A review by reclusivereader
The Year We Fell Down, by Sarina Bowen
4.0
THE YEAR WE FELL DOWN is a story unlike any I've read before. In the post-John Green craze of books featuring girls and boys falling in love despite life-threatening illnesses, here's a love story about a girl in a wheelchair and a boy with a broken leg. One's circumstance is permanent, the result of a hockey injury, the other's is temporary, the result of drunken foolery. You'd almost think the situations should be reversed, how unfair it all is, except this isn't that kind of book. Yes, there's some moping, some struggle, but this book takes place quite a few months after Callahan's injury as she aims to move forward and start her first year of university.
In her chair-accessible housing, she finds herself rooming across the hall from Hartley, a beautiful boy with his leg in a boot.. with an equally beautiful, but bitchy, girlfriend (tried so hard for alliteration, couldn't keep it up). Though Callahan all but falls in love with him the moment she lays her eyes on him, she doesn't make her feelings known and they actually become friends. Really good friends. Not only do we get to see Corey navigate through the perils of being in love with another girl's boyfriend, we get to see her navigate life without the use of her legs. The struggle not only for her to adapt but how it impacts the people around her. The simplest things like going to a cafeteria that isn't elevator accessible, meeting on the steps of the administrator's building to talk with the Dean to change classes. Even something as thoughtless (to me) as sitting on a couch. Likewise, Hartley has his own struggles to manage much of these situations as well but the difference is his inconvenience has an expiry date.
With Hartley's girlfriend in France for the term, he and Callahan grow close, with one moment pushing them well beyond the safe boundaries of friendship -- in a very emotional and sweet and simultaneously hot scene that changes a lot for both of them, and reveals something very important to Callahan. But that's also when she puts on the brakes, distancing herself, knowing he isn't for her.
As much as I loved the characters, the circumstances, something just felt a bit off. Maybe it was Hartley. Maybe he waited too long in regards to waking the hell up about his feelings, or maybe there wasn't enough transition from one to the other. It just seemed like everything flipped really quickly. To totally contradict my "waited too long" comment, I will say : I could've done with another hundred pages of this story, maybe drag it out a little longer with a few extra epiphanies along the way so it didn't feel as rushed. I might've just wanted more of this story, full stop, but I think a few more Hartley POVs to balance Callahan's would've done the story a world of good.
However, almost every interaction between the two was sweet. Adorable. Wonderful. Callahan was a superstar. Biting and honest but brave. Openly admitting when she was feeling shitty or down or frustrated and I honestly could never put myself in her shoes but I was rooting for her the whole time. Hartley, despite my previously mentioned gripes, was also great. At least when he excluded from his interactions with Stacia, the bitchy girlfriend. He was supporting, encouraging and openly appreciative without ever treating Callahan differently. At least beyond the obvious reasons as to why he would (ie, spoiler, the fact that he liked her). We also had a great support of secondary characters that I'm hoping we get to see a lot more of as the series progresses.
THE YEAR WE FELL DOWN isn't quite adult, isn't quite YA, and isn't quite perfect. But I loved it.
In her chair-accessible housing, she finds herself rooming across the hall from Hartley, a beautiful boy with his leg in a boot.. with an equally beautiful, but bitchy, girlfriend (tried so hard for alliteration, couldn't keep it up). Though Callahan all but falls in love with him the moment she lays her eyes on him, she doesn't make her feelings known and they actually become friends. Really good friends. Not only do we get to see Corey navigate through the perils of being in love with another girl's boyfriend, we get to see her navigate life without the use of her legs. The struggle not only for her to adapt but how it impacts the people around her. The simplest things like going to a cafeteria that isn't elevator accessible, meeting on the steps of the administrator's building to talk with the Dean to change classes. Even something as thoughtless (to me) as sitting on a couch. Likewise, Hartley has his own struggles to manage much of these situations as well but the difference is his inconvenience has an expiry date.
With Hartley's girlfriend in France for the term, he and Callahan grow close, with one moment pushing them well beyond the safe boundaries of friendship -- in a very emotional and sweet and simultaneously hot scene that changes a lot for both of them, and reveals something very important to Callahan. But that's also when she puts on the brakes, distancing herself, knowing he isn't for her.
As much as I loved the characters, the circumstances, something just felt a bit off. Maybe it was Hartley. Maybe he waited too long in regards to waking the hell up about his feelings, or maybe there wasn't enough transition from one to the other. It just seemed like everything flipped really quickly. To totally contradict my "waited too long" comment, I will say : I could've done with another hundred pages of this story, maybe drag it out a little longer with a few extra epiphanies along the way so it didn't feel as rushed. I might've just wanted more of this story, full stop, but I think a few more Hartley POVs to balance Callahan's would've done the story a world of good.
However, almost every interaction between the two was sweet. Adorable. Wonderful. Callahan was a superstar. Biting and honest but brave. Openly admitting when she was feeling shitty or down or frustrated and I honestly could never put myself in her shoes but I was rooting for her the whole time. Hartley, despite my previously mentioned gripes, was also great. At least when he excluded from his interactions with Stacia, the bitchy girlfriend. He was supporting, encouraging and openly appreciative without ever treating Callahan differently. At least beyond the obvious reasons as to why he would (ie, spoiler, the fact that he liked her). We also had a great support of secondary characters that I'm hoping we get to see a lot more of as the series progresses.
THE YEAR WE FELL DOWN isn't quite adult, isn't quite YA, and isn't quite perfect. But I loved it.