No Place to Fall by Jaye Robin Brown

No Place to Fall by Jaye Robin Brown
Release Date: December 9, 2014
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 368
Series: n/a
Review Source: Edelweiss

Synopsis: (from Goodreads)

Amber Vaughn is a good girl. She sings solos at church, babysits her nephew after school, and spends every Friday night hanging out at her best friend Devon’s house. It’s only when Amber goes exploring in the woods near her home, singing camp songs with the hikers she meets on the Appalachian Trail, that she feels free—and when the bigger world feels just a little bit more in reach.

When Amber learns about an audition at the North Carolina School of the Arts, she decides that her dream—to sing on bigger stages—could also be her ticket to a new life. Devon’s older (and unavailable) brother, Will, helps Amber prepare for her one chance to try out for the hypercompetitive arts school. But the more time Will and Amber spend together, the more complicated their relationship becomes . . . and Amber starts to wonder if she’s such a good girl, after all.

Then, in an afternoon, the bottom drops out of her family’s world—and Amber is faced with an impossible choice between her promise as an artist and the people she loves. Amber always thought she knew what a good girl would do. But between “right” and “wrong,” there’s a whole world of possibilities.

My Thoughts:
I completely loved the idea of this book -- it sounded like a total “me” book -- but unfortunately I failed to really connect with the characters or the story. The voice of the main character is very “rural teen”, a completely different world than I’m used to. I guess that sounds silly, because reading about a warrior or some character in a fantasy world is something outside my reality too, but there was something different about this. I love that books are getting published from different types of characters, ones outside the norm, but in this case it just wasn’t for me.

I definitely didn’t dislike No Place to Fall, but I didn’t find it very memorable either. The main character, Amber, was a very confusing character, I think because she was at a stage where she wanted to test boundaries. She does things that are more than slightly insane, and I had a hard time relating to that. Probably a lot of other people might connect with this type of character, but, again, I just didn’t. On the romance end of things, the supposed love interest was kind of an idiot. I was really hoping there would be someone better for Amber.

What I liked most about this book was Amber’s love of music and how that was presented. I love when there is an aspect of a character which is so clear to them. Amber may have been a mess overall, but when it came to music she absolutely knew who she was.

So, overall, this was a hit and a miss for me. It’s not bad, but it didn’t enthrall me, either. Be sure to check out other reviews, because I’m sure many others connected to it in a way that I didn’t.

The Cover:
Love!! So cute.

Rating:
[3/5]

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