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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
I'm not the most avid fan of New Adult books, so my reading experience in the field is rather limited. For what it's worth, I liked this book just fine, even if it didn't overwhelm me.
PLOT: 2.5 / 5
The story in this novel is pretty simple: Corey Callahan begins her first year of college, threethousand miles away from home. She falls in love with a classmate, Adam Hartley, as they bond over their shared disabilities. Hartley is temporarily unable to continue his hockey career due to a broken leg, and Corey herself has lost a significant amount of control over her legs from a spinal cord injury.
I thought it was fairly interesting to read about a girl who's still getting used to being in a wheelchair starting college. There were a lot of struggles, such as inaccessibility to certain buildings or being overlooked and pitied by others, that played a central part in the story and were well tackled.
However, I felt like not enough happened considering the length of the book. The novel follows Corey almost through her entire Freshman year of college, and taking into consideration the amount of time that passed, relatively little happened. I also would have preferred some higher stakes, because the plot in itself was pretty mellow.
CHARACTERS: 4 / 5
I enjoyed the vast majority of the characters that [a:Sarina Bowen|7737308|Sarina Bowen|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1402702789p2/7737308.jpg] created here. Often, characters in New Adult stories end up being toxic, two-dimensional, and unlikable; this was absolutely not the case here.
COREY CALLAHAN is a solid main character. She had a lot of insecurities, but she never whined in an annoying way and a major part of her journey was overcoming her self-doubt and self-pity. I enjoyed her character development and thought she was believable, real, and likable.
ADAM HARTLEY was my favorite character in the book; I loved his wit, his humor, and his mischieviousness. He was fun to read about and, unlike many other New Adult love interests, not a controlling, toxic asshole. On the contrary, he was caring and charming and the problems he dealt with added depth to his character.
The side characters were also likable and well-crafted. Many of them had their own hobbies and interests, giving them a real personality and an agenda other than supporting the main character. What I thought was especially impressive was how Bowen allowed even minor characters, such as Hartley's dad or Corey's waterpolo team captain DANIEL, to grow.
In my book, the characters were the most enjoyable part of the whole novel.
WORLD BUILDING: 3 / 5
The world building wasn't extraordinarily intricate, nor the focal point of the story. It was absolutely sufficient the way it was.
WRITING STYLE: 3 / 5
The style was good and made the novel easy to read. Sometimes, the pacing was a bit slow for my liking, and the descriptions were nothing new, really, recycling a bunch of phrases that have been popular in the romance genre for a long time now, but overall, it was pretty decent.
My main critique would be the use of dual POV - I did not see any need nor use for it, really. There was only one part of the book, towards the end, where I felt reading about things from Hartley's perspective was necessary and useful. During the rest of the book, it worked against the plot, for example when it spoils Hartley's thoughts and feelings regarding his relationship with Corey.
I think the book would have been better off if it had been told solely from Corey's perspective, or by an omniscient narrator even.
Regarding the style itself, that's all I'll say about it; since I read the German translation, I don't feel like the right person to judge phrasing or word choices.
DIVERSITY: 2 / 5
Here's where it gets tricky.
At first glance, [b:The Year We Fell Down|46019039|The Year We Fell Down (The Ivy Years, #1)|Sarina Bowen|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1558887608l/46019039._SY75_.jpg|40239717] seems diverse, especially for a New Adult novel. If you look a little closer, though, its shortages become awfully obvious.
Corey Callahan, the main character, is using a wheelchair most of the time and mobility aids for walking a fair amount, too. This was the first story I've ever read that not only featured a character in a wheelchair, but made them a main character. I am not disabled, nor do I know anyone with mobility disabilities, so it's not my place to judge how good, or bad, or accurate, Sarina Bowen's representation was in these regards. I'll leave that to those whose lived experiences allow them to accurately assess Bowen's rep.
I did notice a couple of things that bugged me, though. I'll name them here, but with a disclaimer: these were things that I felt might not be the best representation, measured by my limited experience with disability rep. These are assumptions, and if I'm wrong, please let me know. I am not an authority on disability issues or disability representation in the media; these were simply some things that came up that made me question how good Bowen's rep really is.
For once, there's the fact that Corey repeatedly states that she, as a girl in a wheelchair, cannot possibly be perceived as pretty, sexy, or desirable. She keeps pointing out that she's ugly because she's in a wheelchair, and this point of view does not change a lot.
