A Step Toward Falling

Whenever Cammie McGovern releases a book, I know I'm in for a treat because her books all grip me so much that I have to read them more or less continually because I simply have to know what happens next. The themes in this book were as amazing as everything she's published. The topic of young people with disabilities particularly resonates with me because of a boy I knew in my childhood who was mainstreamed into our class. While it was easy to see the differences between him and the rest of us at first, it didn't take me long to see his special abilities and beautiful heart, making the first impressions quickly disappear in my mind. Causes for the disabled are very important to me because of this early impression. I love the intertwining theme of first impressions through the discussion of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice in this novel. Like all people, each of the characters struggled with this and made valuable discoveries upon getting to know one another as people. It was the perfect vehicle to make the point in a very natural way. I wish I could give this book unlimited stars, and that might not even be enough.

This is a rather sweet Y/A novel with a heartwarming message about the developmentally disabled. The author clearly knows what she's talking about and describes different types of people with different challenges quite convincingly. It's about two young people, Emily and Lucas, one a nerd and the other an athlete, who see a fellow student who happens to have challenges being sexually assaulted by a fellow student -- and fail to come to her aid or raise the alarm. Their brains freeze, they say. The book is half narrated by the victim of the assault, Belinda, and half by Emily, the brainy girl who failed to do the right thing even though she burns with a general desire to help the disadvantaged -- as long as they are a generic group and not actual individuals. As punishment, the two miscreants are assigned community service. They have to help out with a group that meets weekly to discuss socially-acceptable ways to behave and tries to teach the students strategies and ways to relate romantically to others -- which can be difficult for this population. The two overcome their prejudices toward each other as well as toward those they are helping and also learn something valuable about courage and honesty from Belinda. There are aspects of this book that are a bit too cutesy and the author also weighs it down with too many subplots -- as if to tackle every social issue and ill there is in one book. So we explore gay identity, cancer, old age, losing a parent, the nature of true friendship -- it's all there. These topics threaten to overwhelm the story -- and the sweet developing love between Emily and the brawny football player Lucas. But at the end of the day, the story does carry through -- and the central message of the book as well.

Cammie McGovern has done it again! Writing about disabled characters (for which she is famous), she now combines her current genre of YA with her old one of mystery, in that a catastrophe occurs before the book begins and informs much of the action; we learn about it only gradually over the course of the book and do not realize its full significance until the end. The plot is also a kind of homage to Pride and Prejudice, which is often referred to throughout. As Cammie has done in previous novels, she alternates narration between the two principal characters. Others are not given narrative voices, but we nevertheless learn much about them. One of the most interesting features is the blend between homosexual and heterosexual characters, not often found in this genre. The book was partly inspired by (and dedicated to a co-founder of) the community center for disabled children which Cammie helped to found more than ten years ago. Highly recommended!

This was a great book! I loved how this helped to show people with disabilities in a true light. They are just people trying to get through life with its challenges and opportunities. I love how it also showed an honest look at how it can sometimes be difficult to relate, but not any more difficult than any other person just different. Lastly, how sometimes we make mistakes that affect other people and owning up is the only way to change.

A fascinating look at teens from completely different worlds. Emily knew Belinda when they were younger and kids were less aware of developmental differences. When their paths cross years later, Emily freezes and her inability to act leads to an unusual community service option that not only opens her eyes to the lives, feelings and needs of a group of disabled people, it makes her look at her own life in a new way. Lucas travels a parallel path, but his begins with his being part of the high school football team. Following the alternating stories of Emily, Lucas and Belinda is fascinating. The author does a great job of humanizing all three as they move toward a new awareness and her portrayal of the characters with developmental disabilities is superb.

Belinda's plain-spoken, straightforward way of interpreting the confusing subtleties of "normal" society are spot-on and provocative. The reader will be hard-pressed NOT to conclude that the differently-abled have much to teach us about how to treat each other and handle our own emotions and insecurities. To her credit, Ms. McGovern's inclusion of a gay best friend for the protagonist is in neither gratuitous nor superfluous but, rather, adds an additional layer of depth and complexity to the storyline. Excellent work, and a page-turner, to boot!

