| Title | : | The Edge of Falling |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1442433167 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781442433168 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 304 |
| Publication | : | First published March 6, 2014 |
The Edge of Falling Reviews
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I always turn to YA contemporaries when I'm going through a book slump and it's a genre that has rarely disappointed me. The Edge of Falling was a book I immediately requested on reading the first few lines of the summary. Books with teenagers learning to overcome grief appeal to me for some reason, but The Edge of Falling turned out to be such a disappointment.
At the start of the book, Caggie is struggling with the grief of having lost her sister. She's no longer the same person that she was and the guilt over her sister's death is clearly eating her on the inside. I wanted to feel for Caggie. I wanted to want to cry with her, but there was a barrier between her character and me preventing me from reaching her emotions. I felt like Caggie's emotions weren't palpable as they should have been, which made it so much harder to identify with her character and in a way, experience her feelings towards everyone around her. When reading books that are rife with sorrow, it's essential for me to understand the mindset of the character so I don't feel like cold and soulless reader, but unfortunately, that is what I felt while reading The Edge of Falling.
Caggie's behavior towards certain obstacles she faces in the book also made me want to rage. This was especially the case when she was with Astor, a guy she meets while out at a bar, who is as troubled as Caggie. It's clear that Astor is hiding dark secrets and she is warned by both her best friend since forever and her older brother about him being sketchy, but she refuses to believe them claiming they don't understand Astor as much as she does. Why would you ever want to believe someone you just met over people you've known for your whole life? And even when she finds proof that he is mentally unstable, she runs back to him as soon as he sweet-talks her and invites him over when she's all alone in her house. I just didn't understand this girl and quite honestly, thought she was idiotic.
Her sweetheart of an ex-boyfriend, Matt, her best friend Claire and her brother, were the only people I cared enough for in the book. They were so supportive of Caggie, but she was in this bubble with Astor and refused to see the love and care she was being showered from the people around her. I also wish we had gotten to know Caggie's relationship with her sister in a more in-depth manner, but we only got a few flashbacks, which I felt didn't add much to the story. The story line with her dead sister and Caggie's attempt at suicide was actually secondary to all the romantic drama in the book, which is probably one of the major reasons this book failed to work for me and didn't impress me as much as I wanted it to.
In the end, my lack of emotional connection with Caggie was what ultimately made me feel rather disconnected from the overall story. The Edge of Falling was unfortunately not the book for me, but if you lovely readers decide to give it a shot, I hope you have better luck with it. -
In all fairness I made it to roughly 40% before I started skimming and then at 70% I went straight to the penultimate chapter.
I love books about teens with depression and who face suicide. I could never get bored with this trend, I really don't think I could, yet so far this year, the ones with these topics are just bad. They're unrealistic and boring. And I don't mean boring as in their story is terrible or not exciting enough. I mean boring as in they're just words. No emotion, no connection whatsoever between the protagonist and the love interest, no explanation, nothing. It's just words being told like a fucking monologue and it's horrendous.
Caggie's story of struggle and forgiveness should be full of heartache and connection because everyone wishes they could go back in time to change something, whatever it may be. It shouldn't be a fucking snoozfest where the love triangle is with a sweet guy who's pretty one-sided and the other one so forcefully funny and it's disgusting and seems to have no fucking care in the world yet can tell she's hoarding some dark secrets. What the fuck is this bullshit, Serle? I'm very fucking disappointed with this.
Luckily, the only thing I didn't completely hate is the best friend, Claire. Solely because she's punk and does whatever she wants to and doesn't seem to care. But even this, to a point, got ridiculous, there is a flimsy relationship between her and Caggie.
The Edge of Falling should be a book that has its readers at the edge of their seats. Not trying their best to stay awake. If I wanted to read an essay on the life of a teenage girl I would ask my English teacher. I wanted a novel that I could connect with and what I got was nothing close to it. I am beyond disappointed and I don't recommend this to anyone. Save yourself the trouble and frustration and stay far away from this one. -
Sad but very real story about dealing with grief. No drugs, but a little Less Than Zero over the top with celebrity.
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wow
Heart breaking. Real. I can’t stop crying. This book and these characters touched my heart and soul. Loved it. Dont miss -
But I have loved her more recent ones😭💕
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Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales
Quick & Dirty: The Edge of Falling is a heartwarming story about loss, guilt, and redemption. The beginning is really slow, but the ending more than makes up for it.
Opening Sentence: Most great works of literature have a hero at their core, but this story is an exception.
The Review:
It is the beginning of Mcalister Caulfield’s, or better known as Caggie, senior year of high school and things aren’t going how she planned. Nothing has been quite the same since her younger sister drowned while she was supposed to be watching her. The grief has eaten Caggie up inside and she has become a shell of who she once was. Her longtime boyfriend broke up with her and her parents don’t look at her the same anymore. Then a few months after the horrible incident with her sister, Caggie supposedly saves a fellow students life, but that’s not what really happened. Now everyone thinks she is a hero, but if they really knew the truth everyone would look at her differently and she just can’t handle that.
