Fall For Anything (Pages 1 - 59): Discussion Post

Hey guys and gals!

Okay, let me just start off this post by saying: I'M SORRY. I should have had the discussion post up last week, but school has swamped me. I'm floundering, guys. My life has basically consisted of school, work, homework, passing out from exhaustion. I'm just barely scraping by and, sadly, the Read-Along has taken a backseat to not flunking out of school. I'm going to try and get my act together though, and keep up with the Read-Along. Today, I have the first discussion post and on Wednesday I'll be posting the second one. Then, I'll be hopefully sticking to the schedule!

If you're interested in participating in the Read-Along, check out this post!

**WARNING: Spoilers for pages 1 - 59 of Fall For Anything***

I'll admit, part of the reason I haven't kept up with the Read-Along is because reading Fall For Anything scares me. I was ruined for days afterwards, and I'm afraid of what it'll do this time. I asked my bestie earlier why in the world I would voluntarily reread this book, when it broke me the last time. It's because this book is so important. It's so beautiful and broken and painful. It's so filled with life even though its surrounded by death. And Fall For Anything is especially important to me, and I'm glad I get to experience it again.

I'm going to start this discussion post off a little differently. Let's talk about the cover of this book. Seriously, this book has one of my favorite covers of any book I've seen. It fits the book so perfectly. I love the photos in the background, strung up like in a dark room. I love that we can't see the girls face, but we can still get a feeling of sadness from her. It's simple, understated, but absolutely beautiful. Bravo, to the cover artist! What did you guys think of the cover?

Although the book is about Eddie's father's suicide, we don't actually read the word "dead" or "suicide" until page 16. Summers doesn't throw it in our face from the get go. We can guess that something terrible has happened to her father, but it isn't explicitly said. Her first act is to get us into Eddie's state of mind. For us to know this destroyed young girl, and not put our own assumptions on her. Eddie is in agony, and Summers really makes us feel that agony along with her. We also get to see how much his suicide affects everyone around him. How they all handle grief differently. Summers makes us feel almost uncomfortable with people's awkward sympathies, and hollow when we read Eddie's internal monologue. This book gets to you right from the start and, trust me, it's going to keep you until the end. What are your initial thoughts about Fall For Anything? 

Okay, let's talk about Beth. She kind of makes me want to punch her. A lot. I know she's trying to help Eddie's mother, but that's just the thing. She's trying to help Eddie's mother, not Eddie. And Eddie is just a kid. A kid who lost her father, lost her mother in a different way, and has no idea how to handle it. Beth says to Eddie at one point that "she was never an adult without your father" but, Eddie has never even been an adult. How can Beth ask her too when she's facing such pain? As strong as Eddie is, she can't do this alone. What did you think of Beth?

Eddie's mother, Robyn, has me mixed. She doesn't know how to handle this sudden grief. She doesn't know what to do with herself. I don't fault her on that. There's no fault in it. I guess I just wish she could help Eddie. That they could move forward together. But that's the thing. Grief is so isolating. It draws you into a room in your head, locks the door, and hides the key. Grief doesn't always let you express yourself. And Eddie and Robyn seem so alone in their shared grief. What did you guys think of Robyn?

I think Milo might be my favorite of Courtney Summers' boys. The bond between Eddie and Milo is so clear and heart-warming. Milo's so sweet, and clearly cares about Eddie above almost everything else. He tries to keep Eddie going. At the same time though, he doesn't entirely know how to handle Eddie's grief. He's just there for her, which is the most important thing. We get a hint of what's the come next with Milo and Eddie when she talks briefly about the secret he has. There's something else going on here, something important. What do you guys think it is?   

As I'm reading this book, I often find myself not being able to breathe. I feel like there's a hand squeezing my lungs and my heart. It hurts reading this book because Eddie is so real. I've said this time and time again but Summers is such a brilliant writer. I can't separate myself from the book when I'm reading it. We're one in the same. It's staggering. But, I think it's simply amazing.

What did you guys think of the first sixty pages? 

Be sure to check out the blog, because I have a fantastic guest post going up this week as well!

-Ciara (Lost at Midnight)