Title: Fall for Anything
Author: Courtney Summers (Twitter)
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Publish Date: December 21, 2010
Genre: YA, Contemporary
Pages: 230
Source: Personal Copy

When Eddie Reeves’s father commits suicide her life is consumed by the nagging question of why? Why when he was a legendary photographer and a brilliant teacher? Why when he seemed to find inspiration in everything he saw? And, most important, why when he had a daughter who loved him more than anyone else in the world? When she meets Culler Evans, a former student of her father’s and a photographer himself, an instant and dangerous attraction begins.

Culler seems to know more about her father than she does and could possibly hold the key to the mystery surrounding his death. But Eddie’s vulnerability has weakened her and Culler Evans is getting too close. Her need for the truth keeps her hanging on...but are some questions better left unanswered?

Eddie is devastated. The one person whom she loved above all else in life took his own life, and she's now without a father and desperate for answers. She needs some sort of meaning to the nonsensical madness of his suicide, and she'll do just about anything to find out why. As her mother spirals deeper into depression, a nosy neighbor moves in to "help" and Eddie's life gets more and more confusing, she wants answers. Culler might be able to help her piece the clues together, but does she really want to know the reason why?

In typical Courtney Summers fashion, Fall for Anything is, in a nutshell, a hard, thought-provoking and powerful novel. Never shying away from the darkness of the story itself, the book spirals into the cold, bleak darkness that we watch our main character surrounded by since her father's death. We're offered hundreds of emotions to choose from, and we're bathed in grief and loss from the start, invited on a powerful and gut-wrenching journey to understand the meaning why the man who, for all intents and purposes had it all, would kill himself in a single, desperate act. This novel will hit you fast and hard, and ask you to experience the journey to peace with Eddie.

I don't know why I put off reading Fall for Anything for so long. I've read a couple other titles by the author, and I've never been disappointed. Summers' books never shy away from the shadows and darkness of human grief and anger. Rather, they welcome it in full force, and this book was no exception. Eddie was an extremely believable main character. She's a teenage girl that's been absolutely obliterated by the loss of her father, and she's forced to endure Beth telling her how to grieve and her mother's inability to cope at all. The beauty of her character, too, is that she's not censored. She's broken, hostile, lashing out and grieving in her own way. It's tragically beautiful to see this extremely personal process laid out so very plainly on the pages. Culler plays a perfect role in the novel, too. Though his appearance in the novel made me cringe a bit at times, and I hesitated to trust his intentions, I could understand the connection between Eddie and Culler. She wanted answers and a diversion. He offered what seemed like the former and definitely the latter. In all honesty, the one thing I really wanted more of was Milo. There was a refreshing vibe from him that sparked a light in Eddie and Culler did not. Honestly though, I could lay out the plot points of Fall for Anything and tell you nothing though. The strength and power of the novel lies in the message, which subtly fuels the plot throughout. It's raw, challenging and gritty, and it never ever tries to mask the fact that grief is subjective, suicide is horrific not only for the life lost but for those left behind and it creates a void that can never be filled. Full disclaimer - shortly before I was born, my cousin took her own life, and though I never met her, I know that void was never filled in my Aunt and Uncle - or anyone for that matter. And that, my friends, is why I was able to reconcile myself with the somewhat open ending of the novel. At the end of the day, we'll never really know why unless that person explicitly informs everyone of their motives before committing the act. But, in the end, coping with a suicide isn't about finding the answers in the end. It's simply about coming to terms with the loss and learning to live with it. In that way, Fall for Anything completely and utterly succeeds.

Overall, I'm not at all surprised to say that I absolutely loved Fall for Anything (well, as much as you can love a book like this). It's not an easy read, but it's definitely an important one. I give it a 4.5 out of 5, and I highly recommend it all fans of YA, especially those who like darker contemporary fiction.

Title: This Is Not a Test
Author: Courtney Summers
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Publish Date: June 19, 2012
Genre: YA, Dystopian
Pages: 320
Source: Publisher

It’s the end of the world. Six students have taken cover in Cortege High but shelter is little comfort when the dead outside won’t stop pounding on the doors. One bite is all it takes to kill a person and bring them back as a monstrous version of their former self. To Sloane Price, that doesn’t sound so bad. Six months ago, her world collapsed and since then, she’s failed to find a reason to keep going.

Now seems like the perfect time to give up. As Sloane eagerly waits for the barricades to fall, she’s forced to witness the apocalypse through the eyes of five people who actually want to live. But as the days crawl by, the motivations for survival change in startling ways and soon the group’s fate is determined less and less by what’s happening outside and more and more by the unpredictable and violent bids for life—and death—inside. When everything is gone, what do you hold on to?

It’s the end of the world. Sloane knows it. Hell, everyone knows it. While the zombie apocalypse rages on outside the walls of the high school in which she and the others have taken shelter, Sloane is desperately clinging to some semblance of a reason as to why exactly she sound go on with this mess they all live in. Everyone seems to be holding on to the life they once had, but Sloane has nothing to hold on to. What’s more, she doesn’t want to. The disease that consumes their former selves and brings them back as monsters almost seems like a mercy to her now. But the world is falling apart outside the school, and as the walls continue to crumble and humanity starts to dwindle, Sloane has to find a reason to continue or be lost forever.

This is not my first novel from Courtney Summers, and I have to say that, as before, her impeccable writing style simply steals the show in her newest novel, This Is Not a Test. I went into this novel unsure of what to expect because I know of the human approach she takes to the novels she writes. She has the innate ability to connect on a truly harmonious emotional novel with her characters, making them speak to the reader not in words, but rather through complex emotions and interactions with others throughout the story. This Is Not a Test is a seamless, heart-wrenching rollercoaster ride of emotion and distress from start to finish. It is never cloying, always powerful and completely connects the reader to both the internal and external struggles throughout the entire novel.

In terms of zombie novels, kids, I’m going to have to call This Is Not a Test “zombie-lite.” Yes, there are zombies, and yes, this is the end of the world as all the characters know it. However, the zombies are not in the foreground of the novel. Rather, the zombies are almost the backdrop and the apocalyptic vibe simply fuels and expands upon the rich, evocative internal struggles that play out through Sloane and her supporting cast throughout the novel. Sloane’s struggle is the true nature of the story and, frankly, it seems as though it is the main purpose. As readers, we’re given access not only to a desolate and bleak world, but the psyche of a broken, battered and utterly hopeless girl simply searching for some reason to want to live. While the secondary characters live in a constant state of unending fear and terror for their demise, Sloane very nearly welcomes it, and her internal struggle to fight the feeling is tangible, painful and extraordinarily real. One would think that in a novel where a half-dozen teens are stranded in a school fighting the zombie apocalypse there would be extreme angst. There is – don’t get me wrong. This angst, however, is real and painful. It’s not your normal teenage angst. Because This Is Not a Test is so very dark and bleak, hope is a beacon, and it’s that little sliver of hope for redemption both within Sloane and for the characters, as a whole, that keeps us riveted throughout.

I’ll be honest, I adored This Is Not a Test, though I really wish there were more zombies! I’m a zombie fiend! I understand the backdrop though, and I respect the creative license in that regard. I give this one a 4.5 out of 5, and I highly recommend it to all fans of YA, especially those who enjoy post-apocalyptic, dystopian and contemporary novels.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This, in no way, affected my opinion or review of this book.