Lost in her pain and grief Caggie just continues to pull away from everyone until she meets the mysterious Astor. He is the new boy in school and he may be the only person that is able to understand how Caggie is really feeling. Astor has also experienced a devastating loss in his life and the pain he feels is a mirror image of how Caggie feels every day. But the more time Caggie spends with Astor the more she realizes she really doesn’t know him at all.
Caggie was a very interesting character that for the most part was very likeable. She is completely ridden with guilt for what happened to her sister and even though it really wasn’t her fault she can’t help but feel that it was. I really felt bad for Caggie and for the most part, I understood her. But she does make some terrible decisions and I found that to be a little bit annoying at times. She understandably has a somewhat negative attitude towards life, but the way she pushes everyone away was frustrating. With that all being said, I ended up really liking Caggie and found her story to be heartwarming and beautifully done.
The Edge of Falling is full of heartache, love, and grief. I’m not going to lie, the first half of this book was pretty boring and I actually contemplated not finishing it. But I decided to keep reading it and I am so glad I did because the second half of this book ended up being really good. While I found the plot to be pretty predictable, I felt that the message that Serle gives is one of hope and understanding, which really helped me to connect with the story. There is a lot of emotion expressed through the writing and I really thought that Serle did a wonderful job making me feel for the characters. Overall, I ended up really enjoying this book and would highly recommend it to anyone that is looking for a heartfelt story about grief and loss.
Notable Scene:
So I step forward. It only takes one step for Mr. Bar Man to come toward me. As he gets closer, I see that I’m right: He’s about my age, maybe a little bit older. He’s dressed well— tailored shirt, black pants—and he’s got dark, dark hair and eyes. Even inside, in this poorly lit music hall, it’s easy to spot that they’re so brown they’re almost black.
“Well,” he says when we’re within speaking distance. “This is a surprise. Nice to see you.” I frown. “Excuse me?”
He doesn’t answer, just keeps looking at me. It makes the back of my neck feel hot.
“Do we know each other?” I ask.
I cross my arms. He runs his tongue over his top lip. “We used to.”
I feel my heartbeat quicken. I hadn’t actually expected him to say yes. I thought he meant that he was surprised I came over. Or that I wasn’t Claire.
“You look perturbed,” he says.
I shake my head. “I don’t think we do.”
He takes a sip of his drink. Sets it down. Exhales. “We do.”
“Well, I have no idea who you are. No offense or anything.”
He smiles. “I wouldn’t expect you to. It was a long time ago. You’re Mcalister, right?”
More heart pounding. “Yes.”
“Of the Caulfields?”
Ah. Yes. “Do you know me, or have you just heard of me?”
FTC Advisory: Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster provided me with a copy of The Edge of Falling. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. -
«𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 – 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠.»
I respect Rebecca Serle as an author so much. Her novel ‘In Five Years’ is one of my favorite books. This book however, is not it. I didn’t like the pacing in the book and it was so boring at times, although i really felt with all the pain. ‘The Edge of Falling’ was written in 2014 so it was fun to see how much she’s grown as a writer! I will definitely read more of her newest books.
«𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲'𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐨 𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐢𝐝𝐲. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞 – 𝐈 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐰.» -
I was actually surprised how much I liked this book. It was a fast read too, and it was really good!!!
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Two years ago, Rebecca Serle wowed me with her debut novel When You Were Mine, which told a modern day version of Romeo and Juliet from the perspective of Rosaline. This year, she completely blew me away for the second time with her sophomore release The Edge of Falling. It's a riveting story set in New York City, balancing a story of grief and confusion with a dash of hope and goodness.
Caggs is a tormented soul, which makes her both frustrating and pitiful all at once. She seems to have everything a girl could ask for, what with the fanciful, upper class life she appears to lead. But her history is haunting her to the point that she can't see past it. It was hard to read her story and witness what she goes through in her grief and guilt, especially when she finds herself lured in by the similar feelings she shares with Astor (who is dark and twisty and a deliciously disturbed character in his own right, a.k.a. the bad boy type). However, Serle wrote Caggs in a way that allowed me to truly feel for her, and that was what kept me turning the pages and hoping that things would take a turn for the better.
Even though it had the potential to be too dramatic or too angsty, Serle manages to maintain a sense of hopefulness for the reader with the good things in Caggie's life. Chief among these good things are the amazing people she's graced with: her older brother Peter, her best friend Claire and her ex-boyfriend Trevor. Each of them knows Caggs well, and wants nothing but healing and goodness for her because they love her and want the best for her. It was well-done indeed to have these relationships juxtaposed against the unhealthy ties she had to Astor, and I was certainly rooting for these three to help as Caggs tried to turn her life around.
The Edge of Falling reads like a Gossip Girl episode, only with more substance and better characterization. This is not just a sad story about a girl who is facing real issues of depression and guilt. Nor is it just a story about how solid relationships with good people, whether friends or family, can help you find hope again. It's the story of one girl's journey towards healing and acceptance, including how sometimes it takes the experiences of people with more pain than your own to jumpstart your self-realization. Clearly, this novel made its mark on me, and I certainly hope that you will take my word for it and grab a copy so that it can make its mark on you!
