A review by hey_laura_mc
The View on the Way Down by Rebecca Wait

3.0

I found the subject matter interesting, hence I read this in almost one sitting. However, stylistically, it didn't do it for me. There was too much clumsiness and 'telling' rather than 'showing'. I could see the author's history in scriptwriting quite clearly in the desperate need to make everything crystal clear for the reader. Emma, whose viewpoint is used for much of the novel, wasn't entirely credible - far too childlike for a 14 or 15 year old. ('Jamie and I went for a milkshake....And I had a chocolate brownie' she prattles at one point). I thought the parents, the mum in particular, were thinly sketched. However, having had some experience of suicide within the family, I thought that the description of the shock it instills was accurate ('it was like Kit had shut himself off from me through this one, unbelievable act') and the religious references, although sometimes heavy-handed, were sometimes brilliant ('Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also'). The ending felt fresh and honest, too.

All in all, a 3/5. It was an easy read, and captivating at points when I wasn't frustrated by the style. Or perhaps I'm just jealous that this author hasn't even hit her late twenties yet and has her first novel published? ;)