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A review by charspages
The Year We Fell Down by Sarina Bowen
3.0
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.