I had to read this book for a book review in one of my classes. I was slightly disgruntled that I had to take money from my food budget to buy it (college student). After reading it I discovered it was completely worth it. This book is a true representation of things that could happen on a regular high school campus. I totally recommend buying it if you are even just thinking about it.

I was really intrigued by the message this book was trying to convey. The tagline, "Sometimes, the worst thing you can do, is nothing at all " got me hooked - and is actually a really powerful quote if you think about it further - and all I wanted to know by reading this book is whether the book lived up to its potential and promise or not. Emily is a high school activist. She speaks up for things, and she is a smart, respected and a decently popular girl in her school. So when she comes across a guy trying to rape a girl with developmental disability in a football match you would expect her to help her, right? Shout, call for help or do something to stop the crime from happening. But she doesn't. Nor does Lucas, a foot ball player who was at the same place at the same time. Both of them try to make up excuses for their hesitation, their mistake and the huge blunder they made which could've ruined a girl's life. But in the end, they do understand their guilt, and A Step Toward Falling is the story of how they come to terms with it, and try to amend for their hesitation to act. My feelings are actually a bit all over the place when it comes to A Step Toward Falling. This book had a beautiful concept. A powerful message. The potential to give an emotionally impacting and raw tale about mistakes, penance, guilt and the consequences of choices. And to a certain extent the book did deliver what it promised. But if I have to say the truth, the story, and especially the writing, didn't live up to its glorious potential. I guess the whole problem with A Step Toward Falling was that it tried to tackle too many concepts. It tried to tell too many messages which clashed a lot when it was attempted to be said in such a short contemporary book. I expected this book to talk about just choices and guilt. In fact, if the book, only tackled that major, complicated concept and left everything else, untouched, everything would have been fine! Instead, this book tried to talk about stereotypes, the rights and feelings of disabled people, the unfairness of school systems and drifting apart from your friendships. All these messages, were important, and would've made terrific novel concepts, but stuffed together in one book, they lost the ability to bring the message across. Having said that, let me focus on the things I adored in the story. First of all, there was the character development. This book is all about characters coming to term with their mistakes and guilt, so we get to see how much the two main characters change. Emily's initial problem is that she can't believe that she did something - or rather didn't do anything - that is so against what she and her friends believe in and often speak up for. She struggles to accept her mistake, and more than that, suffers a lot while trying to keep up appearances in front of her friends though part of her wants to confess everything. Her transition from that girl to someone who actually doesn't care what society thinks and does what she wants is remarkable. Lucas is an enigma. I often wished we got his POV, because half of the time I struggled to understand his thoughts. But I liked his character though. I liked the way Cammie has tried to break the stereotype of a "football player". He was compassionate and his insecurities were adorable! Then there was Belinda - the differently abled girl in question. Her chapters were emotional. She had a big heart, an innocence which will touch you for sure, and my heart broke for the horrible experience she goes through. But I also admired her bravery, as she got through an experience which is one the worst a girl can ever go though and she totally tackled it with flying colours! Another character I want to mention - Anthony. An adorable guy with down syndrome who has a huge crush on Belinda. These two had a cute relationship! He was also forgiving, compassionate and had so many great qualities that even perfectly stable and well adults often lack to possess. It was beautifully ironical that differently abled people are considered as "less" when they're so much more than us all when it comes to their heart and soul. So what went wrong? The execution. Cammie McGovern didn't do a satisfactory job in executing a story with wonderful potential and it actually made me a bit angry. I felt like this book was such a waste. It could've been so much more, could've broadcasted a beautiful and important message to all readers, but the reality didn't meet up to the expectations here, sadly. Would I recommend this book? Certainly. While the book didn't have good execution, it did carry a powerful message which is often not explored in YA contemporary. The book will certainly make you question your choices, your beliefs and most of all, whether you actually are the person you appear to be.

I couldn't put this book down. I really loved it. I meant to save it for my holiday but once i started to read...As always Cammie delivers the voices of young people with and without special needs perfectly and the result is just a darn good read. I would recommend this to adults and young adults.

O livro começou muito bem. Me identifiquei bastante com a Emily e a Belinda é uma fofa. Mas da metade para o final ficou tão repetitivo, que foi complicado terminar as últimas 50 páginas. Já era bem óbvio como ia terminar. Faltou uns twists ali no meio, algo que realmente fizesse valer a pena a leitura.