{If you liked this review, check out
Alexa Loves Books for more!} -
Caggie lives every day haunted by her failure to save her little sister from drowning. Even though no one ever says it, Caggie knows that her parents blame her just as much as she blames herself. Everyone at school thinks she's a hero after saving a classmate from plummeting to her death at the beginning of summer, but only Caggie - and the girl she saved - knows what really happened on the rooftop ledge. Caggie has formed a wall of secrets and lies to keep everyone at arm's length, including her best friend, who keeps pushing her to move forward, and her ex-boyfriend, who can't seem to understand that Caggie isn't the girl she used to be anymore. Then new boy Astor enters Caggie's life and he seems to understand the darkness that threatens to overwhelm her every day and, best of all, he doesn't push her to talk about what happened or to move forward. But Astor has secrets of his own and his demons might be hungry enough to swallow both of them... dead or alive.
Last year I read and very much enjoyed Rebecca Serles' debut novel, When You were Mine, but I must admit that it pales in comparison to The Edge of Falling. Caggie's story of grief and guilt is remarkably powerful and painfully captivating. It begins slowly but builds with a steady intensity that leaves the reader completely invested in Caggie and her search for meaning and redemption in the aftermath of her sister's death. -
Not great. The premise, and general framework of the story is an interesting one, but the story is marred by strange references (characters named Jeff Bridges who "looks like the actor", but another named Abigail Adams with no acknowledgment of the namesake),and vague references (Catcher in the Rye throw-backs that only Salinger lovers will know). And the major twists of the plot are revealed by Chapter two, but we are supposed to slog thru the rest of the book to be told the same thing. Descriptive details are not very creative (Everyone seems to favor white button-down shirts, and one character recommends the "vegetable salad" . . . ok), or some details are not very believable, particularly in building the upper-crust world the narrator inhabits. Likeable characters, though, especially Caggie's ex, who readers will fall in love with like everyone else in the book.
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It was a nice story and i liked the ending because we see how much the main character has matured after all the problems she had, but i wish it had a better flow. I am sure i would have enjoyed this book more if the details of the main character's past and the information about the people who surround her weren't squeezed in while the action was happening.
But still, i believe this book has many things to offer to those who will read it. This is a story about Caggie a girl who is in grief for her sister's death,even though the author tells us about the struggles the main character faces while she tries to overcome this grief, she stills manages to maintain the book light and fun to read. -
I like the plot idea and the grief Caggie is dealing with, but the pacing was an issue for me. I can definitely pair this with other books my students are reading and recommend it to them.
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Review posted on The Eater of Books! blog***
The Edge of Falling by Rebecca Serle
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication Date: March 18, 2014
Rating: 3 stars
Source: eARC from Edelweiss
Summary (from Goodreads):
Growing up in privileged, Manhattan social circles, Caggie’s life should be perfect, and it almost was until the day that her younger sister drowned when Caggie was supposed to be watching her. Stricken by grief, Caggie pulls away from her friends and family, only to have everyone misinterpret a crucial moment when she supposedly saves a fellow classmate from suicide. Now she’s famous for something she didn’t do and everyone lauds her as a hero. But inside she still blames herself for the death of her sister and continues to pull away from everything in her life, best friend and perfect boyfriend included. Then Caggie meets Astor, the new boy at school, about whom rumours are swirling and known facts are few. In Astor she finds someone who just might understand her pain, because he has an inner pain of his own. But the more Caggie pulls away from her former life to be with Astor, the more she realises that his pain might be darker, and deeper, than anything she’s ever felt. His pain might be enough to end his life…and Caggie’s as well.
What I Liked:
I've been reading a lot of contemporary novels lately - a lot more than I'm used to reading. Actually, that's not completely true. I've read a few contemporary novels, and I have quite a bit to read coming up soon. It just feels like a lot of contemporary novels, when I so used to reading anything but contemporary (not that there is anything wrong with contemporary). I enjoyed Serle's debut novel (which was contemporary), so naturally, I was super pumped to read this one.
This book was a pretty good read. It definitely was not what I thought it would be. Caggie is dealing with a lot of heavy stuff right now - her sister died, when she (Caggie) was supposed to be watching her, and then Caggie saves a classmate from falling off a balcony, at a peer's party. Except that Caggie isn't a hero - because SHE was the one that went to that balcony, to jump, to kill herself, and Kristen was trying to save her. Not the other way around (though the other way around was what happened).
This book is definitely one of those "tough-issue" books, and we all know my experiences with those. I usually have polar extremes when it comes to those kinds of books - I either love it, or loathe it. My most recent "tough-issue" read (before this one) was Faking Normal by Courtney Stevens, and I was sooo not a fan (which is unfortunate, because the author is so amazing and nice!).
I'm not really sure how I feel about the characters. I sort of understood Caggie, except I don't necessarily agree with her choices, from beginning to end. I was suspicious about Claire, Abigail, Astor, and Peter. The only characters that I actually had genuinely friendly feelings toward were Trevor and Kristen - and that's because they seemed to be the only honest, caring characters of the book.
