Title: Fallen
Author: Lauren Kate
ISBN: 9780385738934
Pages: 464
Release Date: December 8, 2009
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Genre: Teen, Fantasy
Source: Publisher
Rating: 3 out of 5
Summary:
Luce has a rare chance for a teenager: she gets to start over, at an all new school. Unfortunately for her, the school is Sword & Cross, a boarding school in Georgia that also happens to be a reform school. Luce’s only comfort is that the kids at Sword & Cross don’t know what she did to get there. But on her very first day, she meets Daniel Grigori, a beautiful and remote boy. She swears she’s met him before, yet she knows she would remember if she had. What Luce doesn’t realize is that she is about to be drawn into a conflict that has nothing, yet everything, to do with her.
Review:
Fallen sounded very interesting from the synopsis. I thought it would be another enjoyable teen romance, with an element of the supernatural. Additionally, the reform school setting lent a certain uniqueness to the plot. The distinctive setting, combined with the lure of a dark mystery sounded like the makings of a great novel.
Unfortunately, Fallen didn’t quite cut it for me. The nature of Daniel and his secret was very interesting, but it wasn’t well explored. There was a mythology there that the author could have made incredibly compelling, yet it was mostly ignored except where it was relevant to Luce discovering Daniel’s secret. There was too much emphasis on the teen romance, too little on the history behind the conflict.
Additionally, Fallen was a little too close to Twilight for my tastes. Girl sees boy who is absolutely beautiful, but he’s incredibly rude to her. People tell her to stay away from boy, but they seem to have a connection. Boy saves girl from death, which brings them closer together. I’m not saying that Kate ripped Twilight off or anything like that – it’s just that there seems to be a formula emerging for these teen paranormal books and I’m not a fan of formulas.
Fallen has a lot of potential, and perhaps more about the mythology and history will be explored in the second book in the series. This book was a bit of a disappointment for me, though I really wanted to like it. Hopefully the next one will stay away from the teen paranormal romance clichés and stand on its own two feet.
19 comments:
You're right, this book had a lot of potential. It started out very slow for me but by the end I felt better about it, mostly because a few things were finally explained.
I reviewed this one yesterday. I think it will pick up in the next book.
It is being marketed to complete with Twilight. I haven't read it but the cover caught my eye. Still haven't decided if I'll read it yet.
I'm reading a lot of the same reviews when it comes to this title.
I'm still interested. Maybe I'll wait until the follow up is out before I begin. I hope it can redeem its self.
I think I'll pass on this one. One Twilight is enough. Thanks for the honest assessment.
--Anna
Diary of an Eccentric
I just got this one yesterday. Don't know if it appeals to me.
The cover is so beautiful, it is too bad that the book didn't live up to it!
Sorry to see this didn't work for you. I've got it coming and now I'm not so sure how I'll like it since you compared it to Twilight.
Don't think this would have been entirely up my alley even without your review! I am not all about teen angst myself.
I think I'll stay away from this one for now - one Twilight was enough! Just have to see if the sequels improve.
I'm interested to read this but I'm not in a hurry to get it after reading a few reviews on it. I love the cover though.
I like the cover but have read to many mixed reviews so I think I'll just skip it
I would have totally bought the book for that cover..But now I guess will wait to see if the next one is good before I start on this one.
I have it here, so I will be reading it, but I'll keep your thoughts in mind.
Sad! I was hoping to read and like this one. Doubt I'll bother now.
So many mixed reviews for this book. I was very eager to read it, now I'm not so sure...
Yeah, doesn't really sound like my cup of tea! While I loved Twilight (I know, I know...), books I've read since then that followed a sort of formula, like Alyson Noel's Evermore, totally failed to grab me as a reader. Sounds like this would fall in that category, too!
I haven't read these comparisons before. I do hope the second book has more personality than this one.
couldve been good if it didnt dawdle too much on unnecessary things...
luce shouldve discovered daniels' secret sooner..
either she was really dumb or the the story so slow...
nice theme though..
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