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A review by chrissireads
Ready to Fall by Marcella Pixley
3.0
I was immediately pulled in by the synopsis of this book. I knew it wasn’t going to be a particularly easy book to read because of its subject matter. I thought this book was an incredibly emotional read, but it was so compelling at the same time.
In Ready To Fall we are introduced to Max who is in a bad way after losing his mother to cancer. He’s not doing well at school, distancing himself from everyone and is also utterly convinced that his mother’s tumour has transferred over to his brain. The reader finds themselves completely urging Max to reach out and get some support but he is so damaged by grief. Gradually, Max begins to learn how to move on with his life after starting a new school, making new friends and opening up to one of the teachers. I appreciated how slowly Max stated to heal. It was realistic and made the book more believable.
This is the first time that I’ve read Marcella Pixley’s writing. I very much enjoyed her writing style. I found myself both sympathising with Max and rooting for him to speak out and get help. I feel like she perfectly portrayed Max’s grief and his confusion/worry over ‘his’ tumour. I thought this was a highly original way to demonstrate how Max was dealing with his loss. I also felt for Max’s father, who was clearly struggling as well but trying to hold things together for Max.
The only reason I didn’t rate this book any higher was because I didn’t really buy into the relationship in this story. I felt like it was a little unnecessary! That said, this book is well worth reading for its unique take on grief.
In Ready To Fall we are introduced to Max who is in a bad way after losing his mother to cancer. He’s not doing well at school, distancing himself from everyone and is also utterly convinced that his mother’s tumour has transferred over to his brain. The reader finds themselves completely urging Max to reach out and get some support but he is so damaged by grief. Gradually, Max begins to learn how to move on with his life after starting a new school, making new friends and opening up to one of the teachers. I appreciated how slowly Max stated to heal. It was realistic and made the book more believable.
This is the first time that I’ve read Marcella Pixley’s writing. I very much enjoyed her writing style. I found myself both sympathising with Max and rooting for him to speak out and get help. I feel like she perfectly portrayed Max’s grief and his confusion/worry over ‘his’ tumour. I thought this was a highly original way to demonstrate how Max was dealing with his loss. I also felt for Max’s father, who was clearly struggling as well but trying to hold things together for Max.
The only reason I didn’t rate this book any higher was because I didn’t really buy into the relationship in this story. I felt like it was a little unnecessary! That said, this book is well worth reading for its unique take on grief.