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A review by cornmaven
Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies by Lindsay Ribar
4.0
At first this appears to be a light, high school romance kind of novel, but quickly you realize it is anything but. It is actually a paranormal tale about a family with an interesting power to “reach” into someone and steal something about them – calmness, sobriety, desire, even a physical characteristic like a mole.
Aspen Quick’s family is tasked with keeping the Cliff from collapsing on their small town through a ritual involving objects donated by townspeople and tourists. They get downright panicky if someone in the ritual triad does do their part. But as you move through the story, you find there are layers to it – secrets between family members, between friends, secrets that turn into falsehoods spoken as deflection from the truth.
Aspen makes his way through his teenage life focused on typical teenage things, never questioning how he uses his power. He's kind of flippant about it, even when he sees the effect of his theft on the people around him. But he finds that while good intentions may dictate their use, things go awry and the good intention itself becomes a moral dilemma that must be examined.
Leah is Aspen’s strong sounding board. She doesn’t abide pity, and is quick to point out twisted thinking. At first I didn’t like her, but the more I got into the story, the more I realized she was one of the only truly grounded characters.
The ending, where truth wins out, is very well done.
Note: This review will appear on my library's social media book review channel in the near future.
Aspen Quick’s family is tasked with keeping the Cliff from collapsing on their small town through a ritual involving objects donated by townspeople and tourists. They get downright panicky if someone in the ritual triad does do their part. But as you move through the story, you find there are layers to it – secrets between family members, between friends, secrets that turn into falsehoods spoken as deflection from the truth.
Aspen makes his way through his teenage life focused on typical teenage things, never questioning how he uses his power. He's kind of flippant about it, even when he sees the effect of his theft on the people around him. But he finds that while good intentions may dictate their use, things go awry and the good intention itself becomes a moral dilemma that must be examined.
Leah is Aspen’s strong sounding board. She doesn’t abide pity, and is quick to point out twisted thinking. At first I didn’t like her, but the more I got into the story, the more I realized she was one of the only truly grounded characters.
The ending, where truth wins out, is very well done.
Note: This review will appear on my library's social media book review channel in the near future.