Peter Jackson likes this book. So naturally, as a dedicated LOTR nerd, I expected I would too. The Edge of Everything is an interesting addition to the YA genre. It's provocative in its unique storytelling language. I can honestly say I have never read a YA book like it. The premise is entirely new (granted, this is - of course - in my experience of the genre) and I love that the descriptions of the Lowland's immediately reminded me of Pandemonium from Milton's Paradise Lost. If you're looking for something different, definitely give this one a peek. 
 Now, that all being said, I must admit I personally had a hard time connecting with Zoe and X. I actually wanted to see X with more of a backbone, and Zoe with more heart. I stuck with this book largely through stubborn will because the first chapters in did not suck me in enough to stay purely out of interest. Then the middle dragged too. Sure I was rewarded for sticking to it, but I still have some reservations about the story - 
 Maybe it's because I have younger siblings, but the idea of Zoe being so reckless with Jonah is irritating to me. I would never let my younger - especially at that age - siblings out into the cold like that. It's the kind of stupidity that I find hard to forgive, more importantly it sets the tone for the kind of person I interpret Zoe to be throughout the rest of the story. I get that this is fantasy, but even common sense dictates allowing your little brother out right when you're expecting a snow storm is asking for trouble. The least of your problems would be frostbite, the worst would be death. I honestly would have preferred if the author wrote that Jonah had wandered out on his own, then I would have liked Zoe much better. Zoe has potential as a character, but she currently doesn't make it into my top favorite characters in this story (pretty much just Jonah and Ripper). 
 As for X, while I loved the way he spoke and the general premise of who he was within his story, I was not really drawn in by his character. Ironically I felt like he had no real fight in him. In the same way you never want to see a female character who suddenly decides life is worth living because of a male character, you don't want to see the reverse either. That's what I got from X. I want him to be more complex and much more decisive and direct. And I'm hopeful because I'm guessing the second book will give us that. 
 I recommend this book if you're looking for something different and you don't mind really dedicating yourself to a sometimes unengaging read.