If you could rewrite the ending of any book, which book would it be? And how would you change it?
Ah, that’s easy. Virtual War by Gloria Skurzynski. This is one of the first books that I ever read, that I absolutely could not stand the ending. It was too ridiculous, too cookie-cutter-ish and just plain unsatisfying. While the overall plot and nearly the entire book was quite enjoyable, it was the very last two chapters that I read and re-read, about five times, because I simply couldn’t believe it ended that way.
I’d rewrite the end so Corgan isn’t left with just the fact that he’s alone in his whole little world again, except for now that he’s alone and broken, I’d have his idiot girlfriend stay, or take him along with her. She schemed and manipulated him for three-quarters of the book and in the end, she’s happily taking off on her dream, while he’s left in the dust to handle his own problems.
Sure, he can handle his problems, I don’t think he deserved to fight them alone though. I would write a new friend in to take the girlfriend’s place, or write the girlfriend out of the story and let Corgan get off the island instead of her, and let him find a way to join into the world like he wanted. It doesn’t have to be a happy ending, just not a dark ending.
