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mollywetta's review against another edition
This book is a promising debut, but far from perfect.
I loved the characters. Raychel is prickly and a teen girl that a lot of young women can probably relate to, and Matt is a seemingly "golden boy" who is actually a bit of a douchey asshole. Andrew is a fun-loving, flirty goofball who seems like a screw up but actually is kinda sweet. They're all realistically drawn.
I loved the issues that this book brings up about consent, about the line between friends and romantic interest, poverty and privilege. But none are handled very deftly or with any nuance.
This didn't blow me away, but it was enjoyable enough.
I loved the characters. Raychel is prickly and a teen girl that a lot of young women can probably relate to, and Matt is a seemingly "golden boy" who is actually a bit of a douchey asshole. Andrew is a fun-loving, flirty goofball who seems like a screw up but actually is kinda sweet. They're all realistically drawn.
I loved the issues that this book brings up about consent, about the line between friends and romantic interest, poverty and privilege. But none are handled very deftly or with any nuance.
This didn't blow me away, but it was enjoyable enough.
steph01924's review against another edition
3.0
A complicated look at relationships, consent, and reputations. Mostly enjoyed this, though I did have some issues with a few things.
Check out my review at Forever Young Adult.
Check out my review at Forever Young Adult.
gggina13's review against another edition
4.0
It was a realistic story and the feelings were well written. The characters and the plot were a little two dimensional but definitely still enjoyable. I had to read this one slowly because I didn’t want anything bad to happen to any of the characters because they were all likable, even the ones who shouldn’t have been. I liked this book a lot.
mcf's review against another edition
4.0
This was a weird one for me -- I could recognize that the story was emotionally intense, yet I failed to connect with it on a level beyond the intellectual. This was perhaps because of the rapidly switching perspectives: the two main characters share narration duty, and each chapter is short so we shift constantly between their heads, never able to really take root in one or the other. There were also times when the first person narration felt a bit too on the nose for me, with teenagers offering deeply unlikely, eloquent, outside analysis of their own emotions or motives.
All of that said? I liked it. Raychel was a complex character with a convincing, interesting arc, Andrew -- the one main character we see only through the eyes of others -- was compelling, and the story featured important discussion of class, gender and consent which, even if they sometimes felt pat, are nevertheless deeply worthwhile.
Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for the ARC!
All of that said? I liked it. Raychel was a complex character with a convincing, interesting arc, Andrew -- the one main character we see only through the eyes of others -- was compelling, and the story featured important discussion of class, gender and consent which, even if they sometimes felt pat, are nevertheless deeply worthwhile.
Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for the ARC!
romantasylife's review against another edition
3.0
Overall Rating: ☆☆☆
3.5/5 Stars. So I picked this book up due to the fact that it discusses rape. It would have gotten a higher rating from me if there was more justice in this book other than Carson getting his butt kicked.
The synopsis states that Raychel is sleeping with two brothers. Matt and Andrew. But, she doesn't really sleep with both. She only really snuck into Matt's room once in this book. It stated that she did previously when they were younger due to nightmares. But she only did it once. I feel like this book's synopsis kind of tricks you there.
But all-in-all, I really enjoyed this book. It touched on many sensitive topics that should be taught to younger audiences.
Plot Rating: ☆☆
I just really wish there were things I could change in this book. I liked the idea of everything. But I don't like the way it was executed. More than half of the book happens before the fall. Which I was actually shocked that the fall was in regards to someone that wasn't Raychel, the main character.
I just really liked the story before the fall than after the fall. But, before the fall wasn't as depressing as after.
But also, that plot twist about the fall actually being a fall. I cried. I wasn't expecting that at all even though it basically tells you in the title.
Character Rating: ☆☆☆
So I really liked Raychel. She's a young woman stuck in a situation she's trying so hard to get out of. She grew up poor and had to work to save up for college. She's a young woman with dreams and plans. She's such a relatable character.
Andrew is my favorite. Even though he can be a dick sometimes. But he's not afraid to go after what he wants and I really admired that of him.
I hated Matt. He's the most inconsiderate boy ever. He's annoying and he's a whiny baby. I was not a fan of him at all. Team Andrew all the way.
