Sadie Hawkins Sunday Review #5: Fall for Anything

Fall for Anything

Author: Courtney Summers
Pages: 230
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Source: Purchased

Description from Goodreads:
From the author of Cracked Up to Be and Some Girls Are comes a gripping story about one girl’s search for clues into the mysterious death of her father.

When Eddie Reeves’s father commits suicide her life is consumed by the nagging question of why? Why when he was a legendary photographer and a brilliant teacher? Why when he seemed to find inspiration in everything he saw? And, most important, why when he had a daughter who loved him more than anyone else in the world? When she meets Culler Evans, a former student of her father’s and a photographer himself, an instant and dangerous attraction begins. Culler seems to know more about her father than she does and could possibly hold the key to the mystery surrounding his death. But Eddie’s vulnerability has weakened her and Culler Evans is getting too close. Her need for the truth keeps her hanging on...but are some questions better left unanswered?

First Sentence: "My hands are dying."

Review:

Courtney Summers is one of those authors I come to for a really depressing read, and she really delivers in Fall for Anything. Eddie Reeves' has not been the same since her photographer father committed suicide. Of course, who would be with a loved parent dead and no idea why he would do such a thing? Fall for Anything is a girl's search for answers.

In the wake of her father's suicide, Eddie's mother has fallen apart, refusing to leave the house or take off her husband's housecoat. A nosy friend of the family, Beth, moves in to keep the family functioning the way she thinks they should be. Eddie does not approve. I really like how up front Eddie is about her distaste for this person coming and messing with their mourning. The moments when she complains about Beth or about her best friend Milo's girlfriend are when she feels most like a normal teenager.

Seth Reeves hardly left anything behind to explain why he killed himself. Until she knows why, Eddie doesn't know how to deal. To cope, she turns her focus to frustrating Beth and thinking about boys. She's looking for meaning, and if she can't find it in her father's action, maybe she can find it in Culler Evans, his only student. Eddie makes some really dumb choices with regards to romance, but they're so obviously a cry for help even she doesn't know she's making.

My favorite part is the mystery of why Seth jumped from the roof. Eddie and Culler find a box of photographs. From them, they discern clues as to his reason for exiting this world. Their search turns into a road trip and a bunch of life lessons. Those left behind when a loved one commits suicide will always wonder why, and feel culpable; this is why Eddie searches.

One of the most fascinating techniques Summers uses to highlight Eddie's discomfort is the coldness in her hands. Since his death, her hands have not been warm, even though it's the middle of summer. She has trouble using them and it's almost as though they've been damaged by the ordeal and cannot be fixed, in much the way Lady Macbeth couldn't get the damn spot out.

Unfortunately, I never personally connected with Eddie, and I viewed her solely from a distance. My heart didn't ache for her the way it did for Sloane in This Is Not a Test. Both are withdrawn, unhappy, messed up girls, but for some reason Sloane captured my heart and Eddie did not. I think part of my disconnection was how incredibly sad every aspect of this book is. I prefer a bit more humor, even really dark humor, mixed in to lighten the mood. That juxtaposition tends to make points more strongly, I find, than a book that stays consistently sad.

Courtney Summers writes amazing books, though I do not think this one will be my favorite of the bunch. I do, however, plan to revisit this one later in life, because the themes of dealing with grief might be more meaningful for me then.

Rating: 4/5

Favorite Quote: "'Eddie, I think . . . sometimes lies bring you to the truth . . . or help you reconcile with it . . . '"

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The next Sadie Hawkins Sunday book will be Earth Girl by Janet Edwards. This suggestion comes from Kayla Beck of Bibliophilia, Please, who also gifted me a copy. Thanks lovely!

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