Falling Boy

I liked her earlier book Shadow Baby, so thought I'd give this a try. The prose isn't as mesmerizing as that book, but it was very appealing, focusing on a teenaged boy (Joseph) crippled in an accident he won't talk about, the boy (Zap) he works with at a bakery and who thinks Joseph is a superhero, and a precocious nine-year-old girl (Enzo) who tries to bend reality to fit her needs and desires. Joseph has moved from upstate NY to Minneapolis to live with his father after his accident. The whereabouts of his mother are unclear, something else he won't talk about. Enzo and Zap keep trying to discover the truth about Joseph's paraplegia, unmindful of how painful the past is to Joseph. The characters are quirky and entertaining and the show more book reads like a young adult novel for adults. Both Zap and Enzo have secrets of their own and in trying to get at Joseph's story, these three characters heal each other and themselves in this short (194 pages in trade pb) novel. show less

A half-paralyzed boy with a mysterious background makes friends with a 9 year old girl with an equally mysterious lifestyle. Other characters, such as the rogue bike children, a pretty girl, and a man wearing a kilt, occasionally intrude on the story to give it some action. Various meanings of the term 'hero' are discussed and, finally, the truth is revealed. Not the most exciting book, and a little confusing, but possibly good for discussions.

For a short book, it was a chore. It almost felt like somebody's creative writing assignment from college. It just never got to the point where it got "deeper". Things never are really delved into, rather most of the time I felt it was alluded to.

The characters were so eclectic that it was almost unbelievable that they all came together each day at same bakery.