by Frances O'Roark Dowell [j Dowell]
Falling In is a welcome change from the darkness and broodiness that one gets these days in fantasies written for older youth. Without the burden of emotional angst, juvenile fantasies are free to launch readers into imaginative worlds. Written by Frances O'Roark Dowell, Falling In is full of whimsy and diverse friendships! The summary alone intrigued me: "Isabelle Bean follows a mouse's squeak into a closet and falls into a parallel universe where the children believe she is the witch they have feared for years, finally come to devour them." Falling In is like nothing I had expected because of the peculiar main character Isabelle Bean and because of the twists in the plot. What about those diverse friendships? Well, there is Grete, a mysterious old woman the children meet in the woods who knows Isabel's mom. How is that possible, when the two live in parallel universes? Then there is Elizabeth, a girl from the camps who like Hen has a secret or two of her own. There's also eight-year-old Jacob who flubs some very important plans. And for the animal factor, there is a reclusive brown spider. To find out its purpose, you'll need to read Falling In for yourself. While imparting valuable lessons about friends and prejudice, it is also imaginative and playful. Dowell doesn't know if she'll write another fantasy; Falling In is not her typical fare. However, I really enjoyed it and so will be reading her realistic fiction. I'm also rooting for her to write more fantasies. -- review submitted by Allison H.-F. - a customer of the Bennett Martin Public Library
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