Monday, March 28, 2011

MMGM: FALLING IN

A wicked fit of cover envy made me pick up FALLING IN, by Frances O'Roark Dowell, on Saturday. Not that I have a story that needs this particular cover but I hope that someday . . . you know?

Falling In

I hope you see this scrumptious thing in real life. I've never known glitter to be so subtle.

But enough about the outside, the jacket flap led me to think this book would be a frothy fairy-tale retelling, kind of like THE SISTERS GRIMM, not that it made that comparison. I did. I'm quite enjoying that series, so I looked forward to reading this one. But then the librarian raved about the author and her other books in a way that made me wonder if I'd jumped to the wrong conclusion.

I had. It wasn't what I'd expected, and there's a narrator that jumps in every now and then that I couldn't decide if I liked or not. By a third of the way in, I'd shed my preconceived notions and decided I liked the narrator. I already knew I liked the main character. I'm not sure how much I should say because I suspect the publisher actually set up readers to believe the story would be something it wasn't so that readers would make the same discoveries as the main character. With that in mind, there are a few things that should be said:

 1.   The last half of the book makes sense of the first half.
 2.   There's a part near the end that brought tears to my eyes (more happy than sad).
 3.   This is more a girl book than a boy book, though I'm sure there are boys out there that would enjoy it.

I loved the story, and I'll be looking for more books by this author. From what I gathered, this is her tenth. I like her writing style, her wisdom, her sense of humor, and the way she pulled her story pieces together.

Have any of you read FALLING IN, or any other books, by Frances O'Roarke Dowell? Which one should I read next?

If you'd like to read about more Marvelous Middle Grades, the following people would love to oblige you: 

Shannon Whitney Messenger (our founding mother)

Have a Marvelous Monday!      

14 comments:

  1. This one is on my TBR list. I adore the cover!

    Shelley

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  2. Can I just repeat what Shelley said? :P I've been admiring this cover for a while. Now I'll just have to read it!

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  3. I've been wanting to read this forever. Great review, Myrna. Might have to push it higher on the TBR list now.

    Thanks for the linkage. I've linked to your post too.

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  4. Great cover, for sure. Sounds intriguing, too.

    =)

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  5. Great review! You've got me interested in checking it out!

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  6. I love this Middle Grade Monday series! Thanks for the review! :)

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  7. I love the cover. I haven't read this. And you've got me curious. Thanks.

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  8. I love this book. I loved the voice and the twist on the witch. It is definitely a girl book. Great review. I haven't read anything else by her either.

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  9. I'm intriqued too. I'll have to check it out. :) Thanks for the review.

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  10. Haven't read this but I do love the cover. Thanks for the review, I'll be getting it soon.

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  11. Ooh! This sounds excellent! I'm excited to read it! Thanks for sharing a review!

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  12. I ADORE THE COVER TOO! Cover envy, yeah I feel it. It's so captivating. Let me know what you think of her other books. I'll have to check this one out.

    Have a great weekend. Big hugs!!!

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  13. Gotta love those red boots haha. Re my turkeys - I have a few white ones but most of them are Royal Palms - white with brown and black wing/tail feathers.

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  14. I prefer her realistic fiction; think the main character in this one annoyed me.

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