Contempo-May Review: Falling Fast by Sophie McKenzie

In One Line: The course of young love never did run smooth...

Genre: High School Musical! Without the songs and dances.

The Gist:

Young River believes in love. True love, the kind that lasts forever and is intense and amazing and totally unrealistic. Also, she has the name River. But that’s not too bad considering that her brother is called Stone. River and her mates sign up to take part in a production of Romeo and Juliet at the boys school down the road, and you know what happens when you stick teenage girls in a boys school. That’s right, you’ve guessed it: big sloppy, messy LURVE. River instantly connects with bad-boy Romeo Flynn, but will he ever feel about her the way she feels about him?

The Cover:

It’s sweet and all, which is fine, but that isn’t Flynn and that isn’t River. Don’t ask why, I can just tell, ok? But there is a scene in the book where the lovebirds get it on in a park. Maybe the cover is from that bit? Either way, I’m a bit meh over it. But I do like her boots. Do they come in my size?

Why You’ll Love This Book

• Flynn is hot in the same way Charlie Sheen is hot in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Christian Slater is hot in Heathers. You know they’re bad, and messed up, and all intense and brooding, but you just can’t resist. Also, it’s quite possible that YOU CAN FIX HIM. 
• This book is the perfect read for young teens who have covered the Cathy Cassidy / Jacqueline Wilson bases and are ready for the Next Step. 
• This book has a refreshing, non-patronising attitude to sex and alcohol and accepts that kids just get up to that stuff. I also really liked the way that River just has to accept that Flynn’s dreams and ambitions aren’t quite as romantic and idealistic as hers. There’s no right or wrong here, and it’s nice to find a read that isn’t pushing an agenda or a deep and powerful message. 

Why You May Not Love This Book:

• It was too young for me. In fact, despite the casual references to sex and alcohol, there was something distinctly Middle Grade about it, and because of this I’m not sure how well it stands up next to it’s peers in the genre. Basically, if you’re already a YA fanatic, you might want to miss this one. If you’re young and keen and new to the world of Teen, then this is the book for you!
• Not enough Romeo and Juliet. Which may sound strange because there are references to the play on every other page, but I presumed that there would be more of a thematic link between what happens in the play and what happens in the story. Other than River realising that love isn’t how it appears in the stories, I’m just not that convinced of the relevance. 
• Too short! I read this book in an afternoon. It’s only 250 pages long and the print is really large. Which only made me feel that this book is more suited to 10-11 year olds rather than the hardcore YA crowd. I was also annoyed because I felt that there was so much to explore in this story, so much potential. Give me more McKenzie, MORE!!!

The Hypersomnia Test:

I read this book far too quickly to be able to see if it would keep me awake during my sleepy-times, but I have a suspicion that it wouldn’t. Only because there is nothing startlingly new here, and the closer I got to the end the more I realised that it wasn’t likely anything outrageously provocative was going to happen. 

Final Verdict:

I was really hoping for some mammoth, gritty twist in the end, but it didn’t come. And I hope that’s not a massive spoiler for you, but I think I was expecting more of this book than it intended to give me. As I mentioned earlier in this review, if you are a young or reluctant reader, then this book is perfect, but for heavy YA readers, I’m not sure that this will cut the mustard. HOWEVER. At the very end of this book I noticed a tiny reference to this being the first in a series, and that makes me a little bit excited, because Flynn is HOT and I don’t think you can ever have too much of him!

Further Reading:

Lia’s Guide to Winning the Lottery by Keren David

Cherry Crush by Cathy Cassidy

Girls in Love by Jacqueline Wilson

To buy Falling Fast click HERE!!!