Fall for Anything [Paperback]

Courtney Summers (Author)

Book Description

Release date: December 21, 2010

From the author of Cracked Up to Be and Some Girls Are comes a gripping story about one girl’s search for clues into the mysterious death of her father. 

When Eddie Reeves’s father commits suicide her life is consumed by the nagging question of why? Why when he was a legendary photographer and a brilliant teacher? Why when he seemed to find inspiration in everything he saw? And, most important, why when he had a daughter who loved him more than anyone else in the world? When she meets Culler Evans, a former student of her father’s and a photographer himself, an instant and dangerous attraction begins. Culler seems to know more about her father than she does and could possibly hold the key to the mystery surrounding his death. But Eddie’s vulnerability has weakened her and Culler Evans is getting too close. Her need for the truth keeps her hanging on...but are some questions better left unanswered?

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up—Seventeen-year-old Eddie Reeves's father, a once-famous photographer, commits suicide by jumping off the roof of an abandoned warehouse. Seth Reeves left a note saying only that he loved Eddie and her mother, Robyn, but that he had to leave. As Eddie grapples with the question of why, she finds comfort in her best friend, Milo, until his ex-girlfriend moves back to town and drives a wedge between them. Then Eddie meets Culler Evans, her father's student and protégé, with whom she immediately feels a romantic connection as well as a shared sense of loss. Culler discovers that some photographs Seth left in his studio are numbered, like a map, with a fragmented message at each location. Ignoring Milo's disapproval, Eddie and Culler set out on a road trip to each building to put the puzzle together. This novel convincingly captures the feelings of confusion, isolation, and anger that accompany losing a loved one to suicide, along with the implicit desire to hold the victim accountable for the sadness he's caused. Eddie's tendency to use strong language and make hyperbolic statements reflects her age and the intensity of the tragedy she's experienced. Beth, Robyn's bossy and Botoxed best friend, is the only weak character in this otherwise expertly crafted novel about the quest for peace after a death in the family. Jandy Nelson's The Sky Is Everywhere (Dial, 2010) is a similar story of a grieving girl pulled between two young men as she struggles to find peace and move on.—Amy Pickett, Ridley High School, Folsom, PA
(c) Copyright 2011.  Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Eddie’s father, a brilliant but reclusive photographer, has killed himself, and Eddie is struggling for answers far beyond the one-line note her father left behind. Each night, she sneaks out her window, down the roof, and away from home. Sometimes she hangs out with her friend Milo—with whom she has trouble connecting since the suicide—but most often she goes to the old, abandoned warehouse where her father ended his life, wandering in the dark and looking for something to explain his actions. What she finds there is Culler, a photography student of her father’s, who is also searching for answers and whom Eddie latches onto as a last hope for understanding. Culler shows Eddie what he has discovered—her dad’s initials carved into a door at the warehouse—then leads her on a quest to find more markings and messages, stalking the desolate places where her father took his final photographs. This novel is mysterious, romantic, and excruciating in its suspense, as both the reader and Eddie know that something is not quite right for a long time before the pieces fall into place. And fall they do, in an emotional culmination that shakes Eddie to the core. Both hauntingly written and compulsively readable, this will be a fast favorite with readers. Grades 9-12. --Heather Booth

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; Reprint edition (December 21, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312656734
• ISBN-13: 978-0312656737
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.6 x 8.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (58 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #858,218 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Courtney Summers lives and writes in Canada. She is the author of CRACKED UP TO BE, SOME GIRLS ARE, FALL FOR ANYTHING and THIS IS NOT A TEST.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Haunting and bleak, but hopeful January 5, 2011

By Kyra2Nell

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Courtney Summers is one of my absolute favorite authors, that's no secret. I know some people have had a hard time liking her main characters, but I however, do not share that problem. I love them and all their evil bitchiness. So I was surprised and a little excited when Summers announced that her main character in FFA is quite different than her others--she's not a mean girl.

While I certainly agree Eddie isn't half as bad or mean as Parker and Regina, she definitely has a similar tongue. Her biting remarks whether to Beth or Milo, constantly made me laugh out loud (which may or may not make me a horrible person) and that's exactly what I love about Courtney Summers's novels. She takes realistic situations and makes them realistic stories. Humor, heartbreak, drama and all. This is the sort of novel that can so easily get turned into a typical sob story, but it's not. It couldn't be further from that.

