My first reaction to Hayley Scrivenor's novel, "Girl Falling," was the use of "girl" in the title. The success of "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" has made "girl" titles so common that I find it off-putting! The novel is well-crafted, but I found it difficult to like the characters. The author focuses on important relationships that Finn and Daphne, the central characters, have with each other, their sisters, their mothers, their therapist, and other friends and lovers. The twists and turns in the plot were clever and surprising, but I found myself dreading finding out what would happen to them rather than caring. The characters' detailed discussion of psychological issues is plausible because of their academic experience, but I found some of their behaviors implausible. Would a particular person really make this sequence of decisions and actions? Would the other characters react to them in this way? I wish I had cared more!

Joanna Pearson's first novel, Bright and Tender Dark, focuses on the January 2000 murder of college student Karlie. Part mystery and part commentary on generational change, we hear the story first from the perspective of Joy, Karlie's freshman year roommate, and others—often strangers—who, in 2019, are obsessed with solving her murder—believing the man convicted is innocent. Then Pearson returns to 1999, revealing more about Karlie, her relationships with her family, religion, and several friends and acquaintances. Karlie's inner life is expertly portrayed, partly through her writings, including poetry. Pearson ends the novel with a return to 2019 and additional details that might resolve the murder mystery.

The writing is wonderful, but some of the characters seem cast primarily as red herrings or to represent diverse groups. This is an engaging read for anyone interested in academia, evangelism, and how we deal with love and rejection.