If I Fall, If I Die

Description (Goodreads):

Will has never been outside, at least not since he can remember. And he has certainly never gotten to know anyone other than his mother, a fiercely loving yet wildly eccentric agoraphobe who panics at the thought of opening the front door. Their world is rich and fun- loving—full of art, science experiments, and music—and all confined to their small house.

But Will's thirst for adventure can't be contained. Clad in a protective helmet and unsure of how to talk to other kids, he finally ventures outside. At his new school he meets Jonah, an artsy loner who introduces Will to the high-flying freedoms of skateboarding. Together, they search for a missing local boy, help a bedraggled vagabond, and evade a dangerous bootlegger. The adventure is more than Will ever expected, pulling him far from the confines of his closed-off world and into the throes of early adulthood, and all the risks that everyday life offers.

In buoyant, kinetic prose, Michael Christie has written an emotionally resonant and keenly observed novel about mothers and sons, fears and uncertainties, and the lengths we'll go for those we love.

My Thoughts:

I have seen how people act and behave after living environments like the one Will lives in. I do think the author did a great job on this character. Also, the mother's reactions are similar to what i have seen parents react like when their children do something tat try themselves find terrifying. I liked the plot a lot, and I have never found a book similar to this.

I did not like the way the POV bounced around from character to charcter. It was confusing at times. Another part that I had issues with was how it wasn't explained what certain characters were actually referring to when talking about things that Will and his mother had unique names for.

I did enjoy this, and finished this rather quickly. It is not perfect, but it was interesting.

Excerpt:

She always knew he would go to school, eventually, but she hoped he might bu sufficienty gifted to skip all the schoolyard heartbreak, the punch-ups, the crushing repetitive cards, the cruelities, and disappointments and failures of life in a Thunder Bay public school– just leapfrog right into a good, safe university or fine arts program when he reached eighteen or so. Juilliard took homeschooled kids, didn't they? As did Berkley? It seemed like something they'd have to do, for ideology's sake.

About The Author:

MICHAEL CHRISTIE's debut book of fiction, The Beggar's Garden, was longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, a finalist for the Writers' Trust Prize for Fiction, and won the Vancouver Book Award. Prior to earning an MFA from the University of British Columbia, he was a sponsored skateboarder and travelled throughout the world skateboarding and writing for skateboard magazines. Born in Thunder Bay, he now lives on Galiano Island with his wife and two sons. If I Fall, If I Die is his first novel.

Recommendation:

I really do think that if the synopsis interests you that you will probably enjoy this. I do feel that $11.99 is way too much for this in ebook format. I was a pallet when I saw that price tag. That is almost too much for a new release by an established author with a reputation for writing really great books.

Amazon US

I recieved a copy of this from Blogging For Books in exchange for an honest review. If you are a blogger and haven't checked out their site, I recommend doing so. The process has been enjoyable and simple