Title: Fallen Crest High and Fallen Crest Family
Series: Fallen Crest #1 & 2
Author: Tijan
My rating: 4 hearts
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Pub. date: October 31st 2012
Synopsis: Mason and Logan Kade are two brothers who did their own thing. They were rich and expected to attend her school, Fallen Crest Academy. They chose public school and now Samantha has to live with them. The problem is that she doesn't care at all: about them, about her friends, about her cheating boyfriend, or even about her parent's divorce. But maybe that's a good thing. Maybe change is a good thing. (synopsis from Goodreads)
In all honesty, there are a lot of problems with both these books. The writing felt unconvincing, and while it has some serious themes (like mental illness), the way it deals with these things leaves much to want for. But I did enjoy them, they were both very light reads and I enjoyed them.
I have mixed feelings about Sam.
She’s interesting enough to read about, but she’s pretty unrealistic. She’s going through and has been through a lot, but yet, in the first book, she’s mostly fine. Then in the second book, she suddenly suffers from panic attacks from everything she’s been through. Now, I understand that some things that happens in the second book triggers it, but truth is, similar things happen in the first book, but none of it bothers her then. I like that the book has diversity in this way, I haven’t found a lot of books where the main characters suffers from panic attacks or the like, but it could be handled in a better way.
But I liked reading about her. She wasn’t perfect, and she was pretty relatable. And despite her panic attacks, she’s not a victim. Never that. She stands up for herself and the people she cares about, even when it’s rough.
I like Mason, though.
The good thing about these books are Mason. He’s a bit of a jerk at first, but when he starts growing closer to Sam, he’s actually a very good boyfriend. He’s protective, and very supportive. When Sam goes through a lot of hard things, with her panic attacks and flashbacks, he’s by her side and tries to help. He stands by her, through everything.
The way it portraits mental illness is very problematic.
Apart from how Sam is handled, there’s also her mother. Her mother suffers from serious mental illness, but she’s portrayed as crazy. It gives a very bad image of what mental illness actually is, and it really bothered me. Diversity in books is really important, but what’s even more important is to portray the diversity (in this case mental illness) properly, or it’s just as problematic (if not more) than a book that completely lacks diversity.
Despite all this, I enjoyed reading.
I think the thing about these books was that they came at the right time. I was in a small reading slump, and needed something easy and light to read. I wanted a break from all the heavy Fantasy I’d read recently, so this was exactly what I wanted it to be at the moment.
I’d recommend this book if you, like me, want something easy and light to read. Because, despite the heavy themes, the way it deals with it makes it a light read. But if you’re looking for a serious Contemporary, you should check something else, because this isn’t it.
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