What do readers think of Girl Falling by Hayley Scrivenor? Write your own review.

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.

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.

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.

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!

The book started out ok, but left me feeling more and more uncomfortable the farther in I got. The main two characters each had their own problems, and the relationship between them was strange. Adding the third character added to the strangeness. It was a thriller, and kept me guessing, but there was so much going back and forth in time, and so many descriptive phrases, that it diluted the suspense. I just kept thinking.....these people need help. I would give it three and a half stars.

This book was an easy read – it flowed, it moved, the writing was interesting and well-crafted. The problem for me was the incredulity of the premise of the big issue that kept the protagonist making bad decisions. It was hard to believe the motivating factor for her behavior, which called into question the entire book. It did have an interesting and unexpected twist at the end, but by then, I was a non-believer. I think Ms Scrivenor is a good, interesting writer, and I look forward to more of her work - but only if it's plausible.