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Book Report: Fallen
I. Author
Lauren Kate, born on March 21, 1981 in the
United States of America, is an internationally
bestselling author of young adult fiction. She grew up In
Dallas, went to school in Atlanta, and started working in
New York. Her books have been translated into over
thirty languages and include The Betrayal of Natalie
Hargrove and Fallen, which reached #3 on The New
York Times Best Seller List for children's chapter books
on January 8, 2010. As of April 6, 2011, Fallen had
spent one year and four months--with brief interruptions--on the List.
Torment, the sequel to Fallen, was released on 28 September 2010. It debuted at #1 on
the New York Times Bestseller List (Fallen came in that week at #2), remaining at that position
through the week of October 17. The paperback edition of Fallen debuted at #1 on the list, as
well. The third book in the Fallen series, entitled Passion, was released on June 14, 2011. A new
edition of Natalie Hargrove was also released on the same day as the paperback edition of
Torment. On June 23, Passion reached Number 7 on the USA Today Bestseller List, for books
overall. On July 3, 2011, Passion qualified the Fallen books for the Series section of the New
York Times Bestseller List; it entered the list at Number 2, behind The Hunger Games books.
Each of the aforementioned books has appeared atop many other countries' bestseller lists, as
well.
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Fallen in Love--a collection of novellas set in the Middle Ages that tell the back-stories
of several of the Fallen series' main characters--will appear in January, 2012. Rapture, the final
installment of the series, arrives in June, 2012.
Disney optioned the film rights to the entire series on the day of Fallen's release
(December 9, 2009).
Books
Fallen series
Fallen (December 9, 2009)
Torment (September 28, 2010)
Passion (June 14, 2011)
Fallen In Love (January 24, 2012)
Rapture (June 12, 2012)
Other books
The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove (November, 2009)
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II. Historical Background
Fallen Angels
Fallen Angels: The notion of fallen angels is not found in the Old Testament. In books like Job,
the God-appointed adversary is ha-satan (meaning "the adversary" and the title of an office, no
the designation or name of an angel). The possible exceptions are I Chronicles 21 and II Samuel
24, where Satan seems to emerge as a distinct personality and is identified by name; but scholars
are inclined to believe that in these 2 instances the definite article was inadvertently omitted in
translation and that the original read "the satan," i.e., "the adversary." In the New Testament,
specifically in Revelation 12, the notion of a fallen angel and of fallen angels is spelt out: "And
his [the dragon's or Satan's] tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven [angels] and did cast
them to earth...and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world; he was cast out into the earth and his
angels were cast out with him." Enoch I claims that 200 fell, naming about 19 (allowing for
variant spellings and repetitions) and listing "chiefs of ten," the most prominent among them
being Semyaza, Azazel, Sariel, Rumiel, Danjal, Turel, Kokabel. In Ginzberg, The Legends of
the Jews I, 125, the chiefs are given as Shemhazai (Semyaza), Armaros, Barakel, Kawkabel
(Kokabel), Ezekeel, Arakiel, Samsaweel, Seriel. William Auvergne, bishop of Paris (1228-
1249), in his De Universo, held that, of the 9 orders of angels that were created, a "10th part
fell," some (as Cardinal Pullus also claimed) from each order, and that in their fallen state they
retain their relative rank. [Rf. Lea, Materials Toward a History of Witchcraft I, 89.] According
to Cardinal Bishop of Tusculum (1273), reaffirmed by Alphonso de Spina (c.1460), the one-third
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that fell totaled 133,306,668, those that remained loyal 266,613,336. As opposed to the
contention that angels fell from each of the 9 orders, an opinion backed by papal authority holds
that only the angels of the 10th (sic) order fell. [See Moore's The Loves of the Angels, p. 155.]
In this book, Moore quotes Tertullian (De Habitu Mulieb) to the effect that all the chief luxuries
of female adornment and enticement - "the necklaces, armlets, rouge, and the black powder for
the eye-lashes" are to be traced to the researches and discoveries of the fallen angels. After the
apostate angels fell, "the rest were confirmed in the perseverance of eternal beatitude," as Isidor
of Seville assures us in his Sententiae - although Bible references to God's finding his angels
(long after the Fall) untrustworthy point to a contrary conclusion. The cause of Satan's downfall
has commonly been attributed to the sin of pride or ambition ("by the sin fell the angels").
