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Fallen by Lauren Kate (The Fallen Series: Book 1)
Rate and review Fallen! | What does everyone else think?
Review by Patty
Angels and… well… more angels and then fallen angels and angels who are sort of in between. Lucinda Price is not an angel. In fact she is spending her junior year of high school in a reform school called Sword and Cross. She has been bothered by shadowy images for much of her life and lately these shadows have begun to alter her life. She has come to Sword and Cross because of an accident involving a friend. She is not trusted by her parents and is very unsure of how her actions caused her to be at Sword and Cross. The one thing she is sure of is that when the shadows come… she cannot control them and bad things tend to happen. She begins to make friends at school but they are questionable friends.
After all they are all attending a reform school where they are locked in and watched by cameras and sent to detention and life is very regimented. Lucinda is drawn to one person at school and that is Daniel Gregori. She is unsure why and he appears to have the opposite feeling about her. At the same time she is warned to stay away from him and is sort of charmed and wooed by another classmate… Cam… who appears to be able to provide picnics and limo rides and tons of other contraband items. Luce is drawn to him even though she does not want to be. As I read this beautiful novel alarm bells went off in my head when Cam gave her a gold necklace with a serpent on it. To me…that meant that he was quite the opposite of an angel but the story was still unfolding.
The author writes beautifully about the angels… their wings… every angel seemed to have a different kind of wing pattern and when they are tucked away and then unfolded again… it was quite magical. I totally loved this story. It was sort of oddly spiritual. I know that the author has planned two more within this series. I cannot wait to read them.
Review by Lee
Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series has been phenomenally successful, the individual titles topping the bestseller lists around the world. These books, while arguably not the greatest works of literature (as Meyer herself honestly and refreshingly admits), have clearly shown what young female adults are looking for today - romantic fantasy with a supernatural edge. This is why, in June 2009, Random House Children’s Books acquired the first four titles of Lauren Kate’s Fallen series, with the opening title, Fallen, being published on December 17 in the UK, December 8 in the US.
Fallen is the story of seventeen year old Lucinda (or Luce as she is known). She falls in love with the good-looking and highly intelligent Daniel at their reform school but soon discovers that he is a fallen angel, cursed, destined neither to ascend to Heaven nor descend to Hell. The two realise that they have spent their lifetimes finding and losing one another, and face the final challenge to keep evil forces at bay and seek redemption for all.
Lauren Kate’s writing is accomplished, thankfully avoiding the unnecessarily flowery and long-winded narrative that often plague pages of romantic fantasy books. The reader’s interest is engaged early and, helped by a solid and ever-evolving plot, never lets go. This is a gothic love story featuring fallen angels and forbidden love (a winning formula) that will thrill and delight in equal measure.
Luce is described by a character in the book in these terms “you’re nothing more than you appear to be: a stupid, selfish, ignorant, spoiled little girl who thinks the world lives or dies on whether she gets to go out with some good-looking boy at school”. This shows that the author is under no illusions about her lead, and although it is a very harsh description, there are elements of truth in every statement. Luce is a teenage girl and she talks and behaves like a teenager. Although she may not be to everyone’s taste, readers of the same age will connect with Luce and very quickly find themselves falling completely under the book’s spell. It is this connection that will make this book such a huge success.
The setting is delightfully gothic, the highlight being the church that has been turned into a natatorium. The excerpt below shows Luce’s first impressions when encountering this wonderful creation:
“Inside the humid natatorium she instantly understood what Penn was talking about. The pool itself was giant, Olympic-sized, one of the few state-of-the-art features she’d encountered so far on this campus. But that wasn’t what made it remarkable, Luce realized in awe. This pool had been set down right in the middle of what used to be a massive church.”
Fallen: Chapter 6 - No Salvation
As Fallen comes to an end, there are still many unanswered questions that will leave its new fans eagerly anticipating the sequel, Torment, that will be available in September 2010. There are echoes of Milton’s Paradise Lost, the classic epic poem about the struggle for ascendancy between God and Satan and the consequences of the Fall, but at its heart Fallen is a love story, a story of doomed love admittedly, and a story that will strike a chord with many.
Who will this book appeal to most? A rule of thumb that would work in this instance is to look at the lead character, their gender and age, and use that as an answer. So, the ideal person for whom this would be a perfect Christmas present would be female and seventeen years old.
