The Girl Who Fell by Shannon M. Parker
Paperback ARC, 356 pages
Publication Date: March 1st, 2016
Publisher: Simon & Schuster/Simon Pulse
Pre-Order: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository | Kobo |
His obsession.
Her fall.
High school senior Zephyr Doyle is swept off her feet—and into an intense relationship—by the new boy in school.
Zephyr is focused. Focused on leading her team to the field hockey state championship and leaving her small town for her dream school, Boston College.
But love has a way of changing things.
Enter the new boy in school: the hockey team’s starting goaltender, Alec. He’s cute, charming, and most important, Alec doesn’t judge Zephyr. He understands her fears and insecurities—he even shares them. Soon, their relationship becomes something bigger than Zephyr, something she can’t control, something she doesn’t want to control.
Zephyr swears it must be love. Because love is powerful, and overwhelming, and…terrifying?
But love shouldn’t make you abandon your dreams, or push your friends away. And love shouldn’t make you feel guilty—or worse, ashamed.
So when Zephyr finally begins to see Alec for who he really is, she knows it’s time to take back control of her life.
If she waits any longer, it may be too late.
The most crucial thing that I need to talk about when it comes to The Girl Who Fell is the astonishing writing. Shannon M. Parker's writing style instantly grabs the reader and throws them onto the emotional roller-coaster that is this book, which I read in one sitting and only put down momentarily to literally catch my breath. Right off the bat, the prologue warns the reader to beware of Alec, but amazingly, as you watch his relationship with Zephyr develop and grow, your emotions fight against your instincts until you're as tangled up and confused as Zephyr is. This book is so incredibly important for everyone to read because it's truly eye-opening. It forces you to feel what it's like to be in an abusive relationship, and it realistically depicts how this changes your life (and even your sense of self) entirely.
1) The writing is entrancing and clever. It was the writing that instantly pulled me in and made it impossible to put the book down. I was instantaneously wrapped up in the story! Shannon's ability to engage the reader with her character's voice and prose is incredible. This book definitely emotionally compromised me, and it was awesome!
2) Shannon accurately (and respectfully!) captures exactly what it's like to be in an abusive relationship. She does this without any unnecessary drama, but with pure and raw emotion. The Girl Who Fell illustrates how this type of manipulative and unhealthy relationship affects not only the people involved in the relationship, but also the people around them. I truly felt what it's like to be in Zephyr's position, and I also saw Zephyr and Alec's relationship through the eyes of the side characters. I'm so impressed with how well this was executed.
3) The characters are very well-developed and they all have distinctive voices. You never question who is talking and you're given just the right amount of information about each individual. Also, each character has flaws! There is not a single character who is simply perfect and can do no wrong—which added to the genuineness of this book.
4) I enjoyed the pacing of this story. It's fast and thrilling, and gets your heart pounding. I swear that my hands were shaking as I kept turning and turning the pages. As the book went on, I felt desperate to read faster, to devour the book, and to find out how it all turns out.
5) Despite the dark plot-line, there is still an element of hope for the future. This is so important considering the story's subject matter because it gives the message that it's never too late to turn your life around.
1) I don't want to spoil anything, but there was one (ice hockey related) plot-device that bothered me. As a long-time ice hockey fan and avid ice skater, it was something I couldn't overlook. However, for a person who isn't a hockey fan and/or doesn't know much about hockey equipment, it's probably not something that would even be noticeable.
All of my favorite quotes are in the lovely graphics throughout this post. Thank you, Stefani from Caught Read Handed for making these beautiful graphics for this tour <3
Shannon Parker lives on the Atlantic coast with a house full of boys. She’s traveled to over three dozen countries and has a few dozen more to go. She works in education and can usually be found rescuing dogs, chickens, old houses and wooden boats. Shannon has a weakness for chocolate chip cookies and ridiculous laughter—ideally, at the same time. The Girl Who Fell is her first novel. Find her at www.shannonmparker.com
Shannon: Hi Brittany! Thank you so much for organizing this phenomenal blog tour!! You are an absolutely amazing force and I couldn’t be happier (or more grateful) to know you!