Next is a offhand comment Corey makes in line with her thoughts of not being perceived as beautiful since her accident: she explicitly states she misses men staring at her boobs. Somehow, I don't think "I'd rather be sexually objectified than disabled" is the rep wheelchair users are looking for.
There's also the use of slurs - cr*pple being one of them, ps*cho another. Both are used multiple times in the story, the first one accompanied by comments from Corey how she's "not a whole person" because of her disability.
What's more is the complete and utter absence of people of color and LGBTQ characters. Neither are so much as mentioned in the story.
Lastly, it's obvious that Sarina Bowen tried to avoid some common sexist traps, yet fell into them anyway. For example the use of Puck Bunny is a misogynistic, slut-shaming concept once again shaming women unnecessarily. How come it's only when women are fans of a sport, or of players of such a sport, they're ridiculed and there's an entire term coined for them? Why aren't women allowed to like whatever they want to like in peace, and to date whoever they want to date in peace?
Furthermore, Hartley uses his girlfriend, Stacia, to push his self-worth and ego. Yet that's somehow not even half as despicable as girls who crush on hockey players.
Also, we have to address the cheating here. Both Stacia and Hartley cheat on one another, but instead of having an open relationship or just communicating like adults, they bend over backwards to justify cheating. I know that their relationship is supposed to be portrayed as toxic, but I still think Bowen should have addressed that cheating is a shitty, horrible thing to do.
My last point would be the so-called bro code which is repeatedly brought up, if not in name. There's a scene where Damien clearly scolds Hartley for dating his younger sister. I'm sick of men treating women like garbage unless that women is the daughter or sister. I'm sick of this entire culture built around "brother doesn't want his friend to date his sister because friend has a shitty history of treating women like crap" - maybe get better friends, then.
I'll rest my case for now. All I can say is that I'm really disappointed that Sarina Bowen did not do better than this when I know she can.
OVERALL RATING: 3 / 5
(Goodreads, where are my half-star ratings?! I've never needed them so badly.)
Overall, this book was right in the middle for me - it was good to read, I liked the characters, did not like the plot, am uneasy with the diversity. In general, it wasn't bad, but I'll probably have forgotten most of it a year from now.
That being said, if you want a cute, relatively non-toxic New Adult romance that also centers the struggles of starting college, particularly as a disabled student, this book will be right for you. The relationship is slow-burn and refreshingly romantic, the characters are complex and likable, and the general feel of the story is just cozy and calm.
PLOT: 2.5 / 5
The story in this novel is pretty simple: Corey Callahan begins her first year of college, threethousand miles away from home. She falls in love with a classmate, Adam Hartley, as they bond over their shared disabilities. Hartley is temporarily unable to continue his hockey career due to a broken leg, and Corey herself has lost a significant amount of control over her legs from a spinal cord injury.
I thought it was fairly interesting to read about a girl who's still getting used to being in a wheelchair starting college. There were a lot of struggles, such as inaccessibility to certain buildings or being overlooked and pitied by others, that played a central part in the story and were well tackled.
However, I felt like not enough happened considering the length of the book. The novel follows Corey almost through her entire Freshman year of college, and taking into consideration the amount of time that passed, relatively little happened. I also would have preferred some higher stakes, because the plot in itself was pretty mellow.
CHARACTERS: 4 / 5
I enjoyed the vast majority of the characters that [a:Sarina Bowen|7737308|Sarina Bowen|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1402702789p2/7737308.jpg] created here. Often, characters in New Adult stories end up being toxic, two-dimensional, and unlikable; this was absolutely not the case here.
COREY CALLAHAN is a solid main character. She had a lot of insecurities, but she never whined in an annoying way and a major part of her journey was overcoming her self-doubt and self-pity. I enjoyed her character development and thought she was believable, real, and likable.
ADAM HARTLEY was my favorite character in the book; I loved his wit, his humor, and his mischieviousness. He was fun to read about and, unlike many other New Adult love interests, not a controlling, toxic asshole. On the contrary, he was caring and charming and the problems he dealt with added depth to his character.
The side characters were also likable and well-crafted. Many of them had their own hobbies and interests, giving them a real personality and an agenda other than supporting the main character. What I thought was especially impressive was how Bowen allowed even minor characters, such as Hartley's dad or Corey's waterpolo team captain DANIEL, to grow.
In my book, the characters were the most enjoyable part of the whole novel.
WORLD BUILDING: 3 / 5
The world building wasn't extraordinarily intricate, nor the focal point of the story. It was absolutely sufficient the way it was.
