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mitsyc's review against another edition
5.0
Evan Burl is better than Harry Potter. Evan Burl and The Falling is the beginning of the most imaginative series since Harry Potter. I dare say it is the best fantasy book I've ever read. Justin Blaney writes such descriptive scenes you will imagine them on the movie screen or as paintings in a museum. The villains are sadists. The story is so odd and horrific play close attention, when you read this, or you will get lost.
Evan is a young boy who lives in a castle and tries to take care of orphans. The orphans are otherwise known as the Fallings. The Fallings/orphans are all young girls who literally fell from the sky. Are did they? If so, how? What happens to Evan and these Fallings are the mystery. To find out, you'll have to read the story. Oh, and if you think you've got it figured out, guess again.
Won this as a Goodreads giveaway! :)
Evan is a young boy who lives in a castle and tries to take care of orphans. The orphans are otherwise known as the Fallings. The Fallings/orphans are all young girls who literally fell from the sky. Are did they? If so, how? What happens to Evan and these Fallings are the mystery. To find out, you'll have to read the story. Oh, and if you think you've got it figured out, guess again.
Won this as a Goodreads giveaway! :)
karenaparker's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed the passion behind this book. I thought the first few chapters were particularly well done. But all the time that I kept reading it, I feel like it needed to breath. I wanted to know more about Henri and Evan's relationship. I wanted to know how children were transported to other dimensions and whether or not it was through sapience. I really, really like the ideas of thus book, but I just didn't feel like it didn't execute all those ideas cohesively. I feel like it needs 200 more pages and to take things one scene at a time. I don't mind time jumps and skips; I just mind when it feels like a whirlwind.
saramoadi's review against another edition
3.0
The book was entertaining to a degree; however, I found it stretched out unnecessarily at times.
The book is confused until the end, revealing only little and leaving the reader with a lot of questions that should have been answered, at least by the end of the book.
The only thing that kept me reading until the end was the concept and the overall idea of the book. Some of the characters, such as Evan Burl, were interesting as well.
I would like to see how the rest of the series will play out, but it is not on the top of the reading list.
The book is confused until the end, revealing only little and leaving the reader with a lot of questions that should have been answered, at least by the end of the book.
The only thing that kept me reading until the end was the concept and the overall idea of the book. Some of the characters, such as Evan Burl, were interesting as well.
I would like to see how the rest of the series will play out, but it is not on the top of the reading list.
ithilien11's review against another edition
3.0
There are quite a few spelling errors, but this is a clever and fun story. Bits and pieces are rather confusing, and the end felt quite unresolved.
jellyfists's review against another edition
5.0
I have not yet finished this book, I am only on Chapter Four so there is no need to take me seriously. But the "Note from the author on this Advanced Reader Copy," made me a bit sad. Mr. Justin Blaney there are so many different people in this world, no one is exactly the same and thus not everyone enjoys the same types of things. No one book will please everyone some people hate [b:Twilight|41865|Twilight (Twilight, #1)|Stephenie Meyer|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1361039443s/41865.jpg|3212258] some people love it, the same goes for Shakespeare and his works. So not everyone will be pleased with cliffhanger endings like you have said your book has. Personally I would hate it if everyone loved every book, how would you know good books from bad ones if the world was like that? If you change things in your book to make the angry people happy there will still be others who will remain unsatisfied. So I think you should write Evan Burl and the Falling the way you envisioned it, not the way others do, I imagine it would make you happier in the long run. So far your book is reading like a masterpiece to me, I can easily see why some people might find themselves upset that it ends with questions unanswered since they love it so much and can't imagine waiting for the second book to be published.
UPDATE 10/23/2013
I loved this book. No seriously it was great. I liked Evan's confusion about the future and himself in general, not often do characters in YA novels feel uncertain in that way. He was brave in an honest kind of way, not because he wanted to prove anything to anyone but because he put others above himself. A lot of the main characters of books I read are brave to prove they can be, not that that's bad but its a nice change to find a book with a character who doesn't need to. Evan Burl and the Falling was an amazing book and I will probably end up pulling out some of my hair from having to wait for its sequel.