Matt's family, I really liked them before the fall. But after? Hated them. They shut Raychel out like she was nothing to them. Terrible people.
All of the side characters were pretty amazing. Minus Carson. Everyone really had a great personality even if their part in the book was small.
Romance Rating: ☆☆
As soon as the romance starts, it ends. I can see how it's a problem for this book. But I feel like KH should have let Raychel and Andrew get together a lot sooner than they did.
Writing Style: ☆☆☆☆
I really enjoyed KH's writing style. I like that there weren't any chapters. I enjoyed two perspectives. I would have loved to have Andrew's perspective too. I like how it's in two parts: before the fall and after the fall.
After The Fall was an extremely quick read and that's due to how she has written this book. It's a unique concept that I hope to see more of in the future.
3.5/5 Stars. So I picked this book up due to the fact that it discusses rape. It would have gotten a higher rating from me if there was more justice in this book other than Carson getting his butt kicked.
The synopsis states that Raychel is sleeping with two brothers. Matt and Andrew. But, she doesn't really sleep with both. She only really snuck into Matt's room once in this book. It stated that she did previously when they were younger due to nightmares. But she only did it once. I feel like this book's synopsis kind of tricks you there.
But all-in-all, I really enjoyed this book. It touched on many sensitive topics that should be taught to younger audiences.
Plot Rating: ☆☆
I just really wish there were things I could change in this book. I liked the idea of everything. But I don't like the way it was executed. More than half of the book happens before the fall. Which I was actually shocked that the fall was in regards to someone that wasn't Raychel, the main character.
I just really liked the story before the fall than after the fall. But, before the fall wasn't as depressing as after.
But also, that plot twist about the fall actually being a fall. I cried. I wasn't expecting that at all even though it basically tells you in the title.
Character Rating: ☆☆☆
So I really liked Raychel. She's a young woman stuck in a situation she's trying so hard to get out of. She grew up poor and had to work to save up for college. She's a young woman with dreams and plans. She's such a relatable character.
Andrew is my favorite. Even though he can be a dick sometimes. But he's not afraid to go after what he wants and I really admired that of him.
I hated Matt. He's the most inconsiderate boy ever. He's annoying and he's a whiny baby. I was not a fan of him at all. Team Andrew all the way.
Matt's family, I really liked them before the fall. But after? Hated them. They shut Raychel out like she was nothing to them. Terrible people.
All of the side characters were pretty amazing. Minus Carson. Everyone really had a great personality even if their part in the book was small.
Romance Rating: ☆☆
As soon as the romance starts, it ends. I can see how it's a problem for this book. But I feel like KH should have let Raychel and Andrew get together a lot sooner than they did.
Writing Style: ☆☆☆☆
I really enjoyed KH's writing style. I like that there weren't any chapters. I enjoyed two perspectives. I would have loved to have Andrew's perspective too. I like how it's in two parts: before the fall and after the fall.
After The Fall was an extremely quick read and that's due to how she has written this book. It's a unique concept that I hope to see more of in the future.
tomesproject's review against another edition
2.0
I received an ARC of this book from a Goodreads giveaway.
*exhales deeply*
This was my first non-reread-read of 2017, and I went into it with a fairly blank head because, well, no one I follow has reviewed this yet. At least not that I've seen. This book is a debut, but I knew that a tagline surrounding this book was, essentially, that this book is about "rumors, reputations, and consent" so naturally I was very intrigued. I don't typically read contemporary unless it has a central theme. Contemporary novels about person X falling in love with person Y is just not my style and doesn't interest me, so when I heard that this book was about consent and probably, therefore, rape culture, I was intrigued.
I think that is where one of my main problems with this book lies. This book wasn't about consent. This book tried to be too much. It tried to be a romance and a tragedy and a commentary on sexual assault and gender roles. I think that the first and second half of this book would have made good books had they been separated and expanded, but they were chopped short and pushed together.
It was just too muchfor one book. So much so that I felt that the sexual assault of our main character felt like a stepping stone and a plot point that was only there to create drama between the characters until we got to the "real" climax of the story.
