Scan barcode
A review by booksandbark
Even If I Fall by Abigail Johnson
3.0
Thanks to the publisher for the free copy in exchange for my honest review.
This was a really sweet book about family in a time of crisis. I honestly thought that this book would be more murder mystery and less romance and friendship, but I was wrong. For most of this book, nothing really happens. Brooke, the protagonist, is struggling with family issues in the wake of her brother's murder conviction, and has given up on her lifelong dream of becoming a professional ice skater. When her family won't talk to her about everything that's been going on with her brother, she ends up talking to Heath Gaines, the brother of the boy Brooke's brother murdered. While the premise is promising, the execution could have been better done. There were a lot of scenes of Brooke just doing everyday things, but I didn't connect to her or any of the other characters and didn't really care as a result. Brooke, her sister Laura, her father, her mother, and even Heath were cookie-cutter YA characters.
The romance between Heath and Brooke also seemed kind of forced. There was nothing that they really liked about each other, or any interests they shared--I don't even think they would have been friends if the murder hadn't happened. There was a lot of potential for conflict with the Gaineses and the Covington's (Brooke's family) not getting along, and not forgiving each other, but much of the conflict happened in snippets, towards the end, and was easily resolved. Even Brooke's big fight with her best friend, Maggie, ended easily. This book was simultaneously overdramatic and underwhelming, and I debated between giving this book 2.5 and 3 stars. I settled on three stars because it's Christmas and life's short.
Overall, a book with a lot of potential, but which ultimately fell flat.
This was a really sweet book about family in a time of crisis. I honestly thought that this book would be more murder mystery and less romance and friendship, but I was wrong. For most of this book, nothing really happens. Brooke, the protagonist, is struggling with family issues in the wake of her brother's murder conviction, and has given up on her lifelong dream of becoming a professional ice skater. When her family won't talk to her about everything that's been going on with her brother, she ends up talking to Heath Gaines, the brother of the boy Brooke's brother murdered. While the premise is promising, the execution could have been better done. There were a lot of scenes of Brooke just doing everyday things, but I didn't connect to her or any of the other characters and didn't really care as a result. Brooke, her sister Laura, her father, her mother, and even Heath were cookie-cutter YA characters.
The romance between Heath and Brooke also seemed kind of forced. There was nothing that they really liked about each other, or any interests they shared--I don't even think they would have been friends if the murder hadn't happened. There was a lot of potential for conflict with the Gaineses and the Covington's (Brooke's family) not getting along, and not forgiving each other, but much of the conflict happened in snippets, towards the end, and was easily resolved. Even Brooke's big fight with her best friend, Maggie, ended easily. This book was simultaneously overdramatic and underwhelming, and I debated between giving this book 2.5 and 3 stars. I settled on three stars because it's Christmas and life's short.
Overall, a book with a lot of potential, but which ultimately fell flat.