
At an elite boarding school in Canada, we meet Noel, a shy eighteen-year-old who hasn’t ever really made any friends at school, and his roommate Julius, one of the most popular kids at the school. Over the course of their senior year, they become almost like friends, although it’s clear that Julius is still far above Noel in social status with his many friends and gorgeous girlfriend, Fall (short for Fallon). It becomes clear that Noel is developing a major crush on Fall, and harbors both feelings of jealousy for Julius and a deep desire to be his best friend. When tragedy strikes towards the end of the novel, both Julius and Noel become desperate for answers.
Fall is a tense novel, filled with interesting characters and an even more interesting plot (of which I was cautious to reveal nothing important, hence the summary that tells you nothing significant). Noel is the typical “loser” in high school, Julius is the typical “cool kid” and yet somehow they end up being roommates. How the two of them form a loose bond is interesting to read about and definitely believable. It’s clear how when both of their guards are down, and the expectations the world throws at them are outside of their bedroom door, they have an easy way together, a comfortability about their relationship that frees them from outside social constraints.
I happen to love boarding school books (Prep, Looking for Alaska, and The Secret History all come to mind) and Fall’s boarding school ambiance did not disappoint. While I would probably hate going to boarding school myself, reading about it always thrills me. Something about the angsty teenagers all living together, trying to forge relationships while not having ANY personal space whatsoever, and for some reason something mysterious always happens in these books – all these factors were at play in Fall.
Noel and Julius both take part in telling this story, and McAdam wrote both characters extremely well. Julius was the perfect hormone-driven teenager, completely in love with Fall but also conflicted in so many other aspects of his life, and his voice reflected that so well. He was blissfully ignorant of Noel’s true thoughts and feelings, typical (I think) for a high school jock whose major concerns are having fun and getting laid. And Noel was almost emotionless, with a detached voice despite his obvious infatuation with both Fall and Julius, to a different degree. Both guys were written perfectly, and their different voices really made the novel for me.
I have to be honest when I say that the ending to Fall was my least favorite thing about it. I feel like the book sort of fell apart at the end, yes things made sense, but I’m not sure that I was happy with how everything ended up. The ending was slightly ambiguous and I didn’t really enjoy that, I wanted more of a concrete ending to things. No, the ending did not ruin the rest of the book for me, but it did put a damper on my overall experience of reading the novel.
Fall is an atmospheric, literary mystery starring two high school boys who couldn’t possibly be more different. Add that to the setting of a boarding school, and the book becomes a real winner. Fans of literary fiction will be pleased with this book.
I think boarding schools adhere much more to the myth of high school social dynamics than actual high schools do, especially when we’re dealing with the angst of middle-class white kids, which I often find to be so trivial in contemporary young adult fiction. At least boarding schools have some justification.
I totally agree. I think when you put angsty teenagers in the setting of a boarding school, things are bound to get crazy. And every boarding school book I’ve read portrays that so well!
Yes, a boarding school novel always tends to be a bit more fun and believable on rash actions taken by children who don’t have to really hide anything other than from prying professors!
Exactly!!
God, I know I’d have hated boarding school with a passion, but I’m mad about books set in them. Hopefully I’ll feel differently about the ending–a bad ending can wreck a book for me, and I am really in the mood for a good boarding school book. #fingerscrossed
Well try it out, and let me know what you think! Perhaps you’ll feel better about the ending than I did.
I love boarding school stories too! Too bad the ending wasn’t what it could have been.
Yes, too bad. 😦 Still worth a read though.
This one sounds really good. Even though I hate endings like that, this is one that I would pick up based on your review.
Thanks, Staci! I hope you do pick it up.
Admittedly, I am a “boarding school addict” myself. I loved all the books you named that fall into that category. Looks like I’ll have to add this one to my list!
Ooh, I can’t wait to hear your thoughts! I hope you get a chance to pick it up soon.
Another boarding school book fan checking in. 🙂 I hadn’t heard of this one, though.
Yeah, I hadn’t heard of it either but I’m glad I took the opportunity to read it! Definitely a good choice.
[…] ~ Fall by Colin McAdam, reviewed by Heather at Book Addiction […]