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mbrandmaier's review against another edition
4.0
Super depressing! Canadian military family returns from Germany to live on a base in Centralia. Jack, the dad, starts keeping a big secret from his family as Madeline, the daughter keeps one or two of her own.
marthagal's review against another edition
4.0
While I thought this book was way too long - that there were WAY too many details - I loved how the author portrayed the mental life of a nine-year-old. She got it perfectly. I also thought that the mystery at the center of the novel was interesting, with a twist I wasn't expecting at the end.
ceejay63's review against another edition
While the writing was excellent, I found the content too disturbing
eososray's review against another edition
3.0
I really just thought this book was okay, but I had to add an extra star because the writing is so wonderful.
This is one of those stories that I just can't (or maybe won't, who can say) appreciate. The drama, the characters, the mystery, the why's and wherefores, I just lost interest. The entire middle part of the book was a dead loss to me, though I thought the beginning and the end superb. I loved how it started, with the little girl telling the story of moving, with her fears and understanding of her parents. It was almost magical in the telling. But then the story moves on to her new teacher and her fathers work and became less enchanted, it moves to murder and secrets and I'm not charmed but getting bored, right though to the modern day life of the little girl, all grown up. And then it get better, with her parents retired and the mystery getting solved, the end was good, with just the right amount of closure but leaving some to the imagination.
There is no doubt the the author is extremely talented, it is not easy to take your reader through the emotional wringer and still leave that hope at the end. But for me, this isn't the kind of book I can get invested in.
This is one of those stories that I just can't (or maybe won't, who can say) appreciate. The drama, the characters, the mystery, the why's and wherefores, I just lost interest. The entire middle part of the book was a dead loss to me, though I thought the beginning and the end superb. I loved how it started, with the little girl telling the story of moving, with her fears and understanding of her parents. It was almost magical in the telling. But then the story moves on to her new teacher and her fathers work and became less enchanted, it moves to murder and secrets and I'm not charmed but getting bored, right though to the modern day life of the little girl, all grown up. And then it get better, with her parents retired and the mystery getting solved, the end was good, with just the right amount of closure but leaving some to the imagination.
There is no doubt the the author is extremely talented, it is not easy to take your reader through the emotional wringer and still leave that hope at the end. But for me, this isn't the kind of book I can get invested in.
gunstreet's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 stars. A bit of a slow burn, and definitely not a light read, but this is a beautiful novel, richly vivid and poignant. And the ending, wow. It's almost impossible to describe without spoiling it... so just go read it.
content warnings for: child abuse, rape/pedophilia, racist/ableist/homophobic language as indicative of the time period.
content warnings for: child abuse, rape/pedophilia, racist/ableist/homophobic language as indicative of the time period.
smilesgiggle's review against another edition
4.0
Lyrical eulogy to a lost childhood.
A young girl is sexually abused by her teacher. A father hides a war criminal. A classmate is murdered.
Recovery, strength and courage.
A young girl is sexually abused by her teacher. A father hides a war criminal. A classmate is murdered.
Recovery, strength and courage.
madisonboboltz's review against another edition
5.0
This is one of the best books I've ever read. I'm seriously sitting here wondering how Ann-Marie MacDonald isn't one of the most famous authors of our time. I will definitely be reading Fall on Your Knees in the near future.
It's absolutely heart-wrenching, and you will need to put it down a few times to calm yourself, but it is brilliantly written. The characters are so well developed and the setting is so vivid. I loved every moment in these 810 pages.
It's absolutely heart-wrenching, and you will need to put it down a few times to calm yourself, but it is brilliantly written. The characters are so well developed and the setting is so vivid. I loved every moment in these 810 pages.