About the author
Lauren Kate recently finished her M.A. in Creative Writing at UC Davis, where she also teaches. She lives in Los Angeles, CA. Her first novel, The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove goes on sale one month before Fallen.
Fallen (Amazon.co.uk)
Author: Lauren Kate
Binding: Paperback
Number of pages: 464
Publication date: 2009-12-10
Publisher: Doubleday Children's Books
RRP: £9.99
Lowest new price: £2.99
Lowest used price: £1.59
17-year-old Lucinda falls in love with a gorgeous, intelligent boy, Daniel, at her new school, the grim, foreboding Sword & Cross ...only to find out that Daniel is a fallen angel, and that they have spent lifetimes finding and losing one another as good & evil forces plot to keep them apart. Some angels are destined to fall...
Product Description
Jenny from Norman, Oklahoma
A big page turner... but vague... but then again thats what make a it a great page turner =) Great chartecters and developement.
Mariam from Leeds
OMG !! I LOVE this book! I bought it a few dayss ago and couldn't wait to read it!! I'm soooo glad I bought it!! It had me stuck on the book like glue!! I couldn't stop reading it and was just longing that the book was much longer so I could have read on!! I'm really hoping there's a series of these books!! They would be a real hit!! LOVE IT!!
Aleyah from South Carolina
This book I have to say is in the top ten books I have ever read. It gives you chills and you're on the edge of your seat wanting to know what is going to happen next. I couldn't put it down.
Victoria from Maryland
Fallen was recommended to me by one of my friends and it has everything that I was looking for. It was sexy, breathtaking and most of all great for teenagers going through a rough relationship!
Alice from Georgia
Sorry Ms. Kate, but this book sucked. Seriously, it was very dull and much too dark for my liking. Also, it takes about three hundred pages to become a bit interesting. The protagonist comes off as obsessive and annoying. In addition, as a Christian the storyline was a little offensive.
Fallen Angel from Savannah
I LOVE THIS BOOK!!! It has everything that I love in a book in it. It is sexy and very dark. Not so sure about Cam though...
Zizi from UAE
I haven't read the book yet... oz i live in UAE and can't find in any bookstores!!! Can any1 tell from where I can get this book in UAE bookstores???????? P.S I have heard it is a lot like Twilight.
Megiie from England
I LOVE IT! It is such a sweet story, and it almost brought me to tears when he finally tells her the truth. I don't usually like love stories, but this one I loved. Can't wait for the next book, Torment, to come out!!!!!
Breige from Glasgow, Scotland
Gave this book a 9, cant give it a 10 cause that belongs to Twilight Saga (sorry). My mum bought this book for me in Amsterdam last week on a mother-daughter trip (which was fab). Started reading it on the plane home and have not been able to put it down since - its really good - very gothic and eerie! Cant wait to finish it and get the next one "Torment" I think it is called - hope its a follow up to Luce and Daniel - although I also like Cam!!! Angelic to say the least - keep the story going!
Lillie from Florida
OMG!!! I CANT WAIT FOR TORMENT!!!....it was so sad when Penn died but I loved the whole book anyways... better than Twilight...(I'M SORRY EDWARD)... lol looks like I found my new favorite book series... and my new dream guy (DANIEL GRIGORI)... OMG I dunno if I can make it until Autumn... AHHH!... lol loved it!
Emily from Louisiana
GAH!!!! DON'T TELL WHAT HAPPENS!!!!! OTHER PPL WANT TO READ IT!!!!!!
Elsie from Taipei
Oh, I love it so much. I believe it will be a succesfull series in the future.
Athena from England
IT WAS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!! My second fave book in the whole world. Sorry, but Harry Potter has stolen my heart away. It is nothing like Twilight, by the way the Twilight saga sucks, no offence to Meyer. I would rather go out with Daniel Grigori than hairy chest Cullen. Anyway, glues your eyes to the page, no joke. Immensely awesome!
Roda from San Diego
I love, love this book. I can't wait for Torment. I'm in love with the characters, especially Daniel Grigori and Luce.
Feli from Tampa, FL
The BEST!!! Love it, sorry better than Twilight!!! Very AWESOME, love it, love it, love it!!!!!
