Leavitt has said that she likes stories where nothing is neatly tied up. Did you find the ending satisfying? What do you imagine will happen next in the lives of these characters? What questions for you were unanswered?

Leavitt has said in interviews that she likes to have what she calls "never-ending story" endings, where nothing is neatly tied up, and the reader is left to wonder what is going to happen next. Did you feel the ending of Cruel Beautiful World was satisfying? What do you imagine will happen next in the lives of these characters? What questions for you were unanswered?

It was a satisfying ending, but it left questions unanswered as the author seems to have intended. I wanted Patrick and Charlotte to remain together. They both deserved to find true love after what they went through and I think they had the beginnings of a long term relationship. What will happen next? They will get married and raise a family.

Leavitt left a lot untied in this novel - the least of it being the ending. I felt like at some point Charlotte and Patrick would connect and have a life together. But much of Lucy's life involving Patrick was left hanging - on a daily basis the events of the novel (while Lucy worked for Patrick) were not clear for me. I don't know that I can say the ending was satisfying - more than that, however - getting to the ending was not satisfying for me. I simply felt that parts of the novel were too loosely defined - but this allows Leavitt to do what she likes best - leave things loosely tied.

I thought the ending was satisfying. I like books that where things aren't neatly tied up in a bow and I get to decide the ending. I thought her writing was really good at leading us down the path of choosing our own ending.

I typically prefer for books to have neatly tied up endings but this one felt a bit more real without the ending being neatly tied up. I think the ending of this book was written perfectly.

I enjoyed the book, though I do prefer to have things tied up. The open ending left me feeling a little empty.

For me, the fact that William was located and then killed himself tied up the major thread of the book. The side stories -- Patrick and Charlotte, Iris and Joe -- were less important to me, but the fac t that they were left with the possibility of a positive outcome was satisfying to me.

I normally like endings that neatly tie things up at the end of a book but I didn't mind the fact that Leavitt left things open ended. I don't think we can conclusively say that William killed Lucy because we only heard his side of the story....everything else was told from different sides of the story. It seems as though he did kill Lucy but we really don't know for sure. I was glad that both Charlotte's and Iris's lives at the end of the story seemed to be heading in happy directions.

The end of the story was satisfying. It is the way this author writes, she led us to this ending by leaving so many things open ended in the story. We will never really know the truth about Lucy and William. Charlotte will have both joy and sadness in her life. She will undoubtedly finish college, she will face the passing of Iris, and if we could create the ending have her unite with Patrick.

I found the ending somewhat satisfying. Maybe Charlotte and Patrick would continue their relationship at some point, who knows, but regardless, They both had plans for continuing on with their lives, rather than staying stuck in the past. I would have liked to know what really happened to Lucy. Of course, I believed that William had killed her because he was so controlling and possessive, but the unknown is part of what made the story interesting.

It could have been tied up a little more. I guess in particular I'm thinking of Patrick. I felt really sorry for him and would have liked to have seen some happiness for him. Maybe this is Leavitt's next book.

I love that she didn't tie everything up- I started to balk and get bored at the thought that Charlotte and Patrick would get together bc that just didn't seem natural, but suddenly that the novel was becoming some cute romantic comedy. I like that they go their separate ways, maybe to come together in the end, but that the story didn't hinge or whether they did or not to feel comfortable and ok with the novel ending.

I said in a previous post that I hate it when an author leave the ending dangling. It makes me feel like the author couldn't decide how to end the story and just gives up. But this is the one time I'm OK with it. I like being able to think of Iris and Joe enjoying each other forever and maybe Charlotte and Patrick will get together and maybe they won't, but either way they'll both be moving forward with their lives. A more definitive ending might have ruined those possibilities for me.

I thought the ending was realistic, Patrick and Charlotte were young and both had painful experiences they needed to work through. (Hopefully with professional help.) I don't think they were mature enough to "live happily ever after" at the end of the book.