Book Review: All Fall Down

*This book is part of my POPSUGAR 2015 Reading Challenge*

Synopsis from Amazon:

Grace Blakely is absolutely certain of three things:

1. She is not crazy.
2. Her mother was murdered.
3. Someday she is going to find the killer and make him pay.

As certain as Grace is about these facts, nobody else believes her — so there’s no one she can completely trust. Not her grandfather, a powerful ambassador. Not her new friends, who all live on Embassy Row. Not Alexei, the Russian boy next door, who is keeping his eye on Grace for reasons she neither likes nor understands.

Everybody wants Grace to put on a pretty dress and a pretty smile, blocking out all her unpretty thoughts. But they can’t control Grace — no more than Grace can control what she knows or what she needs to do. Her past has come back to hunt her . . . and if she doesn’t stop it, Grace isn’t the only one who will get hurt. Because on Embassy Row, the countries of the world stand like dominoes, and one wrong move can make them all fall down.

The title of this book should’ve been, “I’m not crazy.” The narrator, Grace, said this so many times I lost count. I understood why she was saying it. No one believes her when she says her mother’s death wasn’t an accident but instead murder. And she’s been saying this for three years; I can see how that could drive someone, well, crazy.

I don’t want to spoil the book so I will neither confirm nor deny if Grace is in fact crazy or not. What I will say is I’m not a fan of her family and how they handle her. I understand why they don’t believe Grace but to lock her up in a hospital and make her take meds just seems a bit much to me.

This book frustrated me mostly because I was frustrated for Grace. I believed her from the beginning and couldn’t understand how no one else could. Granted there were some moments when I wasn’t sure if Grace was in fact a reliable narrator, but I still trusted her. I wanted someone to listen to her like I was listening to her. Of course, that’s easier said than done.

The book is basically a huge mystery. Is Grace crazy? Did the guy with the scar really kill her mom? If so, why? Who is he working for? Is he trying to kill again? If so, who?

For me, this was too many questions. I just found myself frustrated the whole novel. I understand that Ally Carter was setting us up for a new series and I’m sure we’ll get more answers in the following books but I just became annoyed with this novel. Moreover, I wanted more romance. Or more friendship. Grace is constantly lonely, and I, in turn, felt that loneliness. I found this book both frustrating and a little depressing.

And we’re not exactly given a happy ending either. I won’t go into detail but the book definitely ends on a cliff hanger. A very unsatisfying one I might add.

Overall, the book wasn’t terrible. It was well written and there was definitely a twist I wasn’t expecting. Carter did well in catching me by surprise and I’ll probably read the next book to know what happens text, so it that regard she was successful. However, compared to her other series, the Gallagher Girls and Heist Society, I wasn’t impressed. I expected something better. Something more exciting. Hopefully the next book is better. For now, I’m not a fan.

Favorite Line:

I have to smile. He’s such a dork. But I’m starting to realize the one good thing that’s happened: he’s my dork.

Stars: 3 out 5. I didn’t hate it but I didn’t love it either.

Borrow or Buy: Borrow.

Other Reviews

Bookish Antics

Mostly YA Book Obsessed

Real Rad Reads