Review: Fall for Anything

FALL FOR ANYTHING

This book is something approaching perfection. After Eddie Reeves' father, who the rest of the world knew as a once-famous photographer, commits suicide, Eddie finds herself trapped in a world of grief. Her mother is catatonic, her best friend seems to be pulling away from her, and Eddie's hands are cold. No, numb. No, dead. Ever since that night, ever since the unthinkable happened, Eddie hasn't been herself and the question that plagues her, follows her around no matter where she is or what she's doing, is why. Why did he kill himself? What was so horrible, so unbearable that he couldn't stand to face it anymore? In her determination to answer this question, she meets an older guy, a student of her father's who seems to be hurting just as bad as she is and maybe together they can answer the horrible question. And then maybe -- maybe things will start to make sense to Eddie.

This premise is one that has been done a million times. The death of a parent, suicide of a loved one. It's good, but it's nothing special. However, it's Summers' unique writing and incredible knack for emotion that brings this book into a category all its own. Eddie's pain at losing her father, her confusion about the best friend who won't answer her questions, and the frustration at her mother who's hurting just as bad, comes through loud and clear. Eddie is a quiet, somewhat off-kilter girl whose only real friend is the boy she got "stuck with" in the second grade and whose lack of purpose is in itself a character trait. The relationships here are incredibly written. Instead of being bogged down by description, certain details describing characters or relationships seem to be very purposely added in, giving the relationships a very complete, very real feeling without belaboring the point. I absolutely loved the relationship Eddie and Milo (her best friend) shared, as well as how perfectly her feelings toward her mother's friend came across. It was incredible how much, despite the plot itself not being something I have experience with, I could relate to and understand Eddie Reeves.

The storyline involving the mysterious, older photography student is one that could have easily fell off the tracks and instead seemed almost perfect. The things Eddie does, the ways she reacts and the people she seeks out just fit this heavy grief that she's carrying around and as a reader you feel for her even as you want to scream at her. Culler (the photography student) is the sort of character that is, to a certain extent, open to interpretation. He's carrying his own grief, yes, but he also seems to have a menacing air about him, as if there's just something horribly off, and it adds an edge to this sullen story.

This book is so perfectly about not only grief, but questions of love and responsibility and who can you possibly rely on when your whole world is tipped upside down, shaken like a snowglobe. The setting accents this perfectly, as Eddie and Milo wander around their one-horse town that acts as a backdrop to the seeming impossibility and helplessness of Eddie's situation. Bottom line: this book is incredible and amazing. It's insanely well-written and the story itself has definitely set up residence in my heart. I absolutely love it and recommend it. If you found Courtney Summers' earlier books too harsh or just haven't bothered to read anything by her yet, start with this. It's such a departure from Cracked Up to Be and Some Girls Are, while still bearing many trademarks of a Courtney Summers novel. Read it.

Analysis of Some Girls Are

A semester or so ago, for a Child Development class I was taking, I had to write an analysis of a book that dealt with an issue we'd covered in class. I chose the issue of bullying and analyzed Courtney Summers' second novel, Some Girls Are, tying the bullying in the book into our class curriculum and my goals as a future teacher. I'm reposting my analysis here in honor of Courtney Summers' third novel (Fall For Anything) which is incredibly amazing and comes out December 21st -- be on the lookout for my review of that. 
This post includes spoilers for Some Girls Are.

Sometimes People Just Aren't Nice

(advance warning: apoloys* for the personal post. sometimes it can't be helped.)

[The little girls] pick separate spaces of grass and focus on the dolls they've brought with them while their moms talk. I hope they stay away from each other, because odds are good one of them has the making of a total bitch and the other will become that bitch's total bitch.

Because that's how it works. Mostly.

Some Girls Are, by Courtney Summers (pg. 168)

So back when I was working on this blood, sweat, and tears article, I made a list. You may have noticed by now that I adore lists. And though I can't tell you what I originally called this one (because, you guys, I named names), we'll now call it

THE LIST OF: YOUR FRIEND IS THE SUXXOR

(also, thanks to Becca for helping me with this, and also for being one of the good guys. If friends were secret agents, she'd totally work for CONTROL.) (I'm sorry, sometimes I can't help but make Get Smart references.)

1. Other people (people you trust) comment negatively on how your friend treats you.
2. Your friend makes you feel bad (ugly, unsure, etc.) about yourself.
3. You're afraid to tell your friend certain things because of how she will react.
4. Everything is about her. Every conversation revolves around her and her problems or accomplishments.
5. You change yourself to be friends with her.
6. You fight. A lot.
7. You feel like you have to be there for this person. When you cancel plans or avoid their calls, you feel guilty because you feel a responsibility to her, as if her well being depends on you.
8. Your friend lies to you.
9. Whenever you talk about her to other people, you find yourself complaining.
10. She frequently ditches you or cancels plans, making you feel like a backup friend.
11. You feel depressed, sad, angry, or discouraged after hanging out with or talking to her. Even if you can't quite figure out why, trust me that this is a bad sign.
12. She drains you emotionally.
13. You don't actually like your friend.
14. She tries to control you. (What you do, who you hang out with, etc.)
15. She's there for you when times are bad, but it seems to be more of a schadenfreude thing. (Or, conversely, she's there when things are good but disappears when you need her most.)

I'm posting this for a few reasons, most of which have to do with MY OWN ISSUES OH WOES and don't really fit on this blog, but also because I feel like this is something a lot of women -- young or old -- go through. (I don't mean to stereotype, but I honestly don't think it happens so much with guys.) I'm a big proponent of books that show honest friendships, both the good and the bad. I think a lot of times we underestimate the work it takes to maintain a friendship and it's easy not to realize that a bad friendship can be incredibly similar to an abusive relationship.

Can you relate to any of this? What do you think of deeper, personal-type posts on here occasionally?


*apoloys means apologies. It's a word I made up.