UPDATE 10/23/2013
I loved this book. No seriously it was great. I liked Evan's confusion about the future and himself in general, not often do characters in YA novels feel uncertain in that way. He was brave in an honest kind of way, not because he wanted to prove anything to anyone but because he put others above himself. A lot of the main characters of books I read are brave to prove they can be, not that that's bad but its a nice change to find a book with a character who doesn't need to. Evan Burl and the Falling was an amazing book and I will probably end up pulling out some of my hair from having to wait for its sequel.
veraann's review against another edition
4.0
I received a copy of this book as a download from the author. The synopsis seemed interesting, but I still wasn't sure what to expect from this new author. I ended up liking it. The characters were interesting and the switching of perspectives created an interesting flow. If switching character perspectives confuses you this is probably not the book to read for you. It is also a young adult book since it follows the life of children/teens. I enjoyed the mystery of the book and trying to figure out what everything was. I like the unique take on magic in the books universe. While the end of the book kind of answered the questions that were brought up it left things semi open ended to the point of you are not sure if what you think is actually what is true.
jbarr5's review against another edition
4.0
Evan Burl and the Falling By Justin Blaney
This fantasy, magic story is about an orphaned boy who lives in the castle with other orphans. They try their hardest to survive but for some it's to no avail.
The master, Mazol is a mean man who punishes the children. For me this is hard to read about a child getting punished when things are not even their fault.
I really enjoyed the magic and how Evan keeps the others minds off their hunger, with his magic.
The countdown til a year has passed is kind of terrifying-to not know if he will turn evil or if he will die.
Loved hearing of all the hiding places around the castle and treasure the time they are safe.
Liked how the story takes a long time to tell you about the children's past and the layout of the castle and surrounding areas and daily life.
Some chapters are written in another view from others in the story.
Strange things occur-like the fire where he throws the book into and the next day he notices his burned shirt and pain but the book is as perfect as ever.
Then the countdown is suddenly only 3 days left before he turns into a magician...
Cevo is hunting down Evan to kill him.
Claire's father has a note from Trillium to kill the boy, Evan. She will help Evan...
Love going through the story from various angles and there is just a handful of important characters to keep track of. sequence should be a good read also.
This fantasy, magic story is about an orphaned boy who lives in the castle with other orphans. They try their hardest to survive but for some it's to no avail.
The master, Mazol is a mean man who punishes the children. For me this is hard to read about a child getting punished when things are not even their fault.
I really enjoyed the magic and how Evan keeps the others minds off their hunger, with his magic.
The countdown til a year has passed is kind of terrifying-to not know if he will turn evil or if he will die.
Loved hearing of all the hiding places around the castle and treasure the time they are safe.
Liked how the story takes a long time to tell you about the children's past and the layout of the castle and surrounding areas and daily life.
Some chapters are written in another view from others in the story.
Strange things occur-like the fire where he throws the book into and the next day he notices his burned shirt and pain but the book is as perfect as ever.
Then the countdown is suddenly only 3 days left before he turns into a magician...
Cevo is hunting down Evan to kill him.
Claire's father has a note from Trillium to kill the boy, Evan. She will help Evan...
Love going through the story from various angles and there is just a handful of important characters to keep track of. sequence should be a good read also.
dreamerfreak's review against another edition
4.0
Evan Burl and the Falling is a whirlwind of emotions and plot, twisted into an amazing novel of suspense and magic. I don't know that I really have the words to describe this book. Just be prepared to have your feet ripped right out from underneath you.
Evan Burl thinks he's becoming a monster. In truth, he's becoming something else, a sapient, someone capable of bringing dreams, or nightmares, to life. The problem with being able to change reality? Knowing what's really real.
This book is so confusing in the best of ways. From the beginning, Evan's hallucinations start, and what's real and what's in his mind is all up for debate. And yet, it makes a beautiful sense anyway. I am sincerely impressed with [a:Justin Blaney|6477757|Justin Blaney|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1345947187p2/6477757.jpg]'s ability to pull this off and make sense of what could have easily become a jumbled mess. Instead all the narrators' questionable accuracy just upped the suspense and tension to even better levels.
I'm not even sure how to review this book without spoiling it. Just know that it is well worth the ride. I know I can't wait for book 2, because the Falling has just begun.
[I received this book for free through First Reads and was not required to write a positive or any other type of review. All opinions stated herein are solely my own.]
Evan Burl thinks he's becoming a monster. In truth, he's becoming something else, a sapient, someone capable of bringing dreams, or nightmares, to life. The problem with being able to change reality? Knowing what's really real.
This book is so confusing in the best of ways. From the beginning, Evan's hallucinations start, and what's real and what's in his mind is all up for debate. And yet, it makes a beautiful sense anyway. I am sincerely impressed with [a:Justin Blaney|6477757|Justin Blaney|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1345947187p2/6477757.jpg]'s ability to pull this off and make sense of what could have easily become a jumbled mess. Instead all the narrators' questionable accuracy just upped the suspense and tension to even better levels.
I'm not even sure how to review this book without spoiling it. Just know that it is well worth the ride. I know I can't wait for book 2, because the Falling has just begun.
[I received this book for free through First Reads and was not required to write a positive or any other type of review. All opinions stated herein are solely my own.]