By Nathan Filer
This was my November new book read and for the first time in reading advanced copies...I wasn't thrilled. In fact, I still haven't finished this book.
The Shock of the Fall was originally published in November 2013 under the title Where the Moon Isn't and it didn't fair too well. The publisher gave it a new name and cover and republished it hoping that it would do better. I totally respect trying to give a book a second chance especially when you think it may do better, but in this case...well, who knows. Maybe I didn't get it. The structure of the book is rather choppy. There are really no defined chapters and it's just a bunch of pieces stacked together. This makes it's very hard to read. The idea behind the book is rather sketchy as well. So far what I've gotten out of it is that the main character's brother, Simon, suddenly passed away during a family vacation. The book does say that Simon had a disorder and went to a special school, but I never really got what his disorder was. Either I missed it or it wasn't really stated, but I really don't know how he died either. In any case, it really messed up the main character, Matthew, as well as his family. The book seems to be about dealing with this sudden loss. Upon arriving home from the family vacation, they have to deal with the reminders of Simon. Matthew, is taken out of school and seems to be crazy protected by his mother who he states is "mad" (like in the crazy sense and not the angry sense). In some parts of the book, Matthew is talking about nurses and I'm thinking he spends some time in a mental ward, but that's not really stated either.
I'm incredibly apologetic, but I can't give you much more than this. Honestly, I couldn't really recommend this book. I thought the title was as intriguing as the cover, but it was a bit disappointing. I'll keep trying to get through it and if I change my mind, I'll let ya know.
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