Brittany: *blushes* You are too kind! I'll just jump right into the questions because I want all the spotlight to be on you and your amazing book! Now then, what is your favorite YA novel, and why?
Shannon: Right out of the gate with a softball-easy question, huh? Ha!
Okay, I don’t have favorites, but I do have my list of go-to YA books. Jandy Nelson’s The Sky Is Everywhere is one. The First Time She Drowned by fellow debut author Kerry Kletter is another. And Underwater by Marisa Reichardt. Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon. These authors all use language in surprising ways. Their writing is lyrical and poetic and immersive and they have developed some of the strongest characters in the genre.
Brittany: Do you have any pet peeves, and if so, what are they?
Shannon: Ha! I hate condiments. Does that count? And cruelty. I hate that too.
Brittany: Do you have any particular habits or rituals when you’re writing? (Ex: always having chocolate on hand)
Shannon: Yep, always chocolate. And my Ugg slippers. If my feet aren’t comfy cozy, my fingertips refuse to type. :)
Brittany: What is one thing that would make you stop reading a book?
Shannon: Sensitive subjects that aren’t handled with sensitivity.
Brittany: What was the most difficult thing about writing a book for you?
Shannon: Well, self-doubt is pretty crippling. There’s a lot of that. When I do manage to push that aside, the writing comes fairly easily. Still, I think it will always be hard for me to set my work free in the wild. It is all at once a beautiful and frightening endeavor.
Thank you, Brittany. For everything you do for The Girl Who Fell. For everything you do for authors. And readers. You are one of a kind, girl!
Brittany: I'm so flattered by your lovely words! Thank you for stopping by! It's been such a pleasure <3
Tuesday, Jan 12: Blessie @ Mischievous Reads Dreamcast
Wednesday, Jan 13: Emily @ Emily Reads Everything Review
Thursday, Jan 14: Brittany @ Brittany's Book Rambles Tour Group's Favorite Quotes
Friday, Jan 15: Tika @ Fangirl Confessions Movie Playlist
Saturday, Jan 16: Kristen @ My Friends Are Fiction Review
Sunday, Jan 17: Melanie @ One Less Lonely Blog Review + Interview
Monday, Jan 18: Cyra @ Rattle The Pages Review/5 Reasons You Need to Read TGWF
Tuesday, Jan 19: Jocelyn @ Novels and Necklaces Interview
Wednesday, Jan 20: Cat @ Let the Pages Reign Review
Thursday, Jan 21: Aentee @ Read at Midnight/5 Ways TGWF Destroyed YA Tropes/iPhone wallpapers
Friday, Jan 22: Brittany @ Brittany's Book Rambles Review + Interview
Saturday, Jan 23: Joey @ Another Afterthought Review
Sunday, Jan 24: Stefani @ Caught Read Handed Review + Interview
Monday, Jan 25: Hanna @ Two Sister's Blogging Review + Promo
Tuesday, Jan 26: Michella @ YA Books Girl Review + Playlist
Wednesday, Jan 27: Michelle @ Dreaming of Alba Review
Thursday, Jan 28: Jamie @ Books and Ladders Review + Interview
Friday, Jan 29: Eileen @ BookCatPin Review
Saturday, Jan 30: Brian @ Brian's Book Thoughts Review
Sunday, Jan 31: Sarah @ The YA Book Traveler Review + Interview
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LOVE this review! I'm totally preordering this too. You're going to make my wallet cry but I'm happy lol
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome! It'll be worth making your wallet cry, I promise!
DeleteThis book is my TBR list for the next two weeks! I loved your review, and I cannot wait to read it!
ReplyDeleteYay! I'm glad you like the review and I hope you love the book!
DeleteI haven't heard of this book, but wow, your review makes it sound powerful. I like that the author warns you in the prologue, but then the writing just takes you in anyway, ignoring the warning.
ReplyDeleteThe way that it's written is exactly how an abusive relationship works. You know all of the warning signs but you stay with it anyway. Such an important read for everyone =)
DeleteThe dimension in which I accept and feel you everywhere in all kinds of situations, how to get my ex-girlfriend back
ReplyDelete