I like the feel of this story. It was subtly about Caggie's healing process, but also, the healing of other characters. Caggie's sister's death affected many people. Caggie "saving" Kristen affected many people as well. So, this book was as much about Peter, Trevor, Kristen, Claire, etc., as it was about Caggie.
Astor is an interesting character. I'm not sure I like him very much, but I don't blame him for what happened - not really. Sort of, but not really. Like, some things were definitely his fault, and at times, he was definitely acting crazy, but he needed to experience healing just as much as Caggie did.
All of the characters experience some sort of growth, as the story progresses. The story primarily focused on Caggie's decline in school and her whirlwind relationship with Astor. For the most part, I liked the story. I liked the unconventionality of the romance - I personally saw it coming, but most people probably wouldn't. I enjoyed this book for the most part, and I'm glad I read it.
What I Did Not Like:
As I mentioned above, I'm not entirely sure how I feel about Caggie. I don't think we clicked, but I could see her side of things MUCH easier than I could with most heroines of "tough-issue" books. I feel like her emotion shutdown and the way she expressed her grief was more subtle and more complex than other heroines of "tough-issue" books, which I would much rather read. At the same time, Caggie's decisions were probably just as screwed up, at the end of the way. Some of the things she did, especially when it came to Astor, were too much. Like, there were red flags going up in my head throughout the book, in many regards.
Most of the characters rubbed me the wrong way. I'm glad that they all went through their processes of grief, and most of them grew and developed throughout the story, but I didn't like most of them, for the most part. I liked Trevor a lot, and I liked Kristen, but otherwise, meh.
I wasn't very passionate about this book, and I didn't absolutely love it. I know it doesn't seem like I have a ton of reasons for rating this book as low as I did, but I just didn't love it. Nor did I really like it. I enjoyed it, I'm happy to have had the opportunity to read it, but I probably wouldn't buy it, or read it again.
Would I Recommend It:
I'd say maybe. This isn't like, a number one, absolutely loved, must have, must buy/borrow, will cry over, will change lives kind of book. It's a good read, but don't break your neck trying to get to the bookstore or library for this one. It's not the best contemporary novel out there, but if you already have it, or really wanted to read it before, then go for it. Do it. Otherwise, skip it.
Rating:
3 stars. Maybe it was a feeling of apathy that held me back? I don't know. But I wasn't wild about this book. However, I enjoyed it, and I am happy that I read, finished, and reviewed it. -
This review was originally posted on my book review blog,
The Overstuffed Bookcase.
Retelling? Homage? Inspired by?
The Edge of Falling seems to have a lot of references to The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. The two main characters have the same last name, both of those characters have a sibling who died, and Serle just mentions Salinger and The Catcher in the Rye a lot in The Edge of Falling. I read Catcher about 5 or 6 years ago (I'm not sure how I never read it in school), and I didn't enjoy it. However, in the past few years I've grown into much more of a reader, and I know I'd probably see it differently if I read it now. But as it is, I don't really remember much of Catcher so I'm not sure if The Edge of Falling is simply inspired by Catcher, or if it's an homage, or if it's kind of a retelling. I don't think it affected me too much as to which it was, since I didn't really remember much about Catcher, and therefore I just judged The Edge of Falling on its own.
The Good...
There were some really beautiful and poignant lines throughout The Edge of Falling. Serle's writing definitely feels akin to other YA contemporary writers like John Green and David Levithan when it comes to analyzing the human spirit. And I got a little teary-eyed at one point in the end, which is something I almost never do while reading.
I also liked the character growth within the story. I wouldn't really say that I liked Caggie, but we do see her grow and mature within the story, and that's something I usually look for, especially if it's a character that I'm not absolutely in love with. I completely support characters having flaws, and I think Caggie was written to be a character full of flaws. And I'm not sure if this was intentional, or if it was just because I'm an adult reader and also a mother so maybe I see things a bit differently than other YA readers, but I saw each and every one of her mistakes as what they were--mistakes. I never liked that Astor guy and I cringed while Caggie turned more and more away from her friends and family and schoolwork, and I ultimately felt like I was seeing myself react as if my child was Caggie's age and doing the same thing.
But, that being said, I think Serle perhaps wrote Caggie that way on purpose. She's not supposed to be a perfect character. She's not supposed to be the loveable quirky girl next door--she's supposed to be a real, complex character who is hurting and feels more guilt than she knows what to do with. And while I didn't agree with her actions, I could see why she would make certain choices, and I was very glad to see growth in her character.
The Not-So-Good...
There were also several things that I just didn't love about this story. For one thing, I just didn't like the name Caggie. I don't understand why it was a nickname for the name Mcalister, and I know names are completely subjective and quite a minor thing, but weird names like that just pull me out of the book and annoy me.
I also never liked Astor. But, like I said above, maybe Serle wrote the characters that way on purpose--so that you wouldn't like Astor, that you wouldn't agree with Caggie's choices and see them as mistakes, but rather so you would just see this portrait of a flawed and complexly realistic character. But I also never really liked Caggie either. Yes, she's a realistic character and perhaps Serle was meaning to write the characters in this way, but I still just didn't really like Caggie, although I did like her character growth.
