ARC Review: After the Fall by Kate Hart
After the Fall by Kate Hart was a real and emotional, check out my review below. I would like to thank Farrar, Straus & Giroux for the early review copy. All opinions are my own and in no way influenced.
After the Fall by Kate Hart
Category: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publication: January 24th, 2017; Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Purchase: Amazon
A YA debut about a teen girl who wrestles with rumors, reputation, and her relationships with two brothers.
Seventeen-year-old Raychel is sleeping with two boys: her overachieving best friend Matt…and his slacker brother, Andrew. Raychel sneaks into Matt’s bed after nightmares, but nothing ever happens. He doesn’t even seem to realize she’s a girl, except when he decides she needs rescuing. But Raychel doesn’t want to be his girl anyway. She just needs his support as she deals with the classmate who assaulted her, the constant threat of her family’s eviction, and the dream of college slipping quickly out of reach. Matt tries to help, but he doesn’t really get it… and he’d never understand why she’s fallen into a secret relationship with his brother. The friendships are a precarious balance, and when tragedy strikes, everything falls apart. Raychel has to decide which pieces she can pick up – and which ones are worth putting back together.
Review:
[book rating=5/5]
It’s very rare for me to be blindsided by the emotional range and depth of a book. But After the Fall did just that. After reading the synopsis, I expected a love triangle and I got that. I also got so much more.
Raychel is poor. She wants to get out of the town she’s grown up in, but everything that could go wrong seems to do so. Matt is the opposite. He leads a charmed life and is almost guaranteed to be heading to Duke next year. They’ve been best friends forever. Matt, however, wants more. He just doesn’t know how to say it. Then there’s his younger brother, Andrew. He’s the opposite of Matt in almost every way. Not so serious, a bit of a slacker. Together, the three of them comprise a sort of Musketeers gang.
Initially, we see Raychel dealing with the after effects of a hookup gone wrong. She’s questioning herself and what had happened. No one else knows and her struggle carries over into her friendships. Matt knows something is wrong, but doesn’t know how to get it out of her. As things begin to fall apart further, Raychel finds solace in an unlikely source—Andrew.
After the Fall is told from two points of view: Raychel and Matt. I felt this was absolutely crucial to the story considering each character’s differing feelings. What one thinks the other doesn’t realize. I completely understood her frustration with Matt, but once his perspective came into play, it helped paint him into a better light. Somewhat. I did have issues with Matt as a character. He was very opinionated and judgmental. Times when he thought he was being helpful tended to make situations worse. And I’m not saying Raychel was perfect. Not even close. But her station in life was the polar opposite of his, and he had a hard time seeing that. Andrew was absolutely my favorite character. He had a goofy charm and charisma. Where Matt tried to be serious and pressure Raychel into making choices that wouldn’t work for her, Andrew just listened and offered comfort. He let her be her.
This story is invaluable. It broaches many subjects, and consent is probably the most important. I felt feminist vibes nearly every time Raychel spoke. It’s important for young women to read so they don’t take the blame for something that was someone else’s fault. But beware. This is by no means an easy read. The last half is emotionally gripping. My heart was in a vise. But it’s REAL. That’s what I appreciated most. Because life isn’t always like the movies.
