Fallen by Lauren Kate

Kate, L. (2010). Fallen. New York: Delacorte Books for Young Readers. ISBN: 0385738935

Plot Summary

  After her boyfriend mysteriously dies in a fire, Luce spends most of her senior year at a reform skull where she makes friends and enemies. Plagued by dark shadows, Luce is sure that they had something to do with her boyfriends death.

  Enter Cam and Daniel, both of who strike Luce's attention. Daniel is a hot and cold guy who seems to string Luce around, and Cam is a charming and respectful. Just as Bella falls for Edward, Luce falls for Daniel until she realizes he is a fallen angel who she falls in love with every seventeen years and then dies.

Critical Evaluation

  The plot was dynamic and Luce is a familiar awkward YA teen girl. Sometimes you want to smack Luce for falling for jerk Daniel until readers find the truth and you start to sympathize for her. I still can't understand why most of the plot is at a reform school but a lot of secrets are kept under wraps for the sequel. Of course, as a stickler for love stories, I couldn't wait to see what happened between Luce and Daniel and Cam. I love bad boys but I secretly rooted for Cam.

Readers Annotation

  Haunted by her past, experiences at her school place her smack in the middle between a good and bad boy.

Information about the Author

   Lauren Kate was born and raised in Dallas, Texas, attended college in Atlanta, Georgia, and then moved to New York City to write. Kate has said that her background and knowledge of the "Old South" helped inspire her to set her first novel, Fallen, in a Civil War era academy.

  Her first novel, Fallen, came out in 2009 and was quickly followed by the sequel Torment, which stayed on the New York Times Bestseller list for a month at number 1. The third book is Passion and will be released in 2011. She also wrote the book The Betrayal of Natalie Horgrove. 

Genre

  Fantasy: Paranormal Romance

Curriculum Ties

  n/a

Booktalking Ideas

  - What is keeping Luce from Cam when everything seems so perfect?

  -  Do you think Luce is a correct generalization of teen girls?

 

Reading Level/Interest Age

  9-12th grade/Young Adult

Challenge Issues

   Supernatural, religion
   I would offer my library's Collection Development Policy which highlights how challenges and reconsideration's are handled. I would ask the challenger and the professional reviewing it to familiarize themselves with the book.

Reason for Selection

  Recommended to me by the YA Librarian at my work.