I also felt like this book kind of threw a lot of the New York City Upper East Side cliches at us. In fact, as I was reading this book I found myself thinking, "This reminds me of Gossip Girl," and "Didn't that happen in Gossip Girl?" and "Isn't this a lot like that one scene/person/place in Gossip Girl?" Not that I think this story is really anything like Gossip Girl--they both just seem to show the same kind of life in NYC and while I enjoy reading about that life, I also felt like this book was maybe filling some kind of quota with all its Upper East Side cliches.
Great Quotes...
I wrote down several beautiful and interesting passages from The Edge of Falling, and here are a few of my favorites*:
"We walk in silence. Sometimes this happens without warning. Like the magnitude of the past--of all that has happened--creeps into the space and inflates. One minute it's this little thing--contained, pocket-size--the next minute it's a creature. With legs and arms and scales. That's how grief works. It's there even when you forget about it. It doesn't disappear, but just morphs, changes form."
"He holds me tightly. A little too tightly. He holds me like I'm the only fixed point in an ocean."
"People think tragedies are blurs, that they fade together like a film dissolve, but that's not at all how it goes. The memories are sharp, jagged. When you call them up, they could slice right through you."
My rating for The Edge of Falling by Rebecca Serle: 3.5 stars. I enjoyed the ending and the character growth, but the rest of the book kind of fell flat for me. But I do think that Rebecca Serle has a way with words and I'll be on the lookout for more of her books in the future.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. (Thanks, Simon Pulse!) I was not compensated in any other way for this review.
*All quotes are from the ARC. They may be different in the finalized version. -
Well, this was certainly less rage-inducing than When You Were Mine, but it's just...blah. There's so much potential here for a real exploration of grief and mourning and guilt, and instead we focus primarily on a love triangle. Snore. I'm not sure I even want to spend the time it would take to write a full review.
Sigh. Here we go.
When the novel opens, McCallister "Caggie" Caulfield is dealing with the aftermath of a couple of traumatic situations: at a classmate's end of the year party, she saved a girl who had gone up to the roof to jump, earning her some unwanted notoriety. Unwanted because she's still recovering from the incident that occurred in January: her younger sister Hayley drowned while Caggie was supposed to be watching her. Everything in Caggie's life pretty much went south after Hayley's death: she and her boyfriend broke up, her parents busied themselves in work (dad) and redecorating (mom), and her best friend moved to a different borough, leaving her all alone at the fancy pants private school where she doesn't feel like she belongs (of course).
Here's the problem: both of these traumatic events are, of course, not what they appear. There's the story Caggie told everyone, and then there's what actually happened. And let me tell you, if you thought either tragedy was meant to be taken at face value, Serle drops enough hints (well, anvils really) in the first few chapters that there's more to the story, that you'd have to be pretty dense not to pick up on the "foreshadowing". It bugs me that we have to deal with Caggie being weird and secretive about BOTH events. She really was responsible for Hayley's death: she snuck off to her family's beach house to see her boyfriend Trevor, didn't tell her parents, and at the last minute decided to take Hayley along. And while Caggie was inside, worrying about her boyfriend, Hayley was outside by the pool (which still has water in it in January because...why?), dropped Caggie's bracelet into the water, and drowned trying to retrieve it. By the time Caggie found her, it was too late. That's terrible, unquestionably. It's not so much the kind of trauma you recover from as the kind you simply learn to live with. And it's understandable that she starts to push people away after it happens. But the whole nonsense with her boyfriend just made me want to shake her, because all of the "problems" are borne out of Caggie's own inability to talk about what happened....but she blames them on Trevor. I'm not sure what she told people about Hayley's death, but evidently she downplayed her own responsibility in it (I think it's that Hayley was trying to save the bracelet, which was a present from Trevor, but the bracelet didn't really mean that much to Caggie). Anyway, she keeps acting like he's blaming her, or acting weird around her, or really just looking for any excuse to get him to leave her. Which he eventually does, and then she can feel justified in her misery.
So I'm sure it comes as no surprise to anyone that Caggie was the one who needed saving on the roof that night. Her classmate, Kristin, actually found HER about to jump, and slipped trying to talk her into coming back over the ledge. Acting purely on instinct and adrenaline, Caggie pulled her back into the roof. All of this earns Caggie some extremely unwanted popularity among her classmates, who of course are all vapid idiots incapable of intelligent thought. It bugs me that her classmates are painted in such broad strokes, while Caggie herself is annoying superior about it all. At one point she actually comments on the fact that "children are starving in Africa," but all Abigail cares about are her shoes. Um, what, exactly are YOU doing to help those starving children, great humanitarian? You don't seem too worried about them when you're enjoying fancy restaurants with private seating and your family's beach house. Newsflash: it is possible to have money, enjoy having money, and still be an intelligent, caring member of society. Arg.
