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There are currently 30 member reviews
for Girl Falling
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Susan P. (Boston, MA)
Girl Falling
A young woman in present-day Australia goes rock climbing with her beloved girlfriend and her best friend. She and her best friend have a tight bond because of secrets. The best friend doesn't always act like a good friend to her yet she can't/won't let the relationship go. During the climb , her girlfriend explicably falls to her death, even though all precautions were taken. There is a lot of angst (understandably) and some flashbacks about the best friends' earlier days. The story is good and the ending believable but it seemed like tiresome slogging through all the looking back and secret keeping (most of which was unnecessary).
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Leslie R. (Lynchburg, VA)
not for me
Before attempting to write a review of Girl Falling, I scanned several articles online about why people read. I was trying to determine why I reacted so negatively to this book. After all, the writing itself was good, I learned something about climbing with ropes, and I escaped reality. But did I feel rejuvenated? Did I relieve stress? Did I enjoy the pleasure of a satisfying story? I did not. A 20-something girl is unhealthily attached to her best friend when she falls deeply in love with another girl. The girlfriend falls to her death while on a climbing expedition with the two original friends. Who is responsible? The entire book is an exploration of psychological misery and angst. I will try not to remember it.
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Nancy B. (Rochester, NY)
Red Herrings Abound
I admit that asked for this book based on the sapphic description. The relationships tiptoed up to the edge of menage a trois, and added a "will they, won't they?" element to the book.
Overall, this complex, sometimes convoluted novel kept me returning to previous pages to see what I'd missed. Multiple times I was sure that I'd identified the culprit, only to find, at the end, that I was wrong...or was I?
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LSmith
Dramatic - Girl Falling
This was a difficult read for me - confusing to read the description of the cables and the climbing first thing in the book, and the drama among the characters. There was too much emotion, too much crying and worrying about relationships, too many mistakes, legal, illegal and personal crimes among the 3 main characters and too much negative drama throughout the book.
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Mary Lou C. (Shenadoah Junction, WV)
What's the reality?
This book was okay but far from great. I'm assuming the author intended a psychological thriller/mystery. The characters were just strange and the ending left me wondering what was real and what was in somebody's head. Sorry, author, I just didn't get it. I'd rate it at 2.5.
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Dianne Y. (Stuart, FL)
An Australian based novel
Girl Falling by Hayley Scrivenor
Girl Falling is a novel that takes place in Australia with various themes including friendship, romance, loyalty, acceptance, secrets, crime vs accident, and police investigations.
The author constructs the story by alternating chapters between present day and the past allowing the reader to piece it together as they read.
There are a number of very vivid descriptions of physical places and rock climbing. However, the descriptions of people and their interactions felt more forced and geared more toward a young adult audience. I also found some of the detailed descriptions in the story to be of mundane or unimportant things that felt like unnecessary filler and did not add to the story.
While I found some of the written dialog and details to be more typical of a Young Adult novel, I would not recommend this for teens because of the numerous suicide references. Also, the LBGTQ focus could result in it being banned as a YA novel in some locals.
I would not say this is one of the favorite books I have read this year. However, the short chapters and alternating chapters quickly move the story along, and it has a lot of twists and turns along the way making it a fun summer read.
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Beth P. (Chester, VA)
Confused
I have done many reviews for Bookbrowse, but this is the first time I have ever had difficulty reviewing a book. I feel conflicted, as there were many things I did like about Girl Falling by Hayley Scrivenor. Yet, overall, it wasn't a book that held my attention. It is a psychological mystery, and I love mysteries. The characters were well portrayed: Three strong women, Finn, Daphne, and Magdu. It's a mystery for everyone, but it is LGBTQ inclusive, and I really appreciated that. Finn and Daphne have been best friends for years, but Daphne is very controlling. Finn has just fallen in love with Magdu, and Daphne suggests they all go climb a cliff together. The book gets off to a big start as Magdu falls to her death when something goes very wrong. The story revolves around Finn and Daphne, with flashbacks of Finn and Magdu's blossoming relationship. What went wrong up there? Was it an accident, was it intentional? It kept my attention only because I wanted to know how it ended, but I found my interest waning throughout the book. The characters were complex and interesting, but I found the ending disappointing and abrupt. I did like Hayley Scrivenor's writing, though. After I finished the book, I immediately went to the library to get a more recent book of hers, Dirt Creek, and I haven't put it down yet. Like Girl Falling, it has LGBTQ characters. Now I am confused. Maybe I need to reread Girl Falling!
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