That made me endlessly uncomfortable. And, yes, the topic is uncomfortable, but the assault was just pushed under the rug. Yes, this happens in real life, but for the character that is basically the moral support of our main character to tell her to her face that she would never win a case in court so it's best ignored infuriated me. While this definitely is the case for many people, to state this as normal or just a "part of life" was absolutely infuriating. (I know that I've said infuriated twice now, but I was really angry about it.)
I will say that I think there is one very important scene in the first part of the book after the main character is assaulted where we see her reaction and it explains her thought processes and lack thereof. I want to state clearly that I think this part was incredibly well done and important. But after a few short scenes of the author basically saying "Look, she's grieving and upset and . . ." the main character falls in love and from then on it's like it never happened, which almost made me angrier. It's mentioned once or twice in passing but anything specific.
I'm going to get off that soap box now and mention a few other things about this story.
The good:
- The second half of the story has a very positive, yet brief, portrayal of character(s) going to therapy. Also, that therapy doesn't immediately fix your problems and that sometimes the first person you go to isn't going to be the best person to help you get better.
- There are a lot of really funny bits and important quotes in the first third of the book about supporting feminism. Great job.
- Our main character doesn't come from money. She's the child of a single mom, and they struggle and the reader sees that, and it never felt shoved in my face that she was poor.
- Different family dynamics are displayed really well I thought. There are good and bad relationships with parents displayed. Also, something that I really related to that I was really happy to see in this book was that our main character loves her mom, yes, but her "second mom" and the one she shares more and talks more with is actually her best friend's mom. It's important for teens and young adults to have close relationships with adults, and (for the first half of this book) this is displayed really well.
The bad: (part 2)
- There are no chapters, and so the pacing was quite a bit off. Maybe this is something that is specific to the ARC? If not, the pacing was still a bit off.
- The dual POVs felt completely unnecessary. There would be a POV switch for a paragraph--I kid you not--before it switched back to who was thinking or speaking before. I couldn't tell if the author wanted to us this as a way to create a quicker pace within certain scenes or just didn't want to write dialogue because honestly it felt like both.
- The writing was definitely the typical "adult writing teenagers" style. The specific, and endlessly annoying, aspect that this author used was that the characters constantly referred to the student council as "StuCo" in both their internal dialogue and actual dialogue. It made me want to punch them in the face.
- It has the slightly annoying trope of the main character being absolutely obsessed with that one classic that mirrors their life so perfectly. This time: The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood.
-
- All of these characters have alcohol-control issues that need to be worked out, but it's just passed off as "no big deal" even by the parents. It's ridiculous.
1.5 stars
+
RTC (probably in a day or two): I have no idea where I stand on this book, which is incredibly rare for me. There are elements that I despised and a few that I enjoyed. And then there are all the ones in the middle that I don't know how I feel about just yet.
*exhales deeply*
This was my first non-reread-read of 2017, and I went into it with a fairly blank head because, well, no one I follow has reviewed this yet. At least not that I've seen. This book is a debut, but I knew that a tagline surrounding this book was, essentially, that this book is about "rumors, reputations, and consent" so naturally I was very intrigued. I don't typically read contemporary unless it has a central theme. Contemporary novels about person X falling in love with person Y is just not my style and doesn't interest me, so when I heard that this book was about consent and probably, therefore, rape culture, I was intrigued.
I think that is where one of my main problems with this book lies. This book wasn't about consent. This book tried to be too much. It tried to be a romance and a tragedy and a commentary on sexual assault and gender roles. I think that the first and second half of this book would have made good books had they been separated and expanded, but they were chopped short and pushed together.
It was just too muchfor one book. So much so that I felt that the sexual assault of our main character felt like a stepping stone and a plot point that was only there to create drama between the characters until we got to the "real" climax of the story.
That made me endlessly uncomfortable. And, yes, the topic is uncomfortable, but the assault was just pushed under the rug. Yes, this happens in real life, but for the character that is basically the moral support of our main character to tell her to her face that she would never win a case in court so it's best ignored infuriated me. While this definitely is the case for many people, to state this as normal or just a "part of life" was absolutely infuriating. (I know that I've said infuriated twice now, but I was really angry about it.)