Another explanation sometimes offered with regard to the origin of fallen angels goes back to
Genesis 6, were the sons of God (angels) "saw the daughters of men...and took them wives: from
among them. Enoch saw 7 great stars like burning mountains which (so Enoch's guide told him)
were being punished because they failed to rise at the appointed time. In other early writings,
fallen angels were said to be shooting stars. Aquinas identified the fallen angels with demons.
The Christian writers of the later Middle Ages looked upon all heathen divinities as demons. In
most sources, the leader of the apostates is Satan, but in apocryphal writings the leader has also
been called Mastema, Beliar (Beliel), Azazel, Belzebub, Sammael, etc. In Mohammedan lore he
is Iblis. In Levi 3 (Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs) the fallen angels are "imprisoned in the
2nd Heaven." Enoch II, 7:1 also speaks of the fallen angels in the 2nd Heaven as "prisoners
suspended [there], reserved for [and] awaiting the eternal judgment." "in most Jewish literature,"
says Caird in Principalities and Powers, "it was on account of mankind that the angels fell," and
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cites the Apocalypse of Baruch which goes so far as to say that it was "the physical nature of
man which not only became a danger to his own soul but resulted in the fall of the angels."
According to legend (Budge, Amulets and Talismans) the rebel angels fell for 9 days.
III. Character Chart
Lucinda 'Luce' Price
Luce is the main protagonist of the novel. She has black hair and hazel eyes. She began
seeing 'Shadows', amorphous, sinister apparitions, at a young age. As a child, she tells her
parents about this phenomenon, troubling them, and causing them to take her to many
psychiatrists and psychologists who put her on anti-psychotic drugs, which do not make the
shadows abate. Years later, when she is off the pills and is attempting to fit in and act like a
"normal" teenager, she is invited to a beach party where her "friend with benefits", Trevor, is
caught in a fire in a cabin while she kisses him. Trevor dies, causing Luce to be transferred to a
reform school called Sword & Cross. She is befriended almost immediately by Arriane, another
student studying there, and soon makes friends with Pennyweather "Penn," Cam, and the
librarian, Miss Sophia. She is also inexplicably drawn to Daniel Grigori, whom she believes that
she recognizes from somewhere.
Daniel Grigori
Daniel is a fallen angel - a heavenly being who chose to side with neither God nor Satan
at the beginning of time - and Luce’s main romantic interest. He is described as a handsome
blond, with gray-violet eyes. He saves Luce from a falling statue of an angel in the cemetery
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adjoining the school. He feigns disinterest in Luce, trying to ignore her for her own "safety", but
is drawn to her nonetheless.
Cameron 'Cam' Briel. Cam is the antagonist of the story and Luce’s other romantic interest. He is
also a fallen angel. Cam is tall, has a pale complexion, and has black hair and green eyes. He has
a tattoo of a sunburst on the back of his neck. He continuously tries to charm Luce, going to
great lengths to capture her attention on numerous occasions. He is antagonistic towards Daniel
and Arriane throughout the novel.
Arriane Alter
Arriane is a fallen angel like Cam and Daniel. She befriends Luce on Luce's first day at
Sword and Cross, even defending her from Molly Zane, who takes an instant dislike to Luce and
dumps her lunch tray on her head. This activates the tracking bracelet that Arriane wears,
administrating an electric shock. She is a brunette like Luce and persuades her to cut her hair to
match Luce's shorter style. She refers to herself as a psychopath and is possibly interested in
Roland.
Pennyweather ‘Penn’ Van Syckle-Lockwood
One of Luce's friends. She is the adopted daughter of the headmaster and has brown hair
and purple glasses. She is described as frumpy, unpopular, and has chronic allergies, but her
friendship proves to be a great asset, as she has access and knowledge about Sword and Cross
and shares her expertise with Luce. Penn's father used to be the grounds-keeper, but he died and
was buried in the school's cemetery. She is injured while she and a small party are fleeing the
battle, and later killed by Miss Sophia. Her name for 'Sword and Cross' is 'Whores and Jocks'.
