Falling into Place by Amy Zhang (2015-07-07) Paperback – 1885

This is one of those books that stays with you long after you’ve read it. It has an otherworldly feel for a contemporary novel and has the most wonderful “problem” of having some truly unlikable protagonists. I say that tongue-in-cheek, because although the teens in this book are privileged and difficult to root for, they are also complex and compelling to read about.This novel is a little difficult to pin down, with a very curious narration (I won’t spoil it for you, but will only say that it is unique and different). There are underlying themes of mental illness, bullying, and the difficulty of fitting in that are seamlessly weaved together in the ultimate quest for what sent Liz Emerson over the edge.The writing is raw and direct and doesn’t hold back in any way. The main character is so highly unlikable, but I loved that the author didn’t hold back in that depiction. The reader’s conflicted feelings about the MC are what propels the narration and makes the ultimate payoff at the end all worthwhile. Each back and forth moment in the narration brings us closer to the climax, building at a fast pace. The plot never lags or falters on the way to a stunning finish.This was a wonderful, unique book with a wonderfully subversive feel to it. It feels very mature for YA, so I would probably recommend it for an older YA audience.

Grade: A+Liz Emerson has done a lot of mean things in her life, but nobody hates Liz more than she hates herself. She hates herself so much she drives her crashes her car, hoping to make her suicide look like an accident. As she lies dying, her condition worsening, our. Mysterious narrator takes us from present to past recounting Liz's last hours and days, showing us the little girl full of love for her father, the impact of his death, how she followed a mean girl's behavior without knowing why and feeling deep remorse, to becoming that mean girl leader. We meet her mother, friends and teachers.I liked Liz and felt a lot of empathy for her, although I'm not sure I was supposed to. She had a neediness from the moment her dad died that no one seemed to recognize. She wanted to do and be better, but simply didn't know how or have the support to do so. Because of the frequent time shifts, her arc seemed a bit jumpy. When viewing these chapters linearly, I could easily see her developing insight, but lacking the skills to make changes. Unfortunately, with this insight came depression and increasing thoughts of blame and worthlessness. Liz was to blame for a lot of her mean behavior, but she took more responsibility, in her head, that the impact of what she did. I loved the way Amy Zhang constructed and deconstructed Liz's character.The narrator isn't revealed until the end of the book though he or she is fairly easy to guess, but I don't think Zhang meant the person to be a huge secret. Zhang gave the narrator such a unique, compelling voice that I'm eagerly awaiting her next book. I loved the ending. I hope Zhang writes a sequel. I'd love to see how her friends and classmates changed or didn't change in the aftermath. There are enough characters with great backstories to sustain a sequel.Themes: depression, suicide, substance abuse, bulimia, grief, high school, bullying, mean girls, sexual assault, datingA big recommendation for FALLING INTO PLACE.

When I first read the synopsis for this book I was partial to it because I am a teenager and the issues it said it was going to talk about were issues I wanted to read about. When I bought the book, I just couldn't stop reading. As a teenager, the problems that each character faced hit close to home for me. The way that Zhang presented the problems faced by Liz was the way that I know I saw my problems when I was facing the same sorts of situation as her and her friends. Zhang does a fantastic job of undertaking the dark topics of suicide, depression, drug use, and teenage pregnancy. Frankly, before this book, I was sick of other books that try to tackle similar topics without mentioning the impact of drugs and alcohol in high school. Falling into Place exhibits this throughout the story, showing the realness of "hooking up", drugs, and drinking in high school. This book takes on an interesting perspective yet to be told. To be blunt, it's not about the "loner" in high school but shines light on something people don't always take into consideration, that just because someone's life appears to be bright and shiny does not mean that it is. Even though the perspective is an interesting and important take on teen depression, I got mad at Liz for the things she did or the mistakes she made, exactly like Liz felt herself. Ultimately she is a redeemable character, as we all are in my opinion, but some of the situations were just downright infuriating. Overall, Falling into Pieces is an excellent book and I'd recommend it to both young adults and adults.

I had this recommended very highly by a friend of mine. I downloaded the sample from Amazon, and liked what I read, so purchased it.I'm glad I did. It's a really, really good book! With shades of "Thirteen Reasons Why" by Jay Asher and "If I Stay" by Gayle Forman it is obviously a very sad read, but I didn't find it as emotionally manipulative as it could have been. It was horrible to read about the kids being bullied, and how Liz Emerson slowly got convinced that suicide was the only way out.I liked the way the book jumped in time - the chapter headers kept it from getting confusing, and the patchwork style of the book really worked for me.I also liked that the ultimate outcome was kept under wraps until the very end. Just like in "If I Stay" it isn't made obvious right from the start, but enough hints are given that the reader is prepared for it to go either way.