I will say that I think there is one very important scene in the first part of the book after the main character is assaulted where we see her reaction and it explains her thought processes and lack thereof. I want to state clearly that I think this part was incredibly well done and important. But after a few short scenes of the author basically saying "Look, she's grieving and upset and . . ." the main character falls in love and from then on it's like it never happened, which almost made me angrier. It's mentioned once or twice in passing but anything specific.
I'm going to get off that soap box now and mention a few other things about this story.
The good:
- The second half of the story has a very positive, yet brief, portrayal of character(s) going to therapy. Also, that therapy doesn't immediately fix your problems and that sometimes the first person you go to isn't going to be the best person to help you get better.
- There are a lot of really funny bits and important quotes in the first third of the book about supporting feminism. Great job.
- Our main character doesn't come from money. She's the child of a single mom, and they struggle and the reader sees that, and it never felt shoved in my face that she was poor.
- Different family dynamics are displayed really well I thought. There are good and bad relationships with parents displayed. Also, something that I really related to that I was really happy to see in this book was that our main character loves her mom, yes, but her "second mom" and the one she shares more and talks more with is actually her best friend's mom. It's important for teens and young adults to have close relationships with adults, and (for the first half of this book) this is displayed really well.
The bad: (part 2)
- There are no chapters, and so the pacing was quite a bit off. Maybe this is something that is specific to the ARC? If not, the pacing was still a bit off.
- The dual POVs felt completely unnecessary. There would be a POV switch for a paragraph--I kid you not--before it switched back to who was thinking or speaking before. I couldn't tell if the author wanted to us this as a way to create a quicker pace within certain scenes or just didn't want to write dialogue because honestly it felt like both.
- The writing was definitely the typical "adult writing teenagers" style. The specific, and endlessly annoying, aspect that this author used was that the characters constantly referred to the student council as "StuCo" in both their internal dialogue and actual dialogue. It made me want to punch them in the face.
- It has the slightly annoying trope of the main character being absolutely obsessed with that one classic that mirrors their life so perfectly. This time: The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood.
-
Spoiler
Being a nineteen-year-old girl who stays far, far away from romantic relationships, I don't know what it is like to have or lose a child. But if my son slept with the girl that is the closest thing to a daughter I've ever had, I wouldn't shame her for having sex with my son. I would hug her as close as I possibly could because to lose a friend that young is hard enough but to lose an almost-boyfriend that young would be worse. Not worse than losing a son, but not bad enough to lose my daughter as well.- All of these characters have alcohol-control issues that need to be worked out, but it's just passed off as "no big deal" even by the parents. It's ridiculous.
1.5 stars
+
RTC (probably in a day or two): I have no idea where I stand on this book, which is incredibly rare for me. There are elements that I despised and a few that I enjoyed. And then there are all the ones in the middle that I don't know how I feel about just yet.
abbievillehorror's review against another edition
5.0
I am destroyed, but also content, but definitely destroyed
allibruns's review against another edition
2.0
The beginning of this was reminiscent of a Courtney Summers novel, where it's gritty, real, uncomfortable and you aren't even sure if you like these characters. There were some things I really liked; Raychel's murky feelings towards the first sexual assault, Raychel feeling already hindered by her financial situation and how it affects her future and her complete honesty with herself after the second assault.
What I didn't like was how this almost felt like two books and I would of liked it better if it was. I didn't care for how the sexual assault was slipped under the rug. I felt as though the author tried to take on too much; grief, double standards, rumors, sexual assault, being poor, and family problems and in the end none of it worked.
What I didn't like was how this almost felt like two books and I would of liked it better if it was. I didn't care for how the sexual assault was slipped under the rug. I felt as though the author tried to take on too much; grief, double standards, rumors, sexual assault, being poor, and family problems and in the end none of it worked.
hellomadalyn's review against another edition
2.0
*2.5 stars*
Still processing my thoughts on this one, but for the most part, it was not the story I expected, nor was it one I particularly enjoyed or took anything away from. Hmmmm. Will update this review once I ponder over this one a bit more.
Still processing my thoughts on this one, but for the most part, it was not the story I expected, nor was it one I particularly enjoyed or took anything away from. Hmmmm. Will update this review once I ponder over this one a bit more.