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Gabrielle 'Gabbe' Givens
Gabbe is also a fallen angel at the school. She is described as blonde and sophisticated,
with a southern accent and a "Neutrogena type of beauty." Luce dislikes Gabbe because she
believes that she is dating Daniel, though Gabbe is unerringly gracious towards her.
Roland Sparks
Roland, like the others, is a fallen angel. He is Daniel's friend at the school and is a black
kid with dreadlocks. He, like Cam and Molly, are considered "demons," fallen angels who side
with Lucifer, which surprises Luce, as he gets on well with everyone at Sword and Cross,
including the other fallen angels. He is able to smuggle anything into Sword and Cross.
Mary Margaret 'Molly' Zane
Molly is another fallen angel who stayed mostly on Lucifer’s side. She has bleached hair
and piercings all over her face. She is very aggressive and antagonistic towards Luce. She tries to
warn Luce away from Daniel several times.
Miss Sophia
Miss Sophia is the school’s librarian. She appears to like Luce and Penn, considering
them good students and approves of their interest in the library. She teaches the Religion and has
very strong beliefs on the subject. It is later discovered that she is in fact one of the 24 Elders of
Zhsmaelin, a radical heavenly sect. She is an elderly lady with black eyes and silver hair.
Randy
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Randy is an attendant at Sword & Cross. She is described as being very masculine – even
confusing Luce as to which gender she was.
Callie
Callie is Luce's best friend from in Dover Prep School, where she attended as a
scholarship student before being sent to Sword and Cross. She and Luce are very close; she is
described as hyper and a little paranoid, obsessed with boys and gossip.
Todd Hammond
Todd is a student who arrived at Sword and Cross at the same time that Luce did. He has
brown hair, brown eyes and a spattering of freckles over his nose. He dies of a broken neck
helping Luce out of a burning building.
Trevor
Trevor never makes an appearance in Fallen. He was Luce's friend, whom she sneaked
off with during a summer party. While they were alone "shadows" started to circle above them,
and as soon as they kissed flames erupted and caused his death. Luce survived but was blamed
and therefore sent to Sword and Cross.
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IV. Story Summary
There’s something achingly familiar about Daniel Grigori.
Mysterious and aloof, he captures Luce Price’s attention from the moment she sees him
on her first day at the Sword & Cross boarding school in sultry Savannah, Georgia. He’s the one
bright spot in a place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students are all screw-ups, and
security cameras watch every move.
Even though Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce–and goes out of his way to make that
very clear–she can’t let it go. Drawn to him like a moth to a flame, she has to find out what
Daniel is so desperate to keep secret . . . even if it kills her.
When Luce wound up at Swords & Crosses, a reform school for disturbed kids, she never
thought she’d meet anyone worth knowing. I mean, it’s a school for kids with problems –
naughty, psycho, crazy and messed kids. The place even looked and felt like a jail. But this is
life, and things never turn out the way we expect, do they?
Meet Daniel. The moment Luce lays her eyes on him she feels it. This thing. A
connection. Like she’s met him before or something. All this in one little glance. But if he felt it,
he certainly isn’t showing it. Daniel makes it more than clear that he’s not interested in Luce,
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that she should stop stalking him, stop harassing him. He doesn’t want her, so why can’t she stay
away from him? Why can’t she get him out of her head? She knows there is something off about
him and she’s determined to figure out what it is. Only then will she be able to shake her heavy
heart.
I hate the way Daniel treats Luce. He’s more than just a little rude. Even more than that, I
hate the way Luce shamelessly keeps going back for more. I kept asking myself where this girl’s
self-respect was, and how she could let a boy treat her so badly. I’ve read enough books like this
to know by now that often, my initial reaction to characters like Daniel is wrong and that much
more lays beneath the surface. Even though I was aware of this, as I was reading, I couldn’t help
but feel ticked off by him. The question is you should be asking yourself is, did I stay this way,
or did he win me over in the end?
Enter Cam. He’s the guy you love to hate. He’s charming, he’s beautiful, and he’s
definitely interested in Luce. He flocks to her immediately, stepping on anyone else’s chances of
even attempting to score with her. And Luce likes him back, she does. That’s why she’s not
backing away from his advances. But there’s just something … missing, and she can’t quite
figure out what it is. Maybe it’s that everything with him is just so easy. There isn’t any inner
emotional struggle, no deep pain caused from simply being around him. But is easy what she’s
even looking for?
