The real summary: It's 1973 and fifteen-year-old Joe's best friend, Brian, has gone missing. Nobody seems to worry too much though since he went missing along with his father. But as the world's eyes are turned towards the Watergate scandal in America, Joe is convinced the adults cannot be trusted. He starts his own investigation to try and find his friend.
I thought the Goodreads summary gave away a little too much, so that was my ultra-vague version.
I really enjoyed reading this book. It was something unique and a change of pace for me that I found myself pleasantly surprised by how quickly I raced through it to reach the end. It was so intense and sad (might not be the best word, but emotional) at certain times that I became incredibly involved in the plot. It was well paced with suspense at the right times to keep you involved. It was also definitely darker than I expected when I had gone in expecting a cheesy romance.
I also learned a little about history. Ugh I don't want to give away what I learned, sorry guys.
One thing I didn't like, but eventually got past, was that it seemed a little too juvenile in the beginning. Joe's parents treated him like a ten-year-old when he was asking questions or making observations about Watergate. It took me too long to realize that he was supposed to be fifteen. I understand it can be difficult for a writer to write from the point of view of a teenager, but Terlson couldn't decide at first how a fifteen-year-old boy should be. They talked about boobs and teenage boy stuff, but were also so innocent as to the rest of the world. Teens are actually more mature and intelligent than adults usually think. Once you get past the set up, Joe falls more into character. You just have to get past that.
Also, I'm sorry but the title did not make sense to me. It was only referenced to once and didn't feel like it related to the story at all. Instead it was about how Joe liked when the leaves would fall from the trees in one day instead of a spread out fall. Maybe I'm dumb, but it didn't relate to the greater plot whatsoever in my mind and was instead misleading. Like I said before, I thought the book was about falling in love in one day, which if it was about that I probably wouldn't have liked it.
But remember, we're not supposed to judge a book by its cover.
Glad there wasn't romance in this book though! Instead I really enjoyed Joe's relationship with his brother. There was a little quirkiness added in with Joe's brother's friends, which made it more fun and not all dark and gloomy.
Overall, a really great read and the negatives that I found weren't able to deter me from giving Fall In One Day five stars!
Edit: Craig Terlson was kind enough to reach out to me after I posted my review and offered to explain the title to me a bit. He went on to tell me that it was to emphasize how a fall can happen so quickly and suddenly. The leaves can fall of the trees in just one day or somebody can make a mistake causing their own rapid downfall. It's about how quickly one's life can change in an instant.
Thanks Craig for reaching out to me!
Fall In One Day is out now guys so you should all go buy this wonderful book!!!