WRITING STYLE: 3 / 5
The style was good and made the novel easy to read. Sometimes, the pacing was a bit slow for my liking, and the descriptions were nothing new, really, recycling a bunch of phrases that have been popular in the romance genre for a long time now, but overall, it was pretty decent.
My main critique would be the use of dual POV - I did not see any need nor use for it, really. There was only one part of the book, towards the end, where I felt reading about things from Hartley's perspective was necessary and useful. During the rest of the book, it worked against the plot, for example when it spoils Hartley's thoughts and feelings regarding his relationship with Corey.
I think the book would have been better off if it had been told solely from Corey's perspective, or by an omniscient narrator even.
Regarding the style itself, that's all I'll say about it; since I read the German translation, I don't feel like the right person to judge phrasing or word choices.
DIVERSITY: 2 / 5
Here's where it gets tricky.
At first glance, [b:The Year We Fell Down|46019039|The Year We Fell Down (The Ivy Years, #1)|Sarina Bowen|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1558887608l/46019039._SY75_.jpg|40239717] seems diverse, especially for a New Adult novel. If you look a little closer, though, its shortages become awfully obvious.
Corey Callahan, the main character, is using a wheelchair most of the time and mobility aids for walking a fair amount, too. This was the first story I've ever read that not only featured a character in a wheelchair, but made them a main character. I am not disabled, nor do I know anyone with mobility disabilities, so it's not my place to judge how good, or bad, or accurate, Sarina Bowen's representation was in these regards. I'll leave that to those whose lived experiences allow them to accurately assess Bowen's rep.
I did notice a couple of things that bugged me, though. I'll name them here, but with a disclaimer: these were things that I felt might not be the best representation, measured by my limited experience with disability rep. These are assumptions, and if I'm wrong, please let me know. I am not an authority on disability issues or disability representation in the media; these were simply some things that came up that made me question how good Bowen's rep really is.
For once, there's the fact that Corey repeatedly states that she, as a girl in a wheelchair, cannot possibly be perceived as pretty, sexy, or desirable. She keeps pointing out that she's ugly because she's in a wheelchair, and this point of view does not change a lot.
Next is a offhand comment Corey makes in line with her thoughts of not being perceived as beautiful since her accident: she explicitly states she misses men staring at her boobs. Somehow, I don't think "I'd rather be sexually objectified than disabled" is the rep wheelchair users are looking for.
There's also the use of slurs - cr*pple being one of them, ps*cho another. Both are used multiple times in the story, the first one accompanied by comments from Corey how she's "not a whole person" because of her disability.
What's more is the complete and utter absence of people of color and LGBTQ characters. Neither are so much as mentioned in the story.
Lastly, it's obvious that Sarina Bowen tried to avoid some common sexist traps, yet fell into them anyway. For example the use of Puck Bunny is a misogynistic, slut-shaming concept once again shaming women unnecessarily. How come it's only when women are fans of a sport, or of players of such a sport, they're ridiculed and there's an entire term coined for them? Why aren't women allowed to like whatever they want to like in peace, and to date whoever they want to date in peace?
Furthermore, Hartley uses his girlfriend, Stacia, to push his self-worth and ego. Yet that's somehow not even half as despicable as girls who crush on hockey players.
Also, we have to address the cheating here. Both Stacia and Hartley cheat on one another, but instead of having an open relationship or just communicating like adults, they bend over backwards to justify cheating. I know that their relationship is supposed to be portrayed as toxic, but I still think Bowen should have addressed that cheating is a shitty, horrible thing to do.
My last point would be the so-called bro code which is repeatedly brought up, if not in name. There's a scene where Damien clearly scolds Hartley for dating his younger sister. I'm sick of men treating women like garbage unless that women is the daughter or sister. I'm sick of this entire culture built around "brother doesn't want his friend to date his sister because friend has a shitty history of treating women like crap" - maybe get better friends, then.
I'll rest my case for now. All I can say is that I'm really disappointed that Sarina Bowen did not do better than this when I know she can.
OVERALL RATING: 3 / 5
(Goodreads, where are my half-star ratings?! I've never needed them so badly.)
Overall, this book was right in the middle for me - it was good to read, I liked the characters, did not like the plot, am uneasy with the diversity. In general, it wasn't bad, but I'll probably have forgotten most of it a year from now.
That being said, if you want a cute, relatively non-toxic New Adult romance that also centers the struggles of starting college, particularly as a disabled student, this book will be right for you. The relationship is slow-burn and refreshingly romantic, the characters are complex and likable, and the general feel of the story is just cozy and calm.