Summers captures the essence of grief and loss in every way down to the haunting question--the question Eddie will stop at nothing to find the answer to: Why? Why did her father commit suicide?

The ending is one I could have foreseen were it not for the fact that I wanted to know, wanted to desperately find out along with Eddie, if there really was an answer to that question. But, of course, life isn't that simple. And neither is death.

(The reviewer was compensated for posting this review. However, the opinion stated in the review is that of the reviewer and the reviewer alone. Further, the reviewer independently selected this product to review and has no affiliation with the product maker/distributor, Amazon or the review requester.)

With Cracked Up To Be and Some Girls Are, Courtney Summers proves she is a master at contemporary YA and Fall For Anything is no exception. This is an amazing, heartbreaking novel of grief, loneliness and vulnerability.x

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Haunting but didn't capture me December 31, 2010

By bookworm1858 VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

Fall For Anything by Courtney Summers
St. Martin's Press, 2010
230 pages
YA; Contemporary
4/5 stars

Summary: "When Eddie Reeves's father commits suicide her life is consumed by the nagging question of why? Why when he was a legendary photographer and a brilliant teacher? Why when he seemed to find inspiration in everything he saw? And, most important, why when he had a daughter who loved him more than anyone else in the world? When she meets Culler Evans, a former student of her father's and a photographer himself, an instant and dangerous attraction begins. Cullen seems to know more about her father than she does and could possibly hold the key to the mystery surrounding his death. But Eddie's vulnerability has weakened her and Culler Evans is getting too close. Her need for the truth keeps her hanging on...but are some questions better left unanswered?" from goodreads

Thoughts: Courtney Summers writes some of the most wrenching stories. I read Some Girls Are earlier this year and was twisted by the mean girl plot and the general cruelty. This is difficult in a different way as Eddie and her mom struggle following her father's suicide. Neither wants to get dressed, wants to interact with people, wants to live the house. Eddie is also pissed at her mother's busybody best friend who comes to live with them, to get them through this time. I can't imagine what it's like to lose a parent, let alone through suicide.

I was disappointed with Culler-he was too much of a cipher and I wanted him to be completely psycho and to threaten her life or something. Instead he does prey on her vulnerability but in a quieter way (I hope that makes sense). I also wanted an answer to why but sorry, there are no cut and dry answers.

One character I was really interested in was Milo, Eddie's best friend who is maybe in love with her? I didn't feel that I got to know him well enough and their relationship was confusing. Sometimes she was jealous over his relationship with a girlfriend but she wasn't interested in him herself; she just didn't want to share him or let him have any relationships outside of theirs.

Overall: Dark, deceptively simple prose make for a haunting story.

Cover: I didn't understand the photographs at first but then I read that her father was a photographer and she still retains some of his pictures so it makes sense.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars A nice change.. April 7, 2012

By KaitorTot

Format:Paperback

I love the cover for this. The font is excellent, as is the color scheme. The photos hanging on the line in the background rock. I also love how her head is slightly turned down, as if in sorrow.

Courtney Summers had a different writing style and I really appreciated it. I'll be really interested in checking out another book written by her. Eddie is trying to deal with the aftermath of her father's suicide and Summers created Eddie in such a way that all of her reactions seemed completely real. The characters are by no means perfect, which, in my mind, makes them perfect. For me, it's no fun to read about a character who is absolutely, 100% perfect. Eddie's mom reminded me quite a bit of Katniss' mom from The Hunger Games. She basically shuts herself out from the rest of the world, including her daughter. Fall for Anything really showcased how everyone deals with grief differently.

Milo, Eddie's best friend, is one of my favorite characters and I wish we could see more of him. I would even love a spin-off novel about his character. Can this happen, Courtney Summers....please? Culler slightly creeped me out from the beginning. There was just something about him that rubbed me the wrong way and I'm interested to see if others had this feeling as well.

This is not a "rainbows and butterflies" read. It's heavy, raw, and thought provoking. I'm not going to say if Eddie ever finds the answers to her questions, but I think that we can all relate to wanting certain questions about life answered. If you're looking for a happy read, this one definitely isn't for you, but I know sometimes I just crave a heavier read.