ARC Review: Falling Into Place by Amy Zhang

Title: Falling Into Place
Author Amy Zhang
Publication: September 9th 2014 by Greenwillow Books
Genre: YA Contemporary
Source: For review...
Goodreads

On the day Liz Emerson tries to die, they had reviewed Newton’s laws of motion in physics class. Then, after school, she put them into practice by running her Mercedes off the road. 

Why? Why did Liz Emerson decide that the world would be better off without her? Why did she give up? Vividly told by an unexpected and surprising narrator, this heartbreaking and nonlinear novel pieces together the short and devastating life of Meridian High’s most popular junior girl. Mass, acceleration, momentum, force—Liz didn’t understand it in physics, and even as her Mercedes hurtles toward the tree, she doesn’t understand it now. How do we impact one another? How do our actions reverberate? What does it mean to be a friend? To love someone? To be a daughter? Or a mother? Is life truly more than cause and effect? Amy Zhang’s haunting and universal story will appeal to fans of Lauren Oliver, Gayle Forman, and Jay Asher.

-- My Rating --

4/5 Oscars: Really Liked It

-- My Thoughts --

     I have been hearing a lot about Amy Zhang and her debut novel, Falling into Place. And have you read the blurb? It's so intriguing and I don't know, I just kinda felt like this would be the kind of book I would like and it totally was!
     One day, Liz Emerson decides to die. She plans it. She knows just the right way of dying. But when plans go wrong and life takes different turns, everyone is affected. Liz's best friends with their secrets, Julia and Kennie. And the guy who has been in love with Liz for as long as he remembers, Liam. And most of all, Liz herself.
     The blurb really intrigued me. It's pretty clear that Liz tries to kill herself. But I didn't know if she succeeded (and this book was about the aftermath of her death) or she didn't (and this book was about consequences). It is good if you dive blindly into this book so I am not going to screw this up for the readers.
     This book is told in now and before chapters. We have flashbacks, which are essential to the story. And we have Liz's friends and family in the now. I loved the flashbacks, they make us see Liz in a whole new light and connect with her. Liz is an angry person, she is not a quitter but it seems like she has finally had enough. I could see where she was coming from and all the expectations around her and her will to end it all. But I loved her best friends even more. Complicated, three-dimensional characters. They never failed to add tension and background. Julia was definitely my favorite.
     She is such a great character. A loyal and true friend. Every character had their own puzzle to solve, their own problems and flaws to deal with. They felt real, and that really matters in a contemporary novel. This book is not fast-paced and i didn't think it should be. After all, this is a plot-driven story of loss and redemption and choice, the author needed time to build up the drama and the reasoning and she excelled at it.
     I LOVED the ending. Specially the last chapter. Short and meaningful. Amy Zhang has powerfully expressed herself in the world of contemporary and she is definitely on the list of my authors to look out for in the future.