Like all good complex characters, there is more to Cam than meets the eye. Just when
you think you’ve got him figured, he turns around and does something that will totally throw you
off course. Cam is surprising, in many ways.
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Actions speak much louder than words, so if you want to know the truth about these
boys, watch what they do, rather than what they say.
V. Story Review
There are many people counting on the success of Lauren Kate’s new book Fallen.
There’s Random House, who bought what is projected to be a four book series, and Disney, who
have optioned the rights to the film adaptation. The buzz being generated for this new series, not
surprisingly, is that it will be the next Twilight. One trip to YouTube to view the book trailer
shows that it’s being marketed in just that vein. With a breathy emo tune in the background the
trailer proclaims, “Two lovers. One ancient war. Cursed to endure a love that will never be.”
Though it’s impossible to predict if Fallen will ignite the way Twilight has, the main ingredients
are all here: average, nonthreatening female protagonist? Check. Tormented, brooding love
interest with a terrible secret who constantly pushes female protagonist away? Yep. Charming
interloper who wants to come between the angsty teens? You bet. While Ms. Kate has a
considerable leg up on Stephenie Meyer in the writing department, it’s the adherence to this tried
and true boilerplate plot, and the unfurling of the series’ mythology, that overshadows the
author’s obvious talents.
Fallen opens in promising fashion with a prologue set in 1850s England. A man sketches
the face of the woman he loves, but is destined to never be with. He carries the burden that in
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each life he will encounter this woman only to lose her to unnamed forces. In this particular
incarnation, the woman pleads to run away with him, and when they kiss the man knows that
once again their love is doomed:
He alone knew what was about to happen, what dark companions were prepared to fall on
their reunion. Even though he was unable to alter the course of their lives yet again, he knew.
The shadows swirled directly overhead. So close, he might have touched them. So close,
he wondered whether she could hear what they were whispering. He watched as the cloud passed
over her face. For a moment he saw a spark of recognition growing in her eyes.
Then there was nothing, nothing at all.
In the space of eight pages, Kate sets a moody, gothic tone that left me eager to continue
reading. The cursed love promised in the trailer is present and accounted for, and there is an
instant intrigue about the nameless characters.
The opening chapter, however, pulls us jarringly to a reform school in present day
Savannah, GA, where teenager Lucinda “Luce” Price is late for her orientation. It’s her first day
at the Sword & Cross School, where she’s been sent after a mysterious fire at a party killed her
friend Trevor. Luce, who was alone with Trevor in a cabin, has no recollection of what caused
the accident. What she does remember is the swirling shadows overhead right before Trevor’s
death, and that the shadows have haunted her since she was a little girl. Though Luce dreads
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starting her senior year in a new school, she hopes that the fresh start will allow her some
distance from the tragedy.
Before Luce attends her first class, she encounters the boy who will occupy her thoughts
over the remaining four hundred pages of the novel. Daniel Grigori is…wait for it… gorgeous:
blond, tan, and rebelling against the all-black dress code with a red scarf around his neck. He
captures Luce’s attention, but not just because of his looks. She has the vague but nagging
sensation that they’ve met before, and an image of them embracing flashes through her mind.
Daniel does his best to dissuade Luce of any future daydreaming:
She realized they were still locking eyes when Daniel flashed her a smile. A jet of warmth shot
through her and she had to grip the bench for support. She felt her lips pull up in a smile back at
him, but then he raised his hand in the air.
And flipped her off.
Naturally, romantic infatuation ensues. I hoped that there would be more moments like
this in the book, tweaking the stereotypical star-crossed lovers bit with a rude hand gesture.
Unfortunately, the rest of the novel unfolds from this point in typical paranormal teen romance
fashion. Sitting in her first class, only minutes removed from seeing Daniel for the first time,
Luce attracts the attention of Cam, a flirt who gives her a guitar pick with his room number
inscribed on it. The love triangle at the heart of the story is formed, and Luce spends a good
portion of the novel struggling between the ease of her bond with Cam and the obsession she has
with Daniel.
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The push-pull (mostly push) of the Luce-and-Daniel relationship and her insistence that
she knew him before enrolling at Sword & Cross inspire Luce to investigate Daniel’s past.