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
★ 2.5/5 ★
Moi qui avais beaucoup aimé Hartley dans le tome 3 de la série (il est le capitaine de l'équipe de hockey des héros), j'avais bien envie de lire son tome à lui. Sur le papier, c'est prometteur : une histoire de 'friends to lovers', des héros qui ont des choses difficiles à gérer, la découverte d'un campus ... Bref, ça semblait vraiment sympa ... Sauf qu'au final je me suis ennuyée à mourir !
Je pense que j'ai continué par automatisme, plutôt que par envie. Bien qu'on ait une alternance des POV, à aucun moment on a un éclairage sur les réels sentiments de Hartley, y compris dans des scènes cruciales, et/ou dans les moments qui suivent. Ce que j'aime dans les histoires de 'friends to lover', ce sont ces petits moments suspendus, ces moments où l'on voit les héros échanger un regard, un effleurement ... Mais là, rien, nada, zilch ! La pauvre Corey est là, transie d'amour (quoique ... l'auteur n'insiste pas non plus des masses là-dessus).
Hartley est au final un mec assez lâche, il entretient une relation bizarre avec la version universitaire de la reine de la promo, il n'est rien d'autre que son 'toy boy', s'en accommode pour des raisons qu'on découvrira plus tard. Il fait parfois certaines choses qui le font VRAIMENT passer pour un goujat de la pire espèce. Il attend DES MOIS avant de se décider à dire à Corey qu'il veut être avec elle, et ce n'est que quand elle prend ses distances avec lui qu'il se botte les fesses et passe à la vitesse supérieure.
Heureusement Corey compense la faiblesse de Hartley. Suite à un accident, elle est plus ou moins paralysée des membres inférieurs. Elle doit donc faire le deuil de la jeune fille très sportive qu'elle était avant, elle doit se battre au quotidien pour se déplacer, pour être indépendante, faire face aux regards pleins de commisération des autres ...
Sinon, on retrouve dans ce NA tous les classiques du genre : la vie au quotidien sur le campus, le traditionnel repas de Thanksgiving, les activités extrascolaires exotiques pour les frenchies que nous sommes, les soirées bières ...
Déception donc, j'attendais vraiment autre chose de ce personnage masculin. :/
Moi qui avais beaucoup aimé Hartley dans le tome 3 de la série (il est le capitaine de l'équipe de hockey des héros), j'avais bien envie de lire son tome à lui. Sur le papier, c'est prometteur : une histoire de 'friends to lovers', des héros qui ont des choses difficiles à gérer, la découverte d'un campus ... Bref, ça semblait vraiment sympa ... Sauf qu'au final je me suis ennuyée à mourir !
Je pense que j'ai continué par automatisme, plutôt que par envie. Bien qu'on ait une alternance des POV, à aucun moment on a un éclairage sur les réels sentiments de Hartley, y compris dans des scènes cruciales, et/ou dans les moments qui suivent. Ce que j'aime dans les histoires de 'friends to lover', ce sont ces petits moments suspendus, ces moments où l'on voit les héros échanger un regard, un effleurement ... Mais là, rien, nada, zilch ! La pauvre Corey est là, transie d'amour (quoique ... l'auteur n'insiste pas non plus des masses là-dessus).
Hartley est au final un mec assez lâche, il entretient une relation bizarre avec la version universitaire de la reine de la promo, il n'est rien d'autre que son 'toy boy', s'en accommode pour des raisons qu'on découvrira plus tard. Il fait parfois certaines choses qui le font VRAIMENT passer pour un goujat de la pire espèce
Spoiler
genre, après avoir passé une soirée d'anniversaire olé olé avec Corey, il se jette dans les bras de sa blonde sans sourciller, et devant Corey en plus ! Et puis, quand il largue enfin Stacia, il file droit vers Corey et hop ! ils couchent ensemble moins de 24h après, sans qu'il se soit excusé pour son comportement débile.Heureusement Corey compense la faiblesse de Hartley. Suite à un accident, elle est plus ou moins paralysée des membres inférieurs. Elle doit donc faire le deuil de la jeune fille très sportive qu'elle était avant, elle doit se battre au quotidien pour se déplacer, pour être indépendante, faire face aux regards pleins de commisération des autres ...
Sinon, on retrouve dans ce NA tous les classiques du genre : la vie au quotidien sur le campus, le traditionnel repas de Thanksgiving, les activités extrascolaires exotiques pour les frenchies que nous sommes, les soirées bières ...
