Where She Fell

"Watch your step.  Eliza knows the legends about the swamp near her house—that people have fallen into sinkholes, never to be seen again, maybe even falling to the center of the earth. As an aspiring geologist, she knows the last part is impossible. But when her best friends drag her onto the uneven ground anyway, Eliza knows to be worried.  And when the earth opens under her feet, there isn't even time to say I told you so.  As she scrambles through one cave, which leads to another, and another, Eliza finds herself in an impossible world—where a small group of people survive underground, running from vicious creatures, eating giant bugs, and creating their own subterranean society. Eliza is grateful to be alive, but this isn't home. Is she willing to risk everything to get back to the surface?"

Where She Fell by Kaitlin Ward - release date October 30, 2018

This was a fast paced story of a socially awkward girl who loves geology falling into basically the center of the Earth.  And the best part is, she isn't alone down there.  There is an entire colony of people already living there, and now she has to adjust to her new life.  Or does she?  

Eliza was a good character.  Her anxiety and her social awkwardness made her all the more real.  Her best friends on land are jerks, but they're supposed to be.  Eliza finds out what real friends and actual love looks like when she is thrown underground into this colony of cave dwellers.  You could say some of the characters..fulfilled their purpose.  The people in the colony will surprise you (GLENN) but you'll just have to find out.  There was a romance in the story and it was very cute.  Liked that part.  Grayson is very good for her.

The plot was very quickly paced and there were hardly any parts in the book where you would get bored.  There was always something happening.  At the same time, it is also a good book to read to get you tired before you go to bed (but in a good way, if that makes sense).

Likes/Dislikes: I liked the descriptions of everything from the caves themselves to anything that glowed (bioluminescence, the glowite, etc).  The words just create beautiful images in your mind and I found myself really wanting to travel to this cave!  (As long as I could leave whenever I wanted LOL.)  I also like how Grayson was portrayed as very smart instead of just being an all-brawn-no-brains type.  I didn't really like the ending; it was unsatisfying.  I had just recently read Broken Things by Lauren Oliver and that ended in the middle of a sentence yet it was STILL more satisfying than the end of this book.  I guess I should be happy where it ended but I wanted more than what actually happened (without spoiling).  This dislike doesn't really count since I had an ARC, but there were no pictures!!  So I feel like the book will be even better when all the art is in it!

I give this book a 3 star rating.  Would recommend to anyone who loves spelunking/cave exploration or the movie The Descent.  Also would be good for someone looking for a quick/light reading.  Took me 4 days to read it.

-Taylor

Reviewed on October 16, 2018