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A review by amarylissw
Free to Fall by Lauren Miller
4.0
I randomly picked up this book, knowing virtually nothing about it. But I was pleasantly surprised with what I read.
What people generally define as "slower" books never usually bother me -- it's not the lack of action that is a problem for me, but rather lack of forward plot movement. This book, however, had plenty of story and intrigue to keep me interested throughout the beginning pages.
As a protagonist, Rory was decent enough, yet I didn't particularly care or not care for her. To me, it seemed like everyone was saying she was smart and that they envied her and all, and we were shown on a few occasions that she's able to solve word problems easily enough, but I still wasn't convinced. And I didn't feel like she had no defining personality traits -- she was, in essence, simply a type of character created to fit the plot and move it forward. I wished for dimension.
Our love interest . . . well, he's not the worse, but I believe the romance could've been handled better as well. It moved a bit quickly for my tastes and landed somewhere in the realms of boring/dull/maybe-kind-of-sweet-at-times-but-still. North, at his best, could be defined as someone who helps Rory through her worse times and possesses his own secrets to match her own. At the worst, though, it could be said he's no more than a plot device to help the story, and its protagonist, along, and kind of a stalker as well.
We have a few other scattered characters of importance. A friend who has some hidden agendas and makes some bad decisions. A Snape-like teacher (no kidding). A boy who can't get the hint and ultimately, I don't really care about.
All in all, I might say the characters are the weakest part of the story.
The world-building and plot, however, really make up for whatever is lacking in the character department. It's hard to talk about the world and the plot separately because both are intertwined very closely; it's a very complex and intricate story design that Miller clearly put a lot of work into. There's a lot of foreshadowing, a lot of twists, and a lot of betrayals (or not?), reveals, and so on. The plot is really a thrill to read, and I really enjoyed the story.
The world also presents a really interesting idea -- I mean, I would by lying if I said I wouldn't use an app like Lux. Honestly, I'd probably end up like one of those technology-addicted people. So it's a really intriguing idea and world that Miller has created that presents several thoughts.
The writing is good -- a smooth and easy read. I really actually had no problems with it whatsoever, which is kind of rare.
So overall, a really surprising, but very good read!
What people generally define as "slower" books never usually bother me -- it's not the lack of action that is a problem for me, but rather lack of forward plot movement. This book, however, had plenty of story and intrigue to keep me interested throughout the beginning pages.
As a protagonist, Rory was decent enough, yet I didn't particularly care or not care for her. To me, it seemed like everyone was saying she was smart and that they envied her and all, and we were shown on a few occasions that she's able to solve word problems easily enough, but I still wasn't convinced. And I didn't feel like she had no defining personality traits -- she was, in essence, simply a type of character created to fit the plot and move it forward. I wished for dimension.
Our love interest . . . well, he's not the worse, but I believe the romance could've been handled better as well. It moved a bit quickly for my tastes and landed somewhere in the realms of boring/dull/maybe-kind-of-sweet-at-times-but-still. North, at his best, could be defined as someone who helps Rory through her worse times and possesses his own secrets to match her own. At the worst, though, it could be said he's no more than a plot device to help the story, and its protagonist, along, and kind of a stalker as well.
We have a few other scattered characters of importance. A friend who has some hidden agendas and makes some bad decisions. A Snape-like teacher (no kidding). A boy who can't get the hint and ultimately, I don't really care about.
All in all, I might say the characters are the weakest part of the story.
The world-building and plot, however, really make up for whatever is lacking in the character department. It's hard to talk about the world and the plot separately because both are intertwined very closely; it's a very complex and intricate story design that Miller clearly put a lot of work into. There's a lot of foreshadowing, a lot of twists, and a lot of betrayals (or not?), reveals, and so on. The plot is really a thrill to read, and I really enjoyed the story.
The world also presents a really interesting idea -- I mean, I would by lying if I said I wouldn't use an app like Lux. Honestly, I'd probably end up like one of those technology-addicted people. So it's a really intriguing idea and world that Miller has created that presents several thoughts.
The writing is good -- a smooth and easy read. I really actually had no problems with it whatsoever, which is kind of rare.
So overall, a really surprising, but very good read!