We All Fall Down
We All Fall Down
By: Natalie D. Richards
Published by Sourcebooks Fire October 1st, 2017
Genre: YA fiction, Psychological fiction, Romance novel, Mystery, Thriller
Theo has feelings for his best friend, Paige. He has finally worked up the nerve to tell her at the party under the old bridge—the bridge with a history colored by love and death. What he does not know is Paige once had feelings for him, but has finally moved on. She is now ready and willing to act on her feelings for another.
A fight breaks out and Paige takes a mis-aimed blow to the face from Theo.
Emotional recovery from that tainted night does not seem possible. Theo and Paige both come to accept they are not suitable friends. Yet they find themselves drawn back to the bridge in the most mysterious ways, experiencing the memory of that dreadful night. They need to find a way to make things right with each other in order to stop whatever it is haunting them.
If you are in search of a good book that does not force you to commit to a series of novels to follow, We All Fall Down is a great choice.
In the story, chapters are marked by the switching of perspectives between Theo and Paige. It is not always simple jumping views, especially if it is between male and female. Richards, however, did fantastic differentiating the voices of the characters. I was immediately suckered into their complicated relationship and found my heart aching for them (which rarely happens to me while reading books these days).
At first, it made little sense to me how an accidental punch could be so traumatic. Why couldn’t they just move on with their lives? Sure, it must’ve been uncomfortable having punched or been punched by your best friend, but there really are worse affairs in the world.
But that’s just it! What we experience day by day: that is our world and it can be easily impacted by others. Throw anxiety, ODD, OCD and what have you into the mix and it becomes harder to cope with incidents such as that. And though the haunting may not be a real thing, the psychological issues are.
Richards’ writing easily connected me to the story. This is extremely important when I read any story. I need to feel like I have something in common with the characters; something that not just anyone can say they can relate to. In this novel, I found that.
The plot line flowed smoothly. The characters were built to the point where I could love them as friends. The writing was excellent and the ending (whether it was happy or realistic—you’ll just have to read it to find out) fit flawlessly.
This is no doubt, a book I could read a few more times.