Anyway, the book quickly goes from what could be an interesting exploration of grief and forgiveness into a damn love triangle when "bad boy" Astor shows up. Like Caggie, he too is hiding a deep dark secret (note to Rebecca Serle: if ALL of your characters are hiding something, it loses its effect). And she quickly tumbles into this awful co-dependent relationship with him that is SO unhealthy and frustrating to read. It would seem all they do is make out, because that apparently quiets Caggie's feelings of guilt? I mean...grief is grief, but I have a hard time buying into that one. Like any good controlling boyfriend, Astor wastes no time isolating Caggie from all of her friends by convincing her that they "just don't understand." Seeing as that's what Caggie's been telling herself to justify pushing everyone away for a year, it doesn't take much work on Astor's part.
The problem with this is that it is all so very dull. I know YA is romance heavy, and I know that's one of the appeals of YA for a lot of people. But the premise of this story just starts out so promising, and devolves so quickly. It really is just your standard "bad boy/safe boy" love triangle. There's nothing new or exciting being done here, which is sad because this could have been SUCH a good story (look at that cover! I defy you not to at least pick it up and gaze at it). Jennifer Donnelly's
Revolutionis a far better exploration of a very similar topic, sans love triangle. -
2.5 stars for me - this was a less-than-stellar read but we made it through 😆
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I really liked the premise of this book, and thought for sure there was going to be a big twist. I was pretty disappointed when the twist never came and the ending was pretty dull.
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The book had me sucked in from the beginning. Loved the story. I kinda wish there was more into their relationship. Felt like the book was kinda rushed. Overall a good easy read.
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Wow, this was... something.
My friend gave me this book to read specifically so I could write a review about it, and although I was already aware of what happened in it, reading the events was definitely an experience.
This book was probably the most horrible thing I've ever read, and I would use it as fuel for a fire. I wasted so much precious time of my life trying to get through this thing, and the only reason I didn't DNF it was because my friend forced me to suffer through it.
Normally I start off with the good things, but I don't think I can do that when there was nothing good about it... First lets start off with our Main Character. I expected to read about a relatable teen who was struggling with grief, and depression and forgiveness, but instead I got a "I'm not like other girls" teen, who had a victim complex and a shitty way of dealing with every single problem that came her way.
Her only solution was "Lets make out with this edgy boy who I barely even know because it makes me feel better."
Lets start off with a few of the first quotes at the beginning of this book just to give you an idea of what I mean: "My name is Mcalister Caulfield, I live on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, and this is my story." Yeah right off the bat, we get this-and let me tell you, it doesn't get better.
- "I've always been naturally thin, so I have that going for me. But I'm short, too short, and my blonde hair doesn't exactly cascade down my back."
- "While most girls in my junior class spend their Saturdays getting blowouts, I've opted for the park and a book."
This book is definitely one of those examples of an adult who tries SO hard to write teenagers, but fails miserabley, and yet somehow it gets published. Now, before I get too carried away with this, I want to list everything that our MC, Mcalister aka Caggie, did that genuinely made me despise her. It seemed like everything she did just put me in a RAGE, and I wanted so badly to feel for her, and her sorrow, but it almost felt as though there was a barrier between me and her. So to summarize some of her worst decisions, here:
- She was absolutely horrible to her best friend Claire, (who was honestly one of the best characters in this)
- She was horrible to her brother who was desperately trying to help her
- She was horrible to her ex boy friend who was ACTUALLY A REALLY GOOD GUY
- So basically to summarize these points, she was cold hearted and genuinely only cared about herself
- She had this entire idea throughout the book that the only person that could help her was the one person who had gone through the same thing as her, (which happened to be this edgy psychotic 'bad boy' who IMMEDIATELY had red flags but she chose to ignore)
- She refused to see how much Claire, her brother, and Trevor cared for her, because she was so locked up in this idea that Astor was the only one who could help her.
Look I know grief works different ways in everyone, but I wasn't aware that it left people without ANY COMMON SENSE.
Anyways, lets talk about Astor, the dark haired bad boy who was obsessed with fires, (and ofc made this clear with the lighter he carried around). They met once before he asked her out, and then the 2nd/3rd? time they kissed. Like, romantic build up? WHERE WAS THAT? And there was nothing about this guy that made me believe he ever genuinely liked her. They both were struggling with grief, and that somehow made Mcalister head over heels for him even though he was obviously a horrible person. He had been kicked out of school, barely showed up to his classes, AND both her best friend and brother tried to tell her that he wasn't a good person. But OFC they don't understand her, so let's just ignore everything they say because "Astor understands me." Even when she found proof of his mental instability, she still ran back to him, only for him to sweet-talk her again. I just didn't understand her at all, and I thought she was honestly stupid.
Also this one scene where she told her own brother that he never grieved? For a book that is supposed to be about dealing with grief, that is an extremely damaging thing to say, and it can influence the readers a lot-it's a big NO for me.
Anyways, maybe this book just wasn't for me, and I couldn't help but cringe throughout the majority of it. I don't recommend this at all, and if this book was my own I might burn it, but alas it is my friends copy. My final rating is 1 star, but even that might be generous. -
(Source: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to Simon Pulse and Edelweiss.)
17-year-old Mcalister (Caggie) is dealing the best she can after her sister’s death, and it doesn’t help that people think she’s a hero for saving a classmate – Kristen, from committing suicide by jumping off a roof. If people knew what really happened, they’d know that she’s nothing of the kind.
