18 January 2015

Review: All Fall Down


All Fall Down
All Fall Down by Ally Carter

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



As a big fan of the Gallagher Girls series and as someone who was into, but not as impressed with, the Heist Society books, my expectations were still pretty good for Embassy Row, and the result was a bit lacking for me.

Ally Carter definitely has the formula down at this point - get a teenage/high school age girl, throw her in a situation that requires a particular set of skills, and let the characters play. The end result sometimes works, but it was impossible for me to read All Fall Down and not feel like I've read the whole thing before. The ending was not as telegraphed as I thought it would have been, to its credit, but considering how great the previous books are, this felt rote and unmemorable.

There are parts to like. The prose, while paced properly, is probably better for a more reluctant reader. If you're really into Carter's previous books and style doesn't bother you, you'll probably like a lot of what's here. Even the way it ends leaves me with some curiosity as to where the series is going in spite of my not loving it.

So it's not a failure, but far from a success. Ultimately closer to a 2.5.



View all my reviews

No comments:

Post a Comment