All About Ready to Fall by Marcella Pixley

Reading List
Written By Rebecca Grabill
Ready to Fall: A Novel
By Marcella Pixley

In Ready to Fall by Marcella Pixley the premise alone stops me with its awesomeness: his mom dies of a brain tumor that then, he believes, moves into his own head. Raw, a little crazy, huge potential for story. And the book did not disappoint. 

So many things I loved: the prose is delicious, metaphor that works coming and going, narrator voice that’s quirky and unique and a little nuts without being off putting or strained, complex world with a full cast that feels real and well drawn. Having just read a novel with a very thin cast—well drawn but few—I can say the background characters keep the protagonist from seemingly narcissistic despite the strength of his internal focus (I mean he thinks he has a brain tumor! Can’t get more internal than that!).

I also appreciated the storyline that unfolded without feeling premeditated. No coy devices, no “secrets held in tension,” just a solid, compelling story. Pacing was excellent, layers of complication and meaning plentiful. 

So is there anything not to love? Hmmm. One thing—the only thing—I wasn’t thrilled with was the Trust Fall trope. This is entirely my (jaded adult seen-it-all) perspective, but trust falls make me cringe the way an unsubtle metaphor does. Love as a rose. Insecurity (instability etc.) as a trust fall. Meh. But I got over it and ultimately find the book amazing despite this one small gripe. Fabulous book!

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Rebecca Grabill

Rebecca has been writing since childhood, her first book about a kitten published between homemade cardboard covers in second grade. Although she studied religion and philosophy in university, she continued writing, earning an MFA from Hamline University and publishing multiple picture books (no longer with homemade covers) and a collection of poetry with a variety of New York and independent publishers. She has also published a wide array of fiction, essays, and poetry in magazines and journals and photographs for Getty Images. She balances writing with homeschooling the younger of her six children, launching her young adults, church activities, and overseeing a small flock of chickens in rural West Michigan.

www.rebeccagrabill.com
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