Claire from Ireland
OMG!!! This book was amazing, it was so moving and unpredictable. Luce - I loved her. She is so realistic and doesn't try to be perfect, she is a strong, beautiful, smart and determined. She just rocks! :) And Daniel, well I can't say anything or I'll never stop; know that he is breath taking and while I loved Edward in the books I can't help feeling that I love Daniel more. He is so way more mysterious, rude and utterly compelling. LK's views on angeology are different and incredible. Unputtdownable.
Jaxter from Australia
This book was amazing! It was like I couldn't put the book down because I was to anxious to find out what was going to happen next. I'm not much of a Twilight fan but this book was so interesting. I recommend making it into a movie. To all you people who aren't in to love stories, this book will change your point of view =]
Song from Wherever
A good read, but left me a little dry towards the end. I felt like there was so much going on in the plot that nothing was elaborated that much at all. There should have been a good elaboration on a little part of the mystery, not big helping of vague little bits. No doubt the next book will (hopefully) explain more, but the mysteries should have been served in balance. In Fallen, it was definitely not balanced. Kate should have tackled each thing slowly, one at a time, instead of introducing a handful of wonders leading to the inevitable and annoying "Book of Explanations" that becomes the sequel.
Rashida from Houston
While Lauren Kate has a way with words, I found myself very bored while reading this. It was slow to build up and I found myself not interested at all in Daniel or Luce's star crossed romance. I love romance, but I also cannot stand sappy love stories. The fact that about 90 percent of the book focused on Luce obsessively finding out stuff about Daniel was grating. And, sorry to say... I love Cam better. He may not be good or perfect, but I found him much more real as the anti-hero. This puts me in the minority for sure, but there you have it.
Laura from Montana
I think they should make Fallen into a movie, it's so good and I would love to see it on the big screen!!!!!!!!!!!
Annette from Tucson
WOW! I loved this amazing book, thank you!!!! I can compare this book to my life!!!
Zoe from England
I loved this book, I read it in 3 days, I couldn't stop. I would love if it came out on the big screen, it could take over Twilight and that's coming from a Twilight fan. FALLEN RULES XOXOXOXOX
Alicia Pedersen from New Zealand
Visit: http://www.aliciapedersen.com/?page_id=247 for the review as well as other books!!!:) This novel was much anticipated. In fact, the marketing aspect of this book release was done quite well. In addition to this, the book cover was eye catching and it held quite a lot of promise for this book. Fallen is about a 17 year old girl called Luce who is sent to reform school by her parents. We discover throughout this book that Luce is involved in a fire incident and this is the reason they send her to Sword and Cross. I found this reasoning quite strange for the characters reasoning to attend such a place to be honest. Luce comes from a grounded family and her actions and reasons for staying at the reform school despite the fire are unknown. This could have been elaborated on a bit more so that readers could understand Luce's feelings and thoughts. From the first instance of this novel it is apparent that there is a 'gothic' type theme which is well recieved. Sword and Cross ends up being quite a strange institution. The characters are intriguing and mysterious but nothing is ever explained. In addition, it would have been beneficial to describe the reform place. I realise the characters may have been the main focus but it would have added a lot of substance overall and helped out the structure of the book. The gothic theme could have tied in well here and made this book stand out from others. Like any Young Adult fantasy book there is always a boy. This boy is Daniel who is described as breathtakingly good looking. As well as this, Luce has the added bad boy interest, Cam (who in actual fact I found to be the most interesting character in the book). We discover that both Daniel and Cam are fallen angels and that there is some sort of past between certain characters. However, it takes a lot of reading to get this information and there are a lot of unanswered questions throughout the book. There were a lot of great ideas but the author doesn't seem to have pinned these down into a realistic, flowing piece of literature. This is made apparent when there is a lack of consistency and credibility in the reform school Luce is attending and the relationships she attempts to build on throughout Fallen. What did bother me was the fact that poor Lucinda was so clueless throughout the book, much more so than the readers. Although plot suspence is paramount this is not executed well in the novel overall which is frustrating for readers who love these types of books. There will be a review of the next addition to this series purely to see if Kate sorts out the structure of her novel (as the ideas are all there!)
Ellipse from Nebraska
LOVED LOVED LOVED IT!!!! ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS I'VE EVER READ!!!!!!!!!!!! t Totally movie worthy! I love Daniel! From the beginning I did! I just love love, love the book!!!!!!!!! I could not put it down!!!!!!! Suspenseful and beautiful! I love this book! I can't wait for the next book!
