i received a free copy of falling, by tj newman, in exchange for an honest review, thanks to simon and schuster au.


star rating

my initial review was 5 stars, however i think it’s fair to lower my rating based the discussion relating to representation of kurdish people. please see the bottom of this post for more information.


falling review

what a wild ride! i wasn’t expecting that!!

now, before we get into anything, i’d just like to say that i have a particular hate for movies where it’s set in one location (be it a plane, or a single room). that being said, i loved falling.

i know, i know. what a way to start a review.

falling follows the hoffman family in what should’ve been a regular day, but isn’t. in simple terms, bill (hoffman) goes to work and his family gets kidnapped (by terrorists).

bill was such a lovely character to read about. there were some things i had minor issues with, but no character can be perfect. still, it was an a+ lead, well written, and developed. we also have jo and big daddy, who’re flight attendants, and in my opinion, did a wonderful job given their situation.

i loved the short chapters. i don’t know how many times i have to say this, but if a book has shorter chapters, it’s already winning brownie points. it makes the book read way faster, making it an enjoyable experience. along with this, i really enjoyed the writing style. i was never bored, and constantly on the edge of my seat, wondering what was going to happen next.

although this is only tj newman’s debut novel, i can see her becoming a fast favourite for many people (myself included!)

buy your copy now!

mightyape | whitcoulls | the nile | the warehouse | paper plus


some post review notes about representation:

since reading and reviewing this book, it has come to my attention the use of representation throughout. it’s not something that crossed my mind, which shames me to admit. i did like that she made them empathetic, but it still does not excuse the use of arab = terrorist.

i would like to thank tash for initially bringing this to my attention.

2 Comments

  1. avatar

    I have not read this book, but I have read reviews that rave about it. So, I did not know about the issues of representation. Thanks for pointing this out to us.

    1. avatar

      thank you for stopping by!

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