Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Book Review: Fall For Anything


When Eddie Reeves’s father commits suicide her life is consumed by the nagging question of why? Why when he was a legendary photographer and a brilliant teacher? Why when he seemed to find inspiration in everything he saw? And, most important, why when he had a daughter who loved him more than anyone else in the world? When she meets Culler Evans, a former student of her father’s and a photographer himself, an instant and dangerous attraction begins. Culler seems to know more about her father than she does and could possibly hold the key to the mystery surrounding his death. But Eddie’s vulnerability has weakened her and Culler Evans is getting too close. Her need for the truth keeps her hanging on...but are some questions better left unanswered?


In a Nutshell: Fall For Anything is an evocative novel about coping with suicide. Sometimes dark,  sometimes sweet, but definitely hard to put down.


Putdownability Factor: I read this in one day. Its not the longest book, but the short chapters and intriguing storyline kept me hooked.

Cover Love: LOVE this cover. Its just like the story. Beautiful, but a bit eerie at the same time.

My Thoughts

Fall For Anything is definitely not one of those easy breezy reads. It hits on some pretty hard topics, and overall the tone of the book is fairly dark. I was a little shocked by how dark this book was. I was expecting an uplifting, girl recovers from her sadness kind of story. But instead I got a deeply psychological, mystery filled contemporary, and an ending that was more hopeless than hopeful. Don't get me wrong! Fall For Anything was an enjoyable book. But there were definitely a few aspects that made it hard to love.

Eddie was an interesting character. She was extremely lost to herself and who she was throughout the book. She was also depressed and constantly struggling with the reason for her fathers suicide. I would have liked to see more character development because honestly, by the end of the book I didn't feel like Eddie had changed much. I also didn't really care for Culler. HE WAS SUCH A CREEPER!!!! O.O However I did love Milo. Then again I always like the best guy friends in books. I think its the whole sweet, always there for you aspect that I just love. And Milo definitely had that in spades. :)

The one major flaw of Fall For Anything was that I felt like it didn't really have much of a message it was sending. I was hoping for a sort of inspiring story about loss and then healing, but really it just left me feeling sad and depressed. There was so much potential, but I felt like the execution was just off. It felt way to hopeless at the end.

Courtney Summers prose is beautiful. Her writing is lyrical and flows extremely well. It made Fall For Anything very easy to get pulled into. I love a writer who can hook her reader, merely with the masterful use of words. The only problem with the writing was I felt like there was an overuse of swearing. It really detracted from Courtney Summer's prose and it wasn't really necessary to the story.

Fall For Anything is an interesting novel. Some elements (like Courtney Summer's beautiful writing style) were wonderful while others (the unsatisfying and almost depressing ending) just left me feeling empty. Overall I give Fall For Anything 3 out of 5 ice cream cones.


Who would I recommend this to? Older teens who enjoy contemporary novels. I probably wouldn't recommend it to someone dealing with a recent suicide just because the book felt so hopeless and sad to me. But I know a lot of people who LOVED this book so I guess its all personal preference.

Julia :)

2 comments:

  1. I really like Courtney's writing too (other than the swearing). Thanks for the great review!
    -Danna
    http://friendlyreaderohyeah.blogspot.com/

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  2. I loved this book, and Courtney's prose is AHHHHH *fangirl*. I think I liked how this was just a story, and really nothing much else (like you pointed out). I know some books can't pull it off, but I think this one did a good job doing nothing but telling the story without a greater picture, you know? AGHH CULLER! -_- Nice review :)

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