Maricely from Perris, California
I couldn't stop reading it. There was so much going on and got me heating up towards the end.
Lemmy from Rhode Island
People need to stop being rude!!! The book was good! If you are offended why read it then???? God... ignorant people. I love everything about this book; suspenseful and full of thrills... two thumbs UP!
Sarah from Australia
I thought the book was great and to the people who found it vague or confusing - of course Lauren Kate wanted to keep you in the dark about the entire story - it's a 4 part series! Suspense was her main premise. Why would she give away more when she's got 3 more novels to write? Anyway, I thought is was well written, easy to read and couldn't put it down. Well done Lauren! Can't wait for the next installment!
Jayde
I completely love this book, I normally read books about vampires but after reading this I was hooked on reading fallen angel stories... Looking forward to the next one... and this book would make an amazing film... "HINT HINT"
ashley from california
I like the book a lot even though I thought it was a vampire book at first, because I only read them, but I loved it. I can't wait until the other book comes out - ugh so long though lol... and hey it wasn't better than Twilight but still bomb like twilight - keep writing more books cause i loved it and liked to read it.
Cara from Wales (UK)
I thought this book was GREAT! I can't wait until September, that's when the sequel is coming out!! It was a REALLY GOOD BOOK :D Only downsides: I wish it was from Luce's point of view, like Twilight, not like harry potter. Also there were too many fillers. The only action happened at the end really D:
Meli from FL
This book was absolutely amazing. The angel idea is 100 times better than vampires. FALLEN was very romantic in the relationship between Daniel Grigori and Lucinda Price. Lucinda is torn at first by her good love and her bad love which are Daniel and Cameron. I honestly do recommend this astonishing novel! Vampires suck eggs!!!
Melanie from Dinwiddie, Virginia
OMG, Fallen is the best book anyone will ever read and if anyone (cough -cough Amilia cough!) has something bad to say about it well u can forget about it... NOW!!!
Savannah from Nashville
One of the best books I've ever read in my life. I think Stephenie Meyer better watch out cuz I thought Fallen is better than Twilight so far...
Seven from Library
Boring! This was really a page turner all right... I kept on 'turning pages' just to get to an actual interesting scene... the story development is soooo slow...
Sara-Beth from Enterprise, Mississippi
This book was sooooo good!! I just got done reading it I cant wait till Torment !! I'm reading it again it is sooo good!! Luce could be my bestie but she isn't real!! I'm a little more out-going when it comes 2 shyness and I really wish what happened 2 Penn didn't!! The teacher was so psycho and I loved that part b/c I sooo didn't see it coming and Luce's hair on the front is like sooooooo pretty!! I want black long straight hair sooo bad but I most likely won't ever have it and it makes me mad so I think I will dye it sometime and let it grow out .
Shawn from Georgia, USA
I have just bought Fallen and hope it lives up to my expectations. I've just completed the 7th book in the House of Night novels, Burned, by the way, AWESOME! I look forward to what I hope will be a great adventure amoungst many I have found in books.
Hayley from New Zealand
This was a really cool book to read. At some points it got a little boring... but in the end I'd have to say that it was dark and sexy and totally thrilling. I'm happy I bought this book. It's in my top 20 for sure. :)
Jazmin from Puerto Rico
It started out a bit boring but I pushed on until I finished it. It was not bad but it was not what I expected. Hopefully Torment is better.
Christy from Indiana
I just read it again and it as awesome. And holy crap I JUST READ AN EXCERPT ON THE NEXT BOOK TORMENT!
Snjezana from Australia
It's very similar to Twilight, a good read none the less. Can't wait for Torment :)
Christy from Indiana
Fallen was insanely RAW!!!!!! But if someone could answer this question that would really be cool. Does Cam really love Luce?
Melanie from Cresent City
I love Fallen, it is my favorite book. I can't stop thinking about Torment, I like Cam but I also like Daniel - it's hard to chose which one is my favourite!
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Let people know what you think about Fallen. You can write your own mini-review and give the book the rating that you think it deserves. Your reviews will go towards giving Fallen its overall rating that will decide where Fallen finishes in the top 100 fantasy books of all time.
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