Fallen by Lauren Kate

Title: Fallen

Author: Lauren Kate

Page Number: 452

Release Date: December 8, 2009

Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Edition Read: Paperback 

Paperback Release Date: September 28, 2010

       Fallen by Lauren Kate tells the story of a young adult, Luce Price who is forced to go to a reform school: Sword & Cross, due to a tragic event that occurred, for which she has been blamed for. Arriving at Sword & Cross, Luce feels as if there are many secrets to unfold and she sets off along with her new friend, Penn, to discover them. 

     

            Fallen tells a beautiful romantic story that is passionately forced to constantly see heartbreak and how Luce Price & Daniel Grigori fight for their right to love against those that will to pry them apart. 

           As you begin to read the novel, you are instantly thrown in a boat of confusion that you constantly feel the need to unravel. We are introduced to a couple of seemingly juvenile kids at Sword & Cross who have an ominous vibe to them. As you mostly see Fallen's world in Luce's eyes, we are instantly introduced to two guys that pose the two sides of the coming love triangle. We are introduced to Cam, a sweet, rock star kid who seems to have a knack of being overly nice to Luce as he is initially attracted to her. Then, you will meet Daniel Grigori who will instantly besmirch Luce. However, if you read the synopsis on the back, you'll be compelled to know that he is basically the male lead in this book. 

        Moving on to the middle part, you will find yourself a bit bored--almost-- forcing yourself to plow through page after page. Not much happens except for the ever present weirdness that occurs to Luce in Sword & Cross. She also relives an experience that are awkwardly connected, but it still fails to draw you into the book. 

                However, as you progress towards the middle's end, you are thrown in this chaotic world that unravels itself to the point where you will devour page after page. You will also encounter a very romantic speech that will just completely cause your opinions to divert in favor to this certain character. 

                  Getting to the ending is where it really gets going for everything is revealed in a beautiful manner that reveals such mind boggling information that forces you to go into shock. The ending is where the most dramatic scenes come into play and will force you to definitely give this book a positive review (as it did me). 

          Unfortunately, the plot was not very relatable  and in some parts of the book it will appear very dry. It is difficult to enjoy a book that does not deal with similar experiences, especially if you are one of those who have never been to a reform school.

          However, the characters were very compelling and I was surprised to find that I was never annoyed with Luce for one bit. I feel that what she contemplates and does are clever and reasonable that I did not find any ounce of hate to give her. It is also very refreshing to go from disliking the main character and loving him in the end, for I despised Daniel Grigori's arrogant character from the beginning. By the end, however, after realizing his motives, I found myself melting at the sweetness of his character.

       The writing was excellent, save for the boring parts you will encounter in this book, namely the middle. The cover is also beautiful, but its successor definitely outshines it in some ways. Nevertheless, the novel is very original and one of the first angel related books out there (this is revealed on the synopsis, therefore I am not spoiling), but also settled in a very unlikely place. 

Grading Scale: 

Beginning:  10/15 67%

Middle:        15/20 75 %

Ending:       25/25 100 %

Plot:            9/10   90 %

Characters: 9.5/10 95%

Writing:      9.5/10 95%

Cover:         4.8/5   96%

Originality: 10/10 100%

Overall Score:  93 % A