Krista Reviews: Alexandra Coutt’s – “Tumble & Fall”

A novel about the end of days full of surprising beginnings
 
The world is living in the shadow of oncoming disaster. An asteroid is set to strike the earth in just one week’s time; catastrophe is unavoidable. The question isn’t how to save the world—the question is, what to do with the time that’s left? Against this stark backdrop, three island teens wrestle with intertwining stories of love, friendship and family—all with the ultimate stakes at hand. 
 
Alexandra Coutts’s TUMBLE & FALL is a powerful story of courage, love, and hope at the end of the world. 

Hardcover, 384 pages

Published September 17th 2013 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)

In a market already saturated with post-apocalyptic books, Tumble and Fall is a take on the more contemporary side of life before the world comes to an end. It focuses on the daily life of three unrelated characters as they live what is left of their lives, waiting for an asteroid to hit. The importance of relationships, friends and family, and humanity in general, is a strong theme in the book.

Have you ever considered whether what you would want to do with the last days of your life may conflict with that of your loved ones? There are a lot of different ideas that are brought up in this story that bring about questions that most people wouldn’t consider. The writing is flows easily and it is a clean read, at times almost calming in a melancholy way.

It is character-driven; Sienna, Caden, and Zan, all have things they are trying to accomplish or deal with in their last days, and each of their stories are completely different. You will enjoy each character as much as the last as they journey to find contentment. It is mostly a story of coming to terms with the reality of your own life when you are given a deadline. The three characters go through many emotions and realisations during this short amount of time. Romance is not a big factor, but you do see a little.

I would recommend this book to readers of contemporary romance. It did make me think about how I would choose to spend my last day,s and it hits home with the importance of friends and family.