A review by _thelitlibrarian
Falling by T J Newman

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

2.75 stars
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TW: Death, Gun Violence, Suicide, Violence, Self Harm
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I would like to say, that I love the author's backstory and will 100% be watching the movie as it comes out as this would make a great action-packed thriller. As I read, I felt like the book was a little bit of a letdown. I read this within one setting because I often was on the edge of my seat; but, it was a little dull (no major plot twists that I didn't see coming), and felt a little rushed. In a thriller where everyone was in danger, I was let down by the amount of actual death happening. Also, this book relies on heavy stereotypes based on certain characters' backgrounds or races. 

Bill Hoffman is the pilot on Flight 416 en route to JFK with 149 souls on board. Sounds like a pretty routine flight right? What Bill doesn't know is that his wife and children have been kidnapped and are being held, hostage. Once in the air, Bill realizes that he is faced with a choice: he must choose to crash the plane (killing everyone on board), and if he doesn't, his family will die. Bill knows he can't pick either of those choices and begins a long-heroic act of saving all the souls on board.

I had a hard time connecting emotionally with the characters as I felt they weren't fully developed. When you have so many characters (146 passengers on the plane), it can get hard to ensure that your characters remain memorable in the end. Thinking back to this book, those who only really stand out to me are the flight crew; who is tasked with saving everyone outside of the cockpit). The plot lost me near the end when the plane is hurling towards Dodger stadium during the World Series, and the players keep on playing?! 

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