Lauren Kate could’ve used this as an opportunity to flesh out Luce’s character, allow the reader
to see a more proactive side and not just a doe-eyed girl moping about why a boy doesn’t like
her. Most of Luce’s snooping, however, comes courtesy of her friend Penn, who, having grown
up at the school as the daughter of the former groundskeeper, knows the ins and outs of the
school, including how to break into the personal files of the students. Unfortunately, the only
information gleaned from his folder is that he grew up in a Los Angeles orphanage. Penn
continues to take the lead uncovering Daniel’s past, and alerts Luce to the existence of a book in
the school’s library written by a D. Grigori, published in 1755.
This ill-fated trip to the library provides one of the most intense scenes in the book, as
Luce is distracted by the shadows that continue to menace her. She manages to swat one of them
away as it hovers over Penn, but their destructive nature soon rears its ugly head in a way all too
familiar to Luce. While Luce waits for Penn to return from searching for the missing book, the
fire alarm is set off. Separated from her friend, Luce begins to panic, remembering the night that
Trevor died:
Images and sounds flooded her mind, things she’d stuffed so deep inside her memory
they might as well have been obliterated. Until now.
The shocking whites of Trevor’s eyes against the orange glow. The individual tendrils of
flame as the fire spread through each one of his fingers. The shrill, unending scream that rang in
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her head like a siren long after Trevor had given up. And the whole time, she’d stood there
watching, she couldn’t stop watching, frozen in that bath of heat.
She’s interrupted from her horrible memory by a fellow classmate named Todd, and
together they wind their way through the smoke-filled library and out into a hallway. As they
gasp for breath in the hallway, Luce discovers a huge formation of shadows overhead and
another group blocking their path to a way out. The pair is rescued, seemingly carried through
the air by an unseen entity, to an emergency exit. Luce can’t shake the feeling that it is Daniel
that’s saved them, and is distracted when one of the terrifying shadows attacks, throwing Luce
down a flight of stairs and killing Todd.
In the aftermath of Todd’s death, the love triangle plotline escalates. Daniel continues to
show interest in Luce, tersely warning her that Cam is not good enough to date her, and then
pushing her away when she gets too close. After a vicious fistfight in the library, Luce finally
decides that her heart belongs solely to Daniel. But even after making this choice, there is no
clean break from Cam. Despite her overwhelming feelings for Daniel, there is a tiny part of her
that is attracted to Cam’s charm, even as she begins to see a more violent side of him.
After catching Luce and Cam kiss, Daniel finally finds the courage (decency?) to explain
his strange behavior to her. He is immortal, destined to meet and fall in love with Luce every
seventeen years and must endure her death each time. Reeling from this revelation, Luce returns
to her room to find that Penn has found the missing book and has left it in her room. With the
help of the librarian, Luce pieces together that Daniel is an angel, though she soon finds out he is
not the only one who attends Sword & Cross. This information comes far too late in the game,
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and leaves the author with far too little time to give a satisfying introduction to the mythology of
her series. A battle between Daniel’s angels and Cam’s fallen angels rages in the school’s
cemetery, but the relationships between the factions remain unclear. The battle ends in a
stalemate, and the weary angels declare an uneasy truce.
As the first book in the series, Fallen comes up short in establishing the central conflict
that will shape the remaining books. We know that Daniel and Luce are in love, that Luce and
Cam have an unmistakable attraction, and that Daniel and Cam hate each other, all of which are
fine elements on their own. But the celestial back story isn’t given nearly enough time to
develop, which makes the ending less than satisfying. Also, the shadows that follow Luce are
never fully explained; we’re left to assume that they’re fallen angels or working in consort with
them. But something that haunts the protagonist from the very beginning of the novel deserves a
bit more explanation.
The rather formulaic depiction of Luce and Daniel’s relationship is another hindrance to
what is definitely an intriguing premise. The spark that exists between them in the prologue isn’t
quite realized throughout. There are only so many times you can go to the Edward Cullen, cruel-
to-be-kind well, and Lauren Kate spends too much time keeping the couple apart to be truly
invested in their relationship. Will Fallen become the next Twilight? The audience is certainly
there for epic paranormal teen romance, and hopefully the remaining books will make a stronger
case for a rabid fan following.
