Fallen by Lauren Kate

Fallen
Lauren Kate
452 pages
Published December 8 2009 by Delacorte Press
Rating: 3/5

Okay, so once again there is a back story with me and this book. It seems like I always have a back story with the books I review lol. Anyway, I read this book in 2009, at the time the sequel, Torment, was not out so I had to wait to continue the series. Well, as time passed I totally forgot about the Fallen Series. Then one day, for some reason, I suddenly remembered about the series and Googled it to see if the second book had come out. Well not only had it already come out, but, the third book was on bookshelves and the fourth book was in the process of being finished. So, I decided I would reconnect with the series and start all over again with the first book, Fallen. I am known for being forgetful, so I figured I would need to read this again to remember what all had happened. I really enjoyed the book my first time around and here is what I thought with my second read of it. By the way I used a new technique on this review, I took notes as I read to help me gather my thoughts so hopefully it works.

"...younger Luce would have pounced on [the dandelion] and then made a wish and blown. But this Luce's wishes felt too heavy for something so light." Something about this quote really stood out to me. I just loved how the author wrote this line it felt a lot more sophisticated than the rest of the book so I was kind of surprised to see it in there. I don't remember this from the first time I read this book, but I appreciate being aware of it now. To me, it showed a slight maturity in the main character Luce which is very refreshing in a YA novel.

I also appreciate the fact that the author did her research (although it didn't take much as she is from the region this book takes place). This book takes place in the good 'ol South and I could definitely picture the "Georgia fare" when she described the ultimate Southern lunch of cheddar grits, jalapenos, pickled okra, etc. all that was missing was a nice tall glass of sweet ice tea and some fried foods. Oh and that Southern weather! Dealing with that hot sun and humid air from the coast, I definitely believed Luce was from the South, the only thing missing was a Southern drawl which I didn't really pick up from Luce's voice. Maybe it's just me but when I picture a girl from Georgia, a southern peach comes to mind (although I will give her the benefit of the doubt, maybe she lost her accent, when she did a brief stint of boarding school up north). One thing the author did that ANNOYED the mess out of me was her use of the word "folded." If I never see that word again I will be so thankful! Lauren Kate seriously needs to use a thesaurus and find another way to express Luce's desire to be "folded" into someone. A little word variation would have been nice.

 Okay, now on to this love triangle. It involves Luce, Daniel and Cam. Cam is SUCH a cheesy sleaze ball! At least that's the vibe I got from him, especially when he met Luce's mother and pulled the old, "Luce, I didn't know you had an older sister" line. How lame. The author could have done better by making him a little smoother if he is supposed to be competition for anyone. Also, I felt like the author was a bit obvious with Cam's real intentions. Maybe it's because the farther I read the more I started to remember but everything about Cam screamed, "GET AWAY FROM HIM!"

Daniel, oh how I love him. Let me count the ways or better yet, just let Luce stalk him. I understand when you like some. I mean REALLY like someone, but keeping a diary of every interaction with a guy was a bit obsessive and unreal. Any girl that did that in real life would need some serious psychiatric help. Besides the occasional stalking, Luce wasn't so bad except when there was a moment when she was going to meet Daniel and decided to also go meet Cam to handle some business with him. WHY? Why was she going to see him?! All she was doing was setting herself up for a complicated situation. I just couldn't understand it. If it was me I would have blown him off. And then she had the nerve to forget about Daniel, the so-called love her life. How do you forget about someone who is your "true love" for some lame-o like Cam? It just isn't realistic. I know this is fiction but Lauren Kate could have at least made Luce handle situations the way an actual teenager would have.

Overall, the book was not bad. I didn't love it as much as I did the first time but like I said earlier, the further I read the more I started to remember so I was already expecting some things. This second read, however, did allow me to catch some things that I missed which either resulted in loving it or hating it. I would still recommend this book because I think the overall story Lauren Kate has in store will be great. Just read Fallen once and you'll like it, read it twice and you may start to question some things.