– Self-Discovery and Growth –
- Author: Rebekah Crane
- Publisher: Skyscape (January 30, 2018)
- Genre: Young Adult / Coming of Age
- Pages: 252
- My Rating: 3/5
Quick Plot Summary:
When a plane crashes in Ireland, Clementine Haas finds herself the only survivor. She has minimal injuries, but she does have one horrible concern. She has amnesia.
Eighteen-year-old, Clementine however does discover the calming, kindness of her male nurse to be helpful as she waits for her dad to arrive from the United States. Where she is told that her flight was from.
But the day her dad arrives at the hospital, Clementine decides she isn’t ready to jump into a life that she doesn’t remember. She is also sure that she doesn’t want to face the media and their barrage of questions which is sure to happen when she leaves.
So while sitting outside the hospital, Clementine begs an acquaintance that she met earlier, Kieran O’Connell, to help her escape. Surprisingly, he agrees and takes her to his families vacation home in the small village of Waterville. In order to avoid being discovered she calls herself Jane and immediately cuts and colors her hair.
At the summer house, Clementine/Jane meets Kieran’s twin sister who is pregnant and also living at the home. Things are pretty rocky for Clementine at first. It’s obvious that Kieran’s sister doesn’t like Clementine and isn’t happy at all that she’s there. But time begins to work its slow magic on the three as they each fight through their own demons.
It’s there, in the small sleepy town of Waterville, Ireland that Clementine discovers that There’s An Upside To Falling Down.
My Thoughts:
Though this is a fun story, it felt imperative to . . . well . . . lock up all common sense before opening the cover of this book. And it might not even hurt to throw the key away until you read The End.
Here are a few examples of why I advise the above.
- Being one person to survive a plane crash is certainly possible, but to have basically no other injuries but amnesia, now that one seems a bit implausible.
- Having the nerve to run away from your dad just because you don’t remember him and need to find yourself felt ridiculous. The man just flew across the ocean and you think only about yourself.
- And sure, why not leave with some guy off the street that you don’t know. What? She won’t leave with her dad because she can’t remember him, yet the guy she met while having lunch outside the hospital is the one she trusts. Hmmm.
- And by all means, don’t give your dad a hint as to where you’ve disappeared to. For all he knows you’ve been kidnapped and killed!
Well, now, it’s time to shut the rant down and talk pretty. That being said, (I told you you’d have to leave the realm of sensibility when you open the cover of this book) I’m not sorry I read it. The story is kind of fun and I especially liked some of the characters. So if you can handle not over-analyzing . . . try it! I bet you’ll like it!
What Concerned Me:
Refer to the bulleted comments above. The lack of anyone demonstrating common sense was a bit hard to overlook. It also felt somewhat predictable and cliche for the “rich kids” to have the problems that they were dealing with.
What I Liked Most:
Even with all my concerns, this was a fun, easy read. And I liked some of the characters a lot. I can see early teens really loving this book.
About the Author:
Rebekah Crane is a former high school English teacher who discovered a passion for writing young adult fiction. Her novels also include The Infinite Pieces of Us and The Odds of Loving Grover Cleveland.
Click to visit her website.
