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A review by renuked
All Fall Down by Ally Carter
3.0
Ally Carter returns! And unsurprisingly, she arrives once again with an espionage filled novel with slightly reckless protagonists and cute boys. If I had read this in my preteens/younger teenage years, it would have been one of my favorite novels.
Carter has created "Embassy Row" a lovely street, filled with the gorgeous manors of diplomats and ruling heads of countries across the world. However, it's filled with national tensions, and one small misstep can erupt in war. Living here, we have the daring Grace - a girl prone to many disasters and a girl with a strange past. At a young age, she saw her mother murdered in front of her very eyes. The trauma still haunts her, and to this day she is searching for the killer.
“For the first time I realize how perilous peace can be. I appreciate the tightrope that my grandfather has spent his whole life trying to walk. And now, more than ever, I grow terrified that I'm going to make us all fall down.”
Grace was a lovable protagonist (most of Carter's protagonists are). However, if you've read her previous novels (Gallagher Girls, Heist Society), Grace doesn't stand out much. The characters become a little generic. Alexei (love interest) drifts in and out of the picture with nothing very special other than his lovely Russian accent. Noah (best friend) is cute, funny, and forgettable. Grace's other relationships are strained, but far more interesting such as her relationship with her grandfather, his assistant/wife?, and her ex-best friend.
Unfortunately, the plot also doesn't do much to set Grace apart. It's a mystery, of course, filled with riddles, secret passages, conspiracies, blah blah blah. It's all fun - but it wasn't quite enough to hold my attention. Again, it's perfect for younger girls, however it felt a little juvenile to me. This wouldn't have bothered me much if it hadn't felt like Carter was trying to be darker and aim at an older audience. Grace is haunted by her memories. She suffers panic attacks, has traumatic stress disorder, and has darkness shrouding her past. It's as if Carter was trying to add maturity, and depth, to her character, but was stunted by her own silly murder mystery plot.
Overall, it was a cute novel, and I really enjoyed it. I appreciated the darker vibe Ally Carter was trying to bring, especially because I did like the main protagonist. The setting was different from her other novels, but honestly, there wasn't anything that drew my attention and held it.
Review cross-posted to Eternal-Books.
Carter has created "Embassy Row" a lovely street, filled with the gorgeous manors of diplomats and ruling heads of countries across the world. However, it's filled with national tensions, and one small misstep can erupt in war. Living here, we have the daring Grace - a girl prone to many disasters and a girl with a strange past. At a young age, she saw her mother murdered in front of her very eyes. The trauma still haunts her, and to this day she is searching for the killer.
“For the first time I realize how perilous peace can be. I appreciate the tightrope that my grandfather has spent his whole life trying to walk. And now, more than ever, I grow terrified that I'm going to make us all fall down.”
Grace was a lovable protagonist (most of Carter's protagonists are). However, if you've read her previous novels (Gallagher Girls, Heist Society), Grace doesn't stand out much. The characters become a little generic. Alexei (love interest) drifts in and out of the picture with nothing very special other than his lovely Russian accent. Noah (best friend) is cute, funny, and forgettable. Grace's other relationships are strained, but far more interesting such as her relationship with her grandfather, his assistant/wife?, and her ex-best friend.
Unfortunately, the plot also doesn't do much to set Grace apart. It's a mystery, of course, filled with riddles, secret passages, conspiracies, blah blah blah. It's all fun - but it wasn't quite enough to hold my attention. Again, it's perfect for younger girls, however it felt a little juvenile to me. This wouldn't have bothered me much if it hadn't felt like Carter was trying to be darker and aim at an older audience. Grace is haunted by her memories. She suffers panic attacks, has traumatic stress disorder, and has darkness shrouding her past. It's as if Carter was trying to add maturity, and depth, to her character, but was stunted by her own silly murder mystery plot.
Overall, it was a cute novel, and I really enjoyed it. I appreciated the darker vibe Ally Carter was trying to bring, especially because I did like the main protagonist. The setting was different from her other novels, but honestly, there wasn't anything that drew my attention and held it.
Review cross-posted to Eternal-Books.