School isn’t going all that well for Caggie, nothing is, apart from the arrival of new student Astor, who Caggie begins to feel something for.
What really happened on the roof though? What happened to Hayley? And can Caggie find a way to move on with her life?
I found this book quite boring for the first 70% of the story, it was only after this that we really got to see what Caggie was really going through.
Caggie seemed to be grieving in this book. The way she behaved, and her views on life, her thoughts about what did and didn’t matter, all pointed to the fact that she was grieving for her sister, but it was all very subtle. Caggie drifted through life, and didn’t even really admit to herself just how bad she was really feeling inside.
It wasn’t until the 70% mark that we really began to get clear ideas of what was really going on in Caggie’s head, and started to understand her mental turmoil, and it was only at this point that I was really able to connect with her.
The storyline in this was okay, but I felt that the first ¾ of the book was pretty dull. It just dragged for me. Things happened that didn’t interest me, too much was left in the dark, and I just got bored. For me there just wasn’t enough to keep the mystery in the story, and at times I wondered whether I could even be bothered to finish it.
I thought that the revelation about what happened to Hayley, and what happened with Caggie and Kristen on the roof came a bit too late in the story, and once we knew more about what had happened the story was more interesting.
I really felt for Caggie when her depression was discussed, and it would have been nicer to have seen this side of her and her suffering earlier in the book. I totally loved the brutal honesty and pain in the line ‘How do you deal with missing someone forever?’ and thought that it was poignant and really summed up Caggie’s pain.
The ending was okay, and I liked that we got a bit of a ray of light at the end, and hope that things would maybe get better for Caggie and her family. This was quite a difficult book to rate though, as I felt that it only really got good after the 70% mark, which was a bit of a shame.
Overall; an okay story, with painful and poignant emotions towards the end.
6.75 out of 10 -
2.5
I wanted to read The Edge of Falling because I love a good contemporary and this has all of the ingredients Guilt over being on watch when her sister drowned, the saving of a suicide that's not all it seems, and a mysterious boy with a past that sounds dark. So, I was glad to grab it when it was available for review on Edelweiss.
I got right into the story, liking Caggie's voice and learning about the important things in her life. But can we talk about the nickname? Points for originality, but man, it rubbed me the wrong way. I just didn't like it maybe because I've never heard in real life or maybe because it is something I would never want to be called. But anyways, name rant over.
I really wanted to get to the bottom of the dynamics with her and Trevor. He seemed to still care so much and try to talk to her, so I suspected early on that it was because she had pushed him away while grieving for her sister, and that was something that he couldn't handle. Not that a teenage boy would necessarily know how to help or be there anyways, just not enough life experience I guess. I liked her memories of them dating and was rooting for him with the information I had, provided there wasn't some big twist where he was a jerk or did something with big consequences.
I didn't care much for Laila, Caggie's best friend. It seemed that Caggie never portrayed her in the best light and I didn't feel that sense of bonding and love that I usually get from best friends in high school.
I thought that this story would be more about the events of her sister drowning, and what happened on the roof, but there was a lot of mundane drama that sandwiched the events that got my attention in the synopsis, and it felt like, especially at first, it was a deli ultra thin slice of meat we were given about the traumatic events, and the emotions.
I connected with her some, but mostly Caggie was really detached. And trust me I get that in grieving or with depression that numbness and detachment are part of it, to keep us alive and going. But when I am reading, I need to be let under the surface a little more to connect before the character goes all detached.
What I did love was how Caggie came to life when her brother Peter was there. She laughed, teased and opened up, feeling like it was okay to feel how she does, and hope of working things out. But that was only a tiny slice again, and while I loved what I saw, I wanted more of the brother and sister dynamics.
The ending was more where it finally picked up, I understood Caggie more and the pieces came together.
Bottom Line: Great premise just a little short on execution on top of detached protagonist. -
Grade: B
Caggie has hero status since saving a classmate from jumping off a building last May. Except she didn't. And she doesn't clear up the misunderstanding, because it's better than being known as the girl who let her little sister drown last January. Wanting solitude, she pushes her (ex?) boyfriend, Trevor, best friend and everyone away, until she falls for the new guy in school, Astor. Astor seems to understand Caggie and her grief better than she understands herself. The closer they become, the more worried her friends and brother. Do they see a side of Astor, Caggie doesn't, or are they just jealous that he understands her better?
Rebecca Serle created a unique, engaging voice in Caggie, a rich girl who defies cliché. Not a snob or mean girl, she neither flaunts or uses her wealth to her advantage. While her mother and some friends and classmates revel in conspicuous consumption, to Caggie money is just something she's had all her life, not something who makes her more worthy. Serle's characters happen to be wealthy. Their pain is universal, even if it takes place in summer beach house mansions or luxury penthouses.
I'm a reader who often loathes characters the writer wants me to like, and that's how I felt about Trevor. He broke up with Caggie, yet he acts like a controlling, obsessive and overbearing martyr. Plus he wasn't honest about some key details. I don't like when writers seem to want to like characters who do things like break up "for the good of" others. It's so patronizing and not one bit romantic.
