from Izzy’s worries. There’s just one problem: their movie has no ending. And it has to be perfect–the kind of ending where the hero saves the day and returns home to his family. Safe and sound.It just has to.The Wild West atmosphere of early Hollywood and the home front of a country at war form a fascinating context to award-winning author J. B. Cheaney’s new novel about the power of cinema in helping us make sense of an unexpected world.”I Don’t Know How the Story Ends will grab you by your shirt and drop you right into the early days of Hollywood and movie making. Peopled with delightful characters who find that real life is not just like the movies, this is a funny, insightful, and touching celebration of friendship and family, the imagination, and the power of the movies.”–Karen Cushman, Newbery Award-winning author of The Midwife’s Apprentice”This book is a love letter to the art of storytelling, exploring how the creative process becomes something bigger than ourselves. It’s a celebration of the way stories help us see our own lives more clearly.”–Caroline Starr Rose, author of Blue Birds”J. B. Cheaney masterfully combines a family’s pathos in wartime, a vivid sense of old Hollywood (including appearances by the era’s superstars), PLUS a suspenseful, creative adventure through an entirely new kind of storytelling: MOVING PICTURES!”–Cheryl Harness, acclaimed author of Mary Walker Wears the Pants and The Literary Adventures of Washington Irving

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