Déception donc, j'attendais vraiment autre chose de ce personnage masculin. :/
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
3.5/5 stars
Sports romance is like junk food to me. Whenever I feel a reading slump coming I resort to reading contemporary romance. And out of all the sub-genres, sports romance is my favorite. This book was an enjoyable friends to lovers read (there was no insta-love thank the gods). It's by no means a perfect book (there were times it was very cliche) but it was short and sweet.
Our main character Corey Callahan was a hockey player until an accident on the ice that put her in a wheelchair. Eight months later she starts college where she rooms next door to an injured (minor injury) junior hockey player Adam Hartley. Adam is very sweet. Their injuries bring them closer together and he and Corey hit it off and become very close friends. Corey starts eventually developing feelings for him but Adam is taken.
I enjoyed reading about Corey's character development. She struggles a lot with her injuries at first but as the book progresses you can see strength and acceptance slowly growing in her. The scene in her first match playing water polo (I think it was) was probably my favorite.
Through Corey the author brings up an important discussion about public accessibility (Corey struggled getting to places on College grounds because of the impossible number of stairs in the buildings). The sex scenes in this book were good, there was a lot of consent and communication between the two characters.
Now there was cheating in this book. Adam's girlfriend spends the first semester in Europe with some guy (Adam knew), and even after she returns. And at some point Adam cheats on her as well with Corey.
Sports romance is like junk food to me. Whenever I feel a reading slump coming I resort to reading contemporary romance. And out of all the sub-genres, sports romance is my favorite. This book was an enjoyable friends to lovers read (there was no insta-love thank the gods). It's by no means a perfect book (there were times it was very cliche) but it was short and sweet.
Our main character Corey Callahan was a hockey player until an accident on the ice that put her in a wheelchair. Eight months later she starts college where she rooms next door to an injured (minor injury) junior hockey player Adam Hartley. Adam is very sweet. Their injuries bring them closer together and he and Corey hit it off and become very close friends. Corey starts eventually developing feelings for him but Adam is taken.
I enjoyed reading about Corey's character development. She struggles a lot with her injuries at first but as the book progresses you can see strength and acceptance slowly growing in her. The scene in her first match playing water polo (I think it was) was probably my favorite.
Through Corey the author brings up an important discussion about public accessibility (Corey struggled getting to places on College grounds because of the impossible number of stairs in the buildings). The sex scenes in this book were good, there was a lot of consent and communication between the two characters.
Now there was cheating in this book. Adam's girlfriend spends the first semester in Europe with some guy (Adam knew), and even after she returns. And at some point Adam cheats on her as well with Corey.
emotional
relaxing
medium-paced
really cute (and pretty light) read. i enjoyed it, and plan to read the other books in the series.
CW: Book contains & review mentions cheating, disability, and ableist slurs.
This is one of those books that I enjoy, but it contains some very problematic issues. I think the best part of this book is Corey truly coming to terms with her disability emotionally while navigating life on her own which is overwhelming and new for most Freshman in college. I like the way Bowen handled exposing the many ways physically disabled people encounter thoughtlessness of institutions, architectural design, and individual people when it comes to accessibility.
Readers should be aware that Corey uses, and Hartley adopts, versions of the term “gimp” many times. While some people with a disability self-identify with this term, as is their right, it’s not always comfortable for everyone to listen to.
Corey’s internal “hope fairy” is so much like Anastasia’s “inner goddess” (from Fifty Shades of Grey) it’s distracting.
However, there’s some big things that bother me about this story and I feel the HFN ending shouldn’t erase/negate. There’s no way to talk about them without spoilers, so
This is one of those books that I enjoy, but it contains some very problematic issues. I think the best part of this book is Corey truly coming to terms with her disability emotionally while navigating life on her own which is overwhelming and new for most Freshman in college. I like the way Bowen handled exposing the many ways physically disabled people encounter thoughtlessness of institutions, architectural design, and individual people when it comes to accessibility.
Readers should be aware that Corey uses, and Hartley adopts, versions of the term “gimp” many times. While some people with a disability self-identify with this term, as is their right, it’s not always comfortable for everyone to listen to.
Corey’s internal “hope fairy” is so much like Anastasia’s “inner goddess” (from Fifty Shades of Grey) it’s distracting.
However, there’s some big things that bother me about this story and I feel the HFN ending shouldn’t erase/negate. There’s no way to talk about them without spoilers, so