But, I loved and found Caggie and her journey relatable, even though I've never been rich of felt responsible for someone's death. I love Serle's writing and except for the end, I loved the plot. **The end isn't terrible. I wish it had gone differently,
THEMES: death, grief, mental illness, depression, friends, family, siblings
I enjoyed THE EDGE IF FALLING and will probably reread it in the future. -
I just finished this one and I feel... Uuuuugh. Hugely disappointed.
I had really high hopes for this book on a personal level. The whole premise is that it's about this girl Caggie (which is a name that you are physically forced to gag yourself in order to say) whose little sister drowns when Caggie is supposed to be watching her.
I'll tell you why this made me personally invested in the story-- this exact same situation happened in my family 16 years ago. My baby cousin drowned in her family's swimming pool when she was only two years old, when her then 16-year-old sister was supposed to be watching her. The older sister is an amazing person, and by far one of my favorite cousins. She spends her adult life saving lives on a daily basis at her job as a brain surgeon. The drowning was a complete accident, but I can only imagine the emotional toll living out this experience has had to take.
So anyway, maybe my expectations were just way too high because Caggie did not grow up to be a brain surgeon (or maybe she did; I don't even care at this point). Regardless of what my thoughts were going into it, this book just kind of sucked. The big exciting events in the synopsis (the traumatic sister drowning experience and the saving the suicidal girl thing) were hardly touched on at all outside of the first couple of chapters. This entire book is about a dumb rich girl who's caught in a love triangle between two guys she likes. BOOOOORING. the one big twist in the book is completely obvious, which basically ruined the only interesting element in this novel.
I don't even want to talk about this anymore. What a waste of potential. -
The Edge of Falling follows Caggie who is dealing with a lot of heavy issues. Her sister died when Caggie was supposed to be watching her. Caggie had also recently saved a classmate from following off a balcony, so she’s hailed as a hero. Yet, Caggie is far from a hero. Caggie went to the balcony to throw herself off because she wanted to kill herself, and the girl she ‘saved’ was trying to save her.
The Edge of Falling is an tough issues book, so if that’s something you don’t enjoy reading then I wouldn’t recommend this book. However, I enjoyed reading this story. It was about how Caggie began to heal, but how many other people had to heal as well. It was much more than Caggie’s story. The reader got to see how the other characters needed to heal as well.
The characters are well written, but not always likeable. I didn’t really connect with Caggie. I understood why she felt the way she did and I could sympathise. I could understand why she completely shut down emotionally, but I didn’t understand why she made some of the choices that she did. Astor is another character that wasn’t immediately likeable. All of the characters experience some growth during this story, which I thoroughly appreciated. The Edge of Falling may primarily focus on Caggie and her growth, but other characters feelings are explored too.
I’m happy that I read The Edge of Falling, but it’s not a book that I would read again. -
The Edge of Falling was nothing like I expected but nonetheless brilliant. Rebecca Serle has established herself with a beautiful, poignant writing style.
Told in first person narrative from McAlister’s perspective (I thought it was a weird name too) encompassing direct address to the reader establishing a personal connection from the beginning.
The story draws you in, past events leading to the current situation are woven seamlessly into the plot and ride a roller-coaster of emotion as details are revealed. Encompassing death and bereavement alongside differing coping mechanisms.
The Edge of Falling shows have tragedy changes you, it can completely alter your perspective. It is a stark look at the emotions that can weigh us down and drag us under without the proper support system. Tragedy makes you re-evaluate yourself, your relationships even your own place in the world and hopefully gives you a new appreciation of everything.
The Edge of Falling is a consuming read, you won’t be able to put it down until you’ve reached that last page and then you can’t help but think about it long after you’ve closed the cover. -
This book made me angry and depressed.
The main character Caggie is dealing with the loss of her younger sister and she is not caring about things she used to. After a break up with a great guy, Caggie decides to start seeing a guy who obviously (like neon arrows pointing obvious) not mentally stable. She refuses to listen to anyone who warns her about Astor (crazy guy). It alls explodes when Astor sets a fire that almost kills himself and Caggie.
The thing that pissed me off was Caggie's relationship with Astor. The boy was not well and Caggie ignored it. I found myself saying "Girl, wtf?" alot. I wanted to relate to Caggie on some level but I just couldn't. She wallowed in misery the entire book. I would've liked her to have grown throughout the book. She had an epiphany at the end of the book and everything was wrapped up in a bow.
Grief is a tough subject and this author stayed in one stage of it throughout.
After reading this book I was seriously depressed. The ending didn't uplift me a bit. I did love Clair though. She was fun. Maybe the author should write a book with her as the main character. I want to know more about her and her relationship with Caggie's brother. -
I enjoyed the story but not as much as some of her other books. I think the Astor relationship was what irritated me. It felt very forced and didn't work for the plot. Especially the "kidnapping" and fire scene. Maybe if there had been a bit more story around him to bridge the crazy, it could have worked better. I still enjoyed this read.
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I know this book isn't going to be for everyone, and I identified much more strongly to Rebecca Serle's first book, When You Were Mine, but The Edge of Falling was a very, very solid read for me. I definitely know a whole bunch of people who'll love and I can't wait to make them read.