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VI. Relevance of the story to the present day
Falling In Love
Falling in love is not a realization that occurs in an instant rather, it is something that can
be grasp gradually through period of time. It involves series of stages one must undergo in order
to experience the real feeling of being in love. Getting to know the other individual is critical,
which also takes time. Therefore, time plays an important role in a relationship that involves
love. One may assume that he/she have fallen in love after a short while, but in fact what they
may be experiencing is infatuation. It is a short-lived passion one may experience due to their
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attraction to another individual’s physical looks, personality, social level and so forth. The reason
relationships based solely on these factors are brief may be because the individuals do not know
their partner’s identity in a deeper level. This sort of relationship requires patience from the
individuals who are involved. Learning of their past, their hopes for the future, their family, their
attitude, compatibility level, etc. are some important information that are necessary to attain in
able to move on to the next step and it cannot be acquired overnight. It takes many months and
even several years.
In order to evaluate the following factors needed in a strong loving relationship, time is
necessity. It takes time for each element in the pattern to be completed. Although the first
element, initial attraction, may happen promptly, it takes time to build a relationship with mutual
trust involved it in. Communication is necessary to make the relationship work, to fall in love,
and to determine whether they are compatible or not. In addition, since this theory involves
weighing cost and benefit in a relationship, love at first sight cannot be possible. Those who have
fallen in love instantly are often blinded by shallow physical attraction to another person, and
therefore overlooking all the other factors and failing to compare the reward and costs. The filter
theory is also another theory that supports the theory that people do not just fall in love. This
theory argues that relationships go through stages of exclusiveness, which again involves time.
There are stages to pass such as: the attractiveness filter, social background filter, attitudes and
value filter, compatibility filter and readiness for marriage filter. Under this theory, individuals
filter out those who cannot fit their standards and become more exclusive with those who do fit.
Filtering each element involve time, and passing by each stage also take time. Once again, since
those who fell in love instantly cannot see the person for who they are and not take their time to
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filter out the other individual, their relationship will be very brief. It is evident that both
exchange theory and filter theory go through series of stages which require a lot of time, those
who fall in love instantly are therefore, in love for all the wrong reasons.
VII. Rating
>>>>>3.5
There’s something achingly familiar about Daniel Grigori.
Mysterious and aloof, he captures Luce Price’s attention from the moment she sees him
on her first day at the Sword & Cross boarding school in sultry Savannah, Georgia. He’s the one
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bright spot in a place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students are all screw-ups, and
security cameras watch every move.
Even though Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce–and goes out of his way to make that
very clear–she can’t let it go. Drawn to him like a moth to a flame, she has to find out what
Daniel is so desperate to keep secret . . . even if it kills her.
Dangerously exciting and darkly romantic, Fallen is a page turning thriller and the
ultimate love story.
I still have some issues with Fallen, and particularly the ending. I can go with almost any
premise, if the rules of that universe are followed. This is hard to do when said premise isn’t set
out until the end. That also makes writing this review hard, since I don’t want to give too much
away.
As I was reading the book, I kept thinking “That’s strange. There’d better be a reason for
that character behaving that way.” or “I hope the author is going somewhere with this setup”.
I’ve got two problems with this. First, it stopped me while I was reading the book. I wasn’t
wondering about the story, I was wondering about where the author was going with the story.
Second, I still didn’t feel like the groundwork was really set for the end.
The writing was quite readable.
I liked Luce as a character. She was smart and articulate, particularly about her issues
with the shadows that haunted her for her entire life. I liked the other characters taken
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individually, but I didn’t like the way they came together– we’re back to the “why is the author
doing that” feeling again.
The romance exactly as portrayed in the publisher summary, with the addition of another
potential suitor, one that showed interest in Luce. Luce’s feelings over the pull from these two
boys worked for me.
I had mixed feelings on the whole setting. I loved the mysterious school, but Luce didn’t
seem to belong in a reform school. The notion of this school that’s near her home, but where her
parents only visit her on the once a year visitor’s day just never settled right. They were set up
too much as a normal, loving family, trying to deal with her “problem”.
The school scenes were good. About half of the scenes setting up the secret ending were
engaging, half left me wondering. What does that add up to for the whole book? I don’t know,
I’m still trying to decide.
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