Tuesday 17 September 2013

Book Review: Tumble & Fall by Alexandra Coutts


A novel about the end of days full of surprising beginnings

The world is living in the shadow of oncoming disaster. An asteroid is set to strike the earth in just one week’s time; catastrophe is unavoidable. The question isn’t how to save the world—the question is, what to do with the time that's left? Against this stark backdrop, three island teens wrestle with intertwining stories of love, friendship and family—all with the ultimate stakes at hand. 

“She knows that there might be other endings, bigger endings, soon. The end of everything. The end of time. But it doesn't matter. All that matters now is that things are changing again, just when she'd started to hope that they wouldn't.”

What would you do if you found out the world would end in seven days, if you only had one week to live? Would you reconnect with family? Go on an adventure to find something you thought you lost? Fall in love? This is what Tumble & Fall makes you question and it is the grim reality the characters in these pages have to face.

I went into this book with high expectations and came out the other side not disappointed. If I could sum Tumble & Fall in one word it would be special. It is one of a kind and it really impressed me.

On the surface the storyline is a bleak one, it is about death, destruction and despair but if you scratch just slightly under the surface there is a whole lot more. In its heart this is a book about life and humanity. It tackles subjects like grief, depression, love, family and friendship.

But what really makes this book stand out was that it was about hope, about peace and at the end, when hands trembling I read the last few pages the tears I cried were not tears of sadness they were tears of beautiful joy. I have to congratulate Alexandra Coutts for creating such a well-rounded story, and for having the courage to give this book the ending it deserved.

The writing is nothing short of beautiful, Coutts’ world building is amazing and I got lost in the pages. There were some amazing and very poignant moments that were written very well. It is a restrained book not bursting with drama and angst yet still manages to be very touching.

The characters were just as impressive. Sienna, Zan and Caden all have different journeys to take and demons to overcome. I liked all three of them equally and nervously followed them through the week hoping that they each found what they were looking for.



Tumble & Fall is a beautiful book. I found it touching and in parts mesmerizing.


4 stars


Published September 17th 2013 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR).  Free copy was provided for review.  Image taken from Goodreads
Review by Kate Phillips 

2 comments:

  1. Great Review! I'm definitely going to get a copy of this book. :)I love the cover.


    Jackie @Jackie's Book World

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  2. Glad to read a positive review of this! I and many others were not very impressed but I knew there was an audience for it and I'm glad to